Tug boats, USS Ronald Reagan to assist disabled cruise liner

[RamboLiberal]

Source: MSNBC

Tugboats and an aircraft carrier are headed out to sea to tow in a cruise ship that lost power off California after an engine room fire. The crew of the Mexico-bound Carnival Splendor battled the fire for three hours which left the vessel adrift, officials said.

"The ship has been operating on auxiliary generators and engineers have been unable to restore additional power to the vessel," Carnival Cruise Lines said in a news release.

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The U.S. Navy was also diverting the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan from training maneuvers to help. A plane was to drop off 35 pallets of supplies on the carrier that will be delivered to the cruise liner by helicopter, the Navy said in a statement.

Miami-based Carnival says air conditioning, hot food service, hot water and telephones have been knocked out. The cruise line says toilets and cold water were restored overnight.




Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40084109/ns/travel-news/

[bigworld]

1. Hey,that's socialism!

Let the passengers hire their own rescue boats!!

[DoctorK]

13. not quite

"The company is paying the military for the food and supplies, officials said."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/11/stricken-cruise-ship-expected-to-be-towed-into-ensenada-on-wednesday.html

[Name removed]

14. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[trotsky]

17. Is it paying for the fuel costs and the salaries of the personnel? n/t

[bigworld]

21. And the costs of the boats, the radar, the training of personnel?

[DoctorK]

25. the radar?

Are you planning to charge by the photon?
These are government jobs, their checks are coming whether they do anything or not.
The boats are already paid for by us taxpayers (as I imagine most of the folks on that boat were too).

The company is paying for the tug boats and tow. I really don't get the vitriol.

I'm sure everyone here was clamoring for us to send a bill to Haiti after our Coasties went to help them, right? :/

[trotsky]

31. You're missing the point.

Think harder.

[FSogol]

2. It is a first: RR finally helped someone. n/t

[Posteritatis]

9. Ha! (nt)

[Jackpine Radical]

3. I see everyone else is ahead of me with the same theme.

I was just going to point out that they shouldn't use the Reagan because government is part of the problem, not the solution.

[Ian David]

4. I figured the Ronald Reagan wouldn't recall what its mission was. n/t

[trotsky]

18. ...

:spray:

[IDemo]

33. Maybe there's an astrologer on the bridge to issue daily directions?

[One_Life_To_Give]

5. This isn't a distress case

How dare Uncle Sam compete with private enterprise!
:sarcasm:


So now if a recreational fisherman looses an engine. Will the CG come take the tow? Or will they force the use of Private Towers?

[eShirl]

6. "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help!"

:scared:
:sarcasm:

[KansDem]

7. LOL!!! You took the (nine) words right out of my mouth!

:rofl:

[KeepItReal]

24. +1

sweet sweet irony

[bongbong]

8. raygun

It sounds like this situation is under control. As other posters have commented, it is hugely ironic that the "USS Raygun" is the one delivering the socialistic rescue.

Why don't they rename the USS Raygun to the "USS War On The Middle Class"?

[usaf-vet]

10. I say privatize the rescue

before anyone on the cruise ship is let off check and see if they paid for a rider policy on their insurance policy to cover at sea vacation cruise rescues. If they have not paid ahead of time then send them their part of the total rescue cost. Total rescue costs / total number of rescued passengers.

[RamboLiberal]

12. Better yet - send the bill to Carnival

It's their ship that broke down.

[lumberjack_jeff]

11. Doesn't bode well for the cruise ship.

Government being the problem, and not the solution and all that.

Maybe they'll ram and sink 'em, thereby proving the RR point.

[Arugula Latte]

15. What a bunch of welfare queens looking for a handout!

:eyes:

[ProudDad]

16. Fucking USS Ronny Ray-Gun...

Fuck that...I'm swimming! :puke:

[Yeahyeah]

19. Saint Ronald has reached out from Heaven to save these poor cruising bastards.

It's time for us to rename the Pacific Ocean the Ronald Reagan Ocean.Any of the non-Superpower fuck countries fuck with our authority to rename the ocean,we blow them all away with our ocean nukes.

[slackmaster]

20. There's a photo in the San Diego Union-Tribune showing cases of cans of Spam being unloaded

And a box of croissants.

:D

[RamboLiberal]

26. Yep Story today

Stranded Cruise Passengers Stuck on Spam Diet

With no refrigeration on board, the ship ran out of food Tuesday, forcing passengers to trade elaborate dinners for relief supplies that are a little more basic, CBS News correspondent Priya David reports.

U.S. Navy Seahawk helicopters were ferrying supplies including Spam, crab meat, croissants and Pop Tarts to the ship from the USS Ronald Reagan, an aircraft carrier that reached the Splendor after it was diverted from training maneuvers to help. Thousands of pounds of food had been delivered by Tuesday night.

The U.S. Coast Guard and Mexican Navy also sent resources to the ship.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Kevin Metcalf told CBS' "The Early Show" on Wednesday that, at its current pace, the ship was still expected to arrive in San Diego by Thursday evening.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/11/10/national/main7040092.shtml?tag=stack

[slackmaster]

35. I hope they get those poor people into port before they are forced to turn to cannibalism

:grouphug:

[bahrbearian]

22. We are spending 200 million a day and a carrier fleet to escort a bunch of Yachters

[Evasporque]

23. THere are a lot of wierd maritime laws with towing...

The "tug" captains doing the towing will be able to retire so will their children...and their children....


If this turns into a rescue operation then the vessel is completely up for grabs...granted the captain can remain and refuse rescue, what they have done...regardless this situation is going to cost Carnival HUGE bucks...millions upon millions...basically you have few choices...

1. Agree to pay what ever fee the salvor/tow company charges...
2. Abandon the ship and turn the operation into a rescue...
3. Attempt repair.

They can go out there and ask pretty much the salvage value of the vessel....I am sure as soon as the Tug Boat captains heard the ship was disabled they headed out there probably...it then becomes a bidding war if enough are involved. There may be prior arrangement but I would say it is unlikely....interesting read here:

http://www.offshorerisk.com/definitions/salvage.htm

"In order to claim a salvage reward, the salvor must meet three requirements. There must be (1) a marine peril; (2) service voluntarily rendered; and (3) success in saving persons or property. If these three requirements are met, the salvor may present the owner of the salvaged property with a claim for his reward. The size of the reward will vary from case-to-case based upon the circumstances presented by the salvage situation. Many boaters believe that they do not need to become familiar with the law of salvage, since “that salvage stuff only applies to large ships and I only own a 25-foot runabout.” The laws of marine salvage apply to every vessel upon navigable waters, from a canoe to an ocean liner. It is not necessary for the vessel to be engaged in commerce. This subjects almost all recreational vessels (except those on landlocked lakes and ponds) to claims for salvage rewards.

It is not necessary for a salvor to be engaged in commerce or to be a professional tower/salvor. Passing boaters (known as “chance salvors”) and professional salvors are both entitled to present a claim for a salvage reward. The only difference is in the size of their rewards, since professional salvors are typically entitled to receive an uplift in their rewards due to the investment of time and money they have made to purchase and maintain their equipment, keep up a radio watch, and to stand ready at an instant to assist boaters in distress."

----

Some guy a few years back with a 34 ft. sailboat recently renovated got hung up on a sandbar on Lake Michigan and initially refused towing and in doing so his boat pushed further into shore until they had to be removed by the coast guard. The waves pushed the boat too far in an boat could get close enough with enough power to pull the full keel heavy sailboat out...

In the end he abandoned the ship...The boat was stripped by salvors and when the near shore iced over...they cut it up with chainsaws and removed the pieces.

My buddy was fascinated with the story as we were out sailing when the boat when aground and I radioed the Coast Guard when we saw the vessel struggling in the known shallows of Bradford Beach in Milwaukee.

The blog post below has the full tragic story with links...and comments from the boats original builder and the man who spent his life savings renovating it.

http://soul-amp.blogspot.com/2007/12/grounded-falcon-update-on-chinook-34.html

[Merchant Marine]

28. If you take a line without negotiating a contract beforehand, they basically own you.

[Lance_Boyle]

27. Why on Earth is an aircraft carrier necessary?

Carnival Cruise Lines had better be paying the cost associated with diverting a friggin' aircraft carrier to assist their private business venture.

[RamboLiberal]

29. The carrier is needed so they can land & fly

Planes & copters with the Spam and Pop Tarts.

[Merchant Marine]

30. The carrier is delivering food and supplies. The ship is without power and refrigeration has failed

Without the assistance of the US Navy there would be no food.

Furthermore the mandatory assistance of disabled vessels at sea is a long-standing maritime tradition enshrined in the laws of most countries. While the USN is not held to a duty to provide assistance at sea by the US Code, it is still the right thing to do.

In any case the Ronald Reagan was in the area on a training voyage. This certainly provides good training for the helicopter crews in conducting vertreps on a non-standard vessel.

[zen_bohemian]

32. I went on this route in June, the waters were pretty rough the whole time

I would be so sick, no stabilizers on the ship and eating....spam....and hot drinks...

My question is....why didn't they just get all the passengers and go to a skeleton crew off the ship instead of bringing food and water to them? I don't get that, this has been going on for 3 days.

[Merchant Marine]

34. You can't fit 4,000 extra people on an aircraft carrier.

The transfer of people at sea is sufficiently risky that it would be better to hang tight for a few days.