Heading for an oil rig? Watch out for low-flying ships!

[kenhughes]

"Eurocontrol is alerting aviation authorities worldwide of potential new collision threats due to ships that have begun experimenting with large high-flying kites or sails for auxiliary propulsion", says FlightGlobal in this article. Eurocontrol posts skysail warning



Eurocontrol Alert (Word document)
http://www.eurocontrol.int/safety/ga...tembe_2009.doc issued after an incident on Spetember 15, in which an aircraft descending over the southern North Sea reported seeing a kite or sail flying at approximately 305m (1,000ft) height "just below the clouds" ahead of a ship as it headed into port. The type of aircraft is not disclosed ... but who is the most likely to be operating at 1,000ft over the North Sea?

[Gordy]

but who is the most likely to be operating at 1,000ft over the North Sea?

Did it for 8 years:

[Igor13]

Hmmm

I say old boy......Good comeback!

[SafetyCase]

This ship with the flying sail was reported by the crew of a CHC helicopter operating from the Netherlands.

[widgeon]

What a neat concept , maybe they should be required to have a transponder installed in the sail that will alert TCAS.

[Spunk]

Skysail

That one her would be one of the companies who invented the system:

Skysail

[Runway101]

YouTube - Beluga Sky Sail

[sox6]

Must be a serious issue as Shell sent us our information (which Eurocontrol had already circulated) back as their own safety alert.

[exlatccatsa]

Aberdeen Heli crews keep an eye out. Heard a rumour it might be headed our way on Monday 21st.

[cyclic]

From Aberdeen Coastguard:

Please be infmd that m/v Theseus,call sign A8SH3,flag Liberia,IMO
93910159,MMSI 636091757 is going to carry out tests of towing kite as
auxiliary propulsion system in north sea,including the coastal waters
of UK - East off Aberdeen ,Firth of Forth and vicinity of off-shore
oil rigs / platforms in UKEEZ in period fm 21.09.2009 04.00 utc to
24.09.2009 22.00 utc in the area between fwng wp:

wp1 - 57 00,0 N 002 00,0 W ;
wp2 - 57 30,0 N 000 00,0 ;
wp3 - 57 30,0 N 003 00,0 E ;
wp4 - 55 00,0 N 003 00,0 E ;
wp5 - 55 00,0 N 000 00,0 ;
wp6 - 56 00,0 N 002 00,0 W

in connection with above said towing kite tests kindly ask you to
advise aircrafts intending to carry flights in the area about vessel
activity including night flights( kite enlighted by 3 visible
white lights) and about maximal towing length/height of flying kite
300 m

[exlatccatsa]

You can find a recent position here
ShipAIS - Latest AIS for THESEUS

Enter Theseus in the search and check the ID is A8SH3