Greek Ferry Near Miss

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

It’s not just us modellers who misjudge things…

Best watched full in screen mode.

Colin

 

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

The biggest problem with ships officers on a very regular fast run is complacency.  I’ve seen it on the bridge and in the engine room.  When something is done so frequently it starts to become automatic and then less and less thought goes into the process.  Then, when something is slightly out of the ordinary, it gets missed and not enough allowance is made.  At to that the pressure of a fast regular run and the recipe is there for things to go wrong.

Ferries are notorious for bouncing around off quaysides, link spans, other ships etc!  Nearly always because they are in too much of a rush.  Sadly this was a major factor in the Herald Of free Enterprise and the Estonia incidents.

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

The Greek ferries are real speed merchants, usually successfully, and also I hope on our forthcoming September holiday to Poros Island which entails a high speed catamaran from Piraeus.

We have recently returned from a week on Lake Orta in Italy. Again the ferries like to demonstrate Latin elan. It is a small lake with no large boats but the basic berthing procedure is to gently ram the wooden pier to stop the boat and lassoo one of the wobbly wooden piles.

On neighbouring Lake Maggiore, visiting the islands entails hitting the sloping concrete ramp and then opening the throttle to drive the boat up it so the bow is ashore and the stern still floating. I couldn’t help wincing at the impact  followed by the bow rising up as the throttle was opened again but the forward part of the keel is sheathed in metal to take the wear and tear. They are geared up to high passenger volumes, head in, ride up the bank, deposit current load of passenger and take on the returning ones. No lifejackets in sight either, just some rafts on the cabin roof.

They do things differently there!

Regarding the Estonia disaster, I am no fan of conspiracy theories but there do seem to be some serious questions about her loss which many of the relevant authorities are reluctant to examine further. The hull appears to have an an explained hole in it.

Colin

[Stephen GarradParticipant @stephengarrad28964]

We recently had a week at Lake Como & visited Lake Maggiore, the ferries are indeed an “experience”

Stephen

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