Dramatic Video: Huge Bulk Freighter Sinks

[iambecomelife]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoHD3VfhYxo

The Bulk Carrier "Stellar Banner" was recently scuttled after running aground bc of a navigational error. Salvage crews managed to remove about half of the iron ore on board, but the ship could not be saved; the bottom plating damage left her beyond economical repair.

The force of the sinking blows tons of ore into the air, and the whole funnel gets ripped off as she goes under.

Based on the name, I believe she is a fleet-mate of another ore carrier, the "Stellar Daisy", which recently sank with heavy loss of life. Bulkers can obviously be dangerous ships if they are not properly maintained.

Warning: the cameraman gets a little loud at the end!

[Aktungbby]

not a stellar day...move over Edmund Fitzgerald!:wah:

[Jimbuna]

Quite an event to be caught on camera.

[Platapus]

Who is the moron having an orgasm about a ship sinking?


A ship sinking like that is a pretty sad thing to me.

[iambecomelife]

not a stellar day...move over Edmund Fitzgerald!:wah:

Yes, the "Fitzgerald" was another example of a bulk carrier disaster. In the past few decades there have been dozens, maybe hundreds of bulk freighter disasters - often ships bigger than the "Titanic".

Thousands of sailors have been killed - usually because dishonest companies send bulk carriers out with poor maintenance. Sad thing is almost nobody cares - because many sailors are from 3rd World countries, and their families are usually too poor to sue the owners. Or generate publicity. Basically, you've got 30 - 40 men dying, month after month, with no media coverage.

There was one bulker disaster almost on my doorstep some years ago; the "Marine Electric" sank off the coast where I used to live. To make a long story short, the shipping company lied about their preventative maintenance. And sent more than 30 men to their deaths. The ship was 39 years old at the time of the disaster, and rusted through:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjofdZkusN4

A few hundred miles north, another Bulker went missing in 1980, with 34 dead. And then in 2004 a bulk chemical tanker sank in the same area, with 21 more dead. Plus I'm sure you all heard about the "El Faro" recently, (although not a bulk carrier, another ship with maintenance problems and no survivors). And this is just the US East Coast. :nope:

[Platapus]

And yet there are still people who believe that a company can be trusted to make the right decisions and there is no need for oversight

[iambecomelife]

A good book on the bulk carrier safety crisis, from a modern-day activist. It;'s full of amazing life raft stories, Search/Rescue operations, corporate corruption, & much more:

https://www.amazon.com/Return-Coffin-Ships-Derbyshire-Enigma/dp/1883283191/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=return+of+the+coffin+ships&qid=1596092602&sr=8-2

[Jimbuna]

A good book on the bulk carrier safety crisis, from a modern-day activist. It;'s full of amazing life raft stories, Search/Rescue operations, corporate corruption, & much more:

https://www.amazon.com/Return-Coffin-Ships-Derbyshire-Enigma/dp/1883283191/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=return+of+the+coffin+ships&qid=1596092602&sr=8-2

My mom had a cousin of hers son and newly wed wife on board her.

[iambecomelife]

My mom had a cousin of hers son and newly wed wife on board her.

Do you mean the "Derbyshire"??

Sorry to hear, Jim. From what I heard the people on board were all a great bunch; very competent and well-liked. I found a web page with a tribute to several of the crew, including one of the wives; since there were only two women on board that may have been her. I will pass the link on to you if I find it again.

[August]

And yet there are still people who believe that a company can be trusted to make the right decisions and there is no need for oversight


Nobody has a problem with oversight until it's associated bureaucracy and regulations become crushing.

[Jimbuna]

Do you mean the "Derbyshire"??

Sorry to hear, Jim. From what I heard the people on board were all a great bunch; very competent and well-liked. I found a web page with a tribute to several of the crew, including one of the wives; since there were only two women on board that may have been her. I will pass the link on to you if I find it again.

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sunderlandecho-uk/obituary.aspx?n=graham-and-ann-marie-hutchinson&pid=182095454

[iambecomelife]

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sunderlandecho-uk/obituary.aspx?n=graham-and-ann-marie-hutchinson&pid=182095454

Found it! And, yes, Mrs. Hutchinson was the lady I was thinking of:

https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/crew-members-and-their-families

[Jimbuna]

Found it! And, yes, Mrs. Hutchinson was the lady I was thinking of:

https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/crew-members-and-their-families

Reading your link made me quite emotional and brought back sad distant memories. At the time she (Derbyshire) was lost I was a marine engineer with Bank Line/Andrew Weir.

Appreciate the link :up: