Massive cruise ship evacuation off Norway March 2019
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According to the representatives from the local authorities the evacuation is still ongoing due to the Viking Sky´s Captains wish. This was what they said in this mornings press conference.
You cannot just plonk a SAR helicopter on a gash piece of deck to pick up passengers. Not only is the pitch and roll to be taken in account but the deck strength as well. Not a lot of decks are stressed to 9+ tonnes.
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What I was thinking about was if a ship would need to to be evacuated in a threatening emergency like a fire or if the ship was going down . . .
I know my thoughts are a bit off topic, but this real life example just show that at an evacuation of this scale just takes a long time.
I know my thoughts are a bit off topic, but this real life example just show that at an evacuation of this scale just takes a long time.
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Close call!
I am not sure what redundancy is required on a ship like this going into Norske Havet in the winter like this ,but we are not talking the pleasant Caribbean her.
Every week there is a storm on this 2500 km long coastline, and filling a ship with 1100 pax at 75 years plus is not smart unless You are sure the ship is in shape!!
Lets compare this with a Jumbo with all engine flame out! In slow motion!
Atakacs
They almost hit the coast line
And if that had happened we would for sure have looked at a 50% casualty rate!!
You obviously have no clue whatsoever what You are talking about, sorry to say!
The wind are now 20 m/s and 30m/s in 6 hrs from ca 240Deg then down to 5 and at 02:00 from 030deg at 30m/s.
Waves slowly down from 10 meters and now average 5meter.
473 pax evacuated a dusin critically injured.
Job well done from my SeaKing heroes at the 330 Squadron!
Mission impossible?
You always try!
Always.
Regards
Cpt B
Every week there is a storm on this 2500 km long coastline, and filling a ship with 1100 pax at 75 years plus is not smart unless You are sure the ship is in shape!!
Lets compare this with a Jumbo with all engine flame out! In slow motion!
Atakacs
They almost hit the coast line
And if that had happened we would for sure have looked at a 50% casualty rate!!
You obviously have no clue whatsoever what You are talking about, sorry to say!
The wind are now 20 m/s and 30m/s in 6 hrs from ca 240Deg then down to 5 and at 02:00 from 030deg at 30m/s.
Waves slowly down from 10 meters and now average 5meter.
473 pax evacuated a dusin critically injured.
Job well done from my SeaKing heroes at the 330 Squadron!
Mission impossible?
You always try!
Always.
Regards
Cpt B
I see this as being a amazing response with no notice during very challenging weather conditions in a remote area.
Well Done!
As noted.....the old Sea King manned by excellent crews rose to the occasion and did what makes Helicopters and those who fly them stand out in aviation.
We go to the aid and assistance of others when needed.
Hand Salute to all who participated in this.....you done good!
Well Done!
As noted.....the old Sea King manned by excellent crews rose to the occasion and did what makes Helicopters and those who fly them stand out in aviation.
We go to the aid and assistance of others when needed.
Hand Salute to all who participated in this.....you done good!
473 pax evacuated a dusin critically injured.
I fully understand that this is a region with very demanding weather conditions and that this ship had probably no business to be there given the conditions.
I also understand that ordering a thousand of SAR helicopters rotations in those conditions involves a lot a risk, despite the amazing quality of the people manning those aircrafts. Irrespective of not knowing what I am speaking of I would be interested to know how the assessment was made. In any case happy to see a positive outcome.
Last edited by atakacs; 24th Mar 2019 at 13:27.
What was the cause of the injuries ?
I fully understand that this is a region with very demanding weather conditions and that this ship had probably no business to be there given the conditions.
I also understand that ordering a thousand of SAR helicopters rotations in those conditions involves a lot a risk, despite the amazing quality of the people manning those aircrafts. Despite not knowing what I am speaking of I would be interested to know how the assessment was made. In any case happy to see a positive outcome.
I fully understand that this is a region with very demanding weather conditions and that this ship had probably no business to be there given the conditions.
I also understand that ordering a thousand of SAR helicopters rotations in those conditions involves a lot a risk, despite the amazing quality of the people manning those aircrafts. Despite not knowing what I am speaking of I would be interested to know how the assessment was made. In any case happy to see a positive outcome.
~900 pax at 15 per load (S92 or Sea King) would be about 60 loads, certainly nothing like a thousand. About 45-60 minutes per sortie when winching and offloading ashore, so three helicopters would need about 15-20 hours flying each including refuels, crew changes, etc. Maybe you could dial down the concern and accept that such decisions are made by professionals who have a fair degree of competence
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Not to forget
The operation included a total of five helicopters.
2 Sea Kings, plus 3 SAR Helicopters operated by CHC. Pumas and S-92
In addition to the Cruise ship, a nearby costal freighter with 9 POB, was evacuated by helicopters
Very well done by all crews, and support personnel
2 Sea Kings, plus 3 SAR Helicopters operated by CHC. Pumas and S-92
In addition to the Cruise ship, a nearby costal freighter with 9 POB, was evacuated by helicopters
Very well done by all crews, and support personnel
I know nothing about large cruise ship evacuation procedures but would love to have a peek!
I presume (assume) the real biggies that carry 3 or even 5k pax - stick to relatively safe routes which are within reasonable reach of other ships, because as near as damn it, there is no way jose, that any fleet of helos would be involved in a mass evacuation on these 'mothers'!
It would take massive logistics to get there, rescue, remain on task, refuel and redeploy with these numbers.
Secondly, does anyone have any knowledge of how security conscious these giants and their precious cargo's are?
An IED in the right place below the water line would certainly be on a par with 9/11, I would guess (casualty wise).
I presume (assume) the real biggies that carry 3 or even 5k pax - stick to relatively safe routes which are within reasonable reach of other ships, because as near as damn it, there is no way jose, that any fleet of helos would be involved in a mass evacuation on these 'mothers'!
It would take massive logistics to get there, rescue, remain on task, refuel and redeploy with these numbers.
Secondly, does anyone have any knowledge of how security conscious these giants and their precious cargo's are?
An IED in the right place below the water line would certainly be on a par with 9/11, I would guess (casualty wise).
Theres one good thing about the need to evacuate such a large ship...there generally is alot of time available. They don't sink like a brick.
Other than taking on water, my biggest fear would be a fire. Panic sets in faster with a fire.
Do the life boats have enough capacity these days for all the passengers? Or do the crew of the ship cull out the weak and unstable, so the strong can survive??
In this case, were they actively using/loading the lifeboats at the time the helicopters were plucking people from the deck?
Other than taking on water, my biggest fear would be a fire. Panic sets in faster with a fire.
Do the life boats have enough capacity these days for all the passengers? Or do the crew of the ship cull out the weak and unstable, so the strong can survive??
In this case, were they actively using/loading the lifeboats at the time the helicopters were plucking people from the deck?
Theres one good thing about the need to evacuate such a large ship...there generally is alot of time available. They don't sink like a brick.
Other than taking on water, my biggest fear would be a fire. Panic sets in faster with a fire.
Do the life boats have enough capacity these days for all the passengers? Or do the crew of the ship cull out the weak and unstable, so the strong can survive??
In this case, were they actively using/loading the lifeboats at the time the helicopters were plucking people from the deck?
Other than taking on water, my biggest fear would be a fire. Panic sets in faster with a fire.
Do the life boats have enough capacity these days for all the passengers? Or do the crew of the ship cull out the weak and unstable, so the strong can survive??
In this case, were they actively using/loading the lifeboats at the time the helicopters were plucking people from the deck?
The problems start when the sea conditions, ship list, fire, crew training and other factors make loading, launching, ect. problematic.
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Do the life boats have enough capacity these days for all the passengers? Or do the crew of the ship cull out the weak and unstable, so the strong can survive??
In this case, were they actively using/loading the lifeboats at the time the helicopters were plucking people from the deck?
In this case, were they actively using/loading the lifeboats at the time the helicopters were plucking people from the deck?
Passenger vessels on long international voyages must carry partially or fully enclosed lifeboats for at least 50% of capacity on each side and rigid or inflatable life rafts for at least 25% of capacity, for a total of life-saving appliances for at least 125% of capacity.
Passenger vessels on short international voyages must carry partially or fully enclosed lifeboatds for at least 30% of capacity and inflatable or rigid liferafts for at least 70% of capacity, plus inflatable or rigid lifeboats for at least 25% of capacity, for a total of life-saving appliances for at least 125% of capacity.
(https://www.rina.org.uk/lifeboats.html)
"Long international voyage" means an international voyage which is not a short international voyage;
"Short international voyage" means an international voyage:
a.) in the course of which a ship is not more than 200 miles from a port or place in which the passengers and crew could be placed in safety, and
b.) which does not exceed 600 miles in distance between the last port of call in the country in which this voyage begins and the final port of destination,
but for the purposes of this definition, no account shall be taken of any deviation by a ship from the intended voyage due solely to the stress of weather or any other circumstances that neither the master nor the owner nor the charterer (if any) of the ship could have prevented or forestalled.
"Short international voyage" means an international voyage:
a.) in the course of which a ship is not more than 200 miles from a port or place in which the passengers and crew could be placed in safety, and
b.) which does not exceed 600 miles in distance between the last port of call in the country in which this voyage begins and the final port of destination,
but for the purposes of this definition, no account shall be taken of any deviation by a ship from the intended voyage due solely to the stress of weather or any other circumstances that neither the master nor the owner nor the charterer (if any) of the ship could have prevented or forestalled.
The emergency evacuation of a cruise liner has been a concern for many years because of the numbers involved - as we have seen, even with 5 helicopters it takes a long while. We had a similar situation off Holyhead many years ago using the 2 SAR Wessex from 22 Sqn plus the SARTU fleet.
Deconfliction between the air assets is easy, just use a common frequency and have an on-scene commander directing where to winch from - fortunately a big deck like a cruise liner offers several simultaneous winching positions - as long as the ship's crew know what they are doing when corralling the pax into the right places.
As someone has already mentioned, the real problems occur when you don't have 5 or 6 winch-equipped helicopters immediately available and fuel is not readily available.
We used to be concerned down in the Falklands when the big cruise liners appeared, doubling the population of the Islands as each ship arrived - one SAR helo with the possibility of a second plus some old S-61s without winches fitted.......Not sure it is that much better there now with a 189 replacing the Sea King and the same older S-61s.
Deconfliction between the air assets is easy, just use a common frequency and have an on-scene commander directing where to winch from - fortunately a big deck like a cruise liner offers several simultaneous winching positions - as long as the ship's crew know what they are doing when corralling the pax into the right places.
As someone has already mentioned, the real problems occur when you don't have 5 or 6 winch-equipped helicopters immediately available and fuel is not readily available.
We used to be concerned down in the Falklands when the big cruise liners appeared, doubling the population of the Islands as each ship arrived - one SAR helo with the possibility of a second plus some old S-61s without winches fitted.......Not sure it is that much better there now with a 189 replacing the Sea King and the same older S-61s.