Big Arthur Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 (edited) BLAZE CAUSES HEADACHE FOR FIM SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX ORGANISERS A tanker on fire in the Gulf of Aden has caused a huge headache for FIM Speedway Grand Prix Series (SGP) organisers BSI. Fire broke out on the “Hyundai Fortune” cargo ship and part of its freight is a brand new £250,000 air-barrier that is to be used on the safety fence at all ten rounds of the world championship SGP Series. Due to the ferocity of the fire, all of the ship’s crew members were evacuated and rescued by a passing Dutch frigate. John Postlethwaite, Chief Executive, BSI, said: ”From the details and pictures we have received it looks like the ship transporting the new air barrier from Australia is still on fire and we will not find out for many days if the barrier has been affected by the blaze. At the moment salvagers are trying to control the flames and salvage the cargo. “We are awaiting updates from the salvagers, but thankfully we still have the air-barrier from last year’s Series so safety will not be compromised at the Grands Prix.” The first round of the 2006 FIM Speedway Grand Prix Series takes place at the Matje Gubca Stadium, Krsko, Slovenia on 22 April. Edited March 23, 2006 by Big Arthur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoMinuteWarning Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 It's a ploy by Waggy to get someone to buy his air fence off eBay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HenryW Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 (edited) I thought that it gave a good idea of just how laughably naff the former Oxford "air barrier" was....It's currently up for grabs at £5k on eBay while a proper airfence, with all the extra safety features that it has, costs £250k! Edited March 23, 2006 by HenryW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
podster Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 going by the pics on the following webby, it dosn't look good for the BSI airfence IMO. http://www.cargolaw.com/2006nightmare_hyundai_fort.html It says that due to an explosion and fire aboard the ship that up to 60 containers have been blown off the side of the ship creating a five mile debris field. IMO BSI'S only hope is that the fence is at the bow of the ship!!!! Pod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f-s-p Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 http://dolphin-maritime.com/casualty567.html Hyundai Fortune - Explosion and fire - LOF Casualty type: Fire - containers lost overboard Voyage from/to: Far East ports to Europe Casualty Date: 21.3.2006 Vessel Type: Container vessel Grt: 64054 Built: 1996 Cargo: Containers UPDATE 23.03.2006 The vessel is still burning fiercely in position 12.40.3 N 046.55.4E Tug WADI HASSAN is alongside firefighting, having arrived at 15.00 UTC. The salvors’ firefighting tug RAKHYUT is expected on site at 0.300 hrs tomorrow. Salvors’ ocean going tug SMITWIJS ROTTERDAM is expected at Aden 0.800 local time tomorrow. Local tug RAS ISA is going to start fitment of firefighting equipment tomorrow in Aden with a view to assisting in the firefighting. 7 men are already on site, with another 10 en route. An aircraft is being chartered to fly in additional equipment. On site at the moment, salvors are concentrating on containing the spread of the fire, which is already one stack of containers ahead of the accommodation deck. The heading of the casualty has been controlled to try to reduce the spread of the fire. It appears that some fuel tanks are very hot and possibly are on fire. At the aft end of the ship the hole is such that one can see right through the ship. There are also local regulatory hurdles which salvors will need to overcome as a permit must be obtained from the Yemeni authorities. --------------------------------------------------- 22.3.2006 - Update We are already instructed by a number of cargo interests. Rumours of the vessel sinking are, we understand, untrue. Salvors are still en route but the fire has now spread from the stern to forward of the accomodation block. More cargoes will be a CTL as a result. The vessel has 5100 TEU on board and it appears the fire and explosion started in the cargo space to the stern of the vessel. There is currently a gaping hole in the hull above the waterline. It appears early reports of a possible terrorist attack are unlikely to be true. We have retained an experienced fire expert to attend on site once the vessel has been salved. This will be important in order to determine the risks and dangers endured by salvage services (with a view to challenging salvors’ demands if appropriate) and also to confirm the cause of the fire and the effectiveness of the fire fighting operations in respect of the recovery claim. We remain ready to assist you if you have insured cargo on board the vessel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f-s-p Posted March 30, 2006 Report Share Posted March 30, 2006 (edited) source the same as above Update: 27.3.2006 "The firefighting efforts have now been suspended as there are no flames, although there is still smoke and some fires may still be burning inside containers. Salvors are concerned about the amount of water in hold no 5, as this gives rise to concerns about stability and are they investigating pumping out the hold. Salvors also obtained a local salvage permit from the local authorities. As yet, it is too early to say what level the salvage security will be set at. It is also not yet known which port the vessel can be taken to. We suspect the vessel may be towed to Dubai however we expect that this is likely to become clearer towards the end of this week. Regarding the cause of the fire, our fire expert has started preliminary investigations pending being able to attend on board. Interesting and valuable information has already been obtained." Apparently the cause of the fire were the seven containers full of fireworks that were stacked somewhere in the middle of the rear end of the ship. When they lit up, some containers were thrown overboard. Funny thing is, a similar incident caused by containers full of fireworks occurred some 5 years ago, on a "Hanjin Something", pretty well covered on the interet. Saw a few pictures of the fire, the BSI still have a lot to learn about organizing fireworks... http://www.cargolaw.com/2002nightmare_penn.html Edited March 30, 2006 by f-s-p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adder Posted March 30, 2006 Report Share Posted March 30, 2006 Surely an air-fence should float Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyM Posted March 30, 2006 Report Share Posted March 30, 2006 Looking at the title of this thread, I thought a doctor had run into difficulties with a patient in a local surgery! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoMinuteWarning Posted March 30, 2006 Report Share Posted March 30, 2006 Surely an air-fence should float <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Would have thought it has to be inflammable too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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