16/05/2007 1:03 am
Another great information site is: www.kinyradio.com/juneaunews/latest_juneau_news.htm
Just keep scrolling down until you find Empress of the North News. Today one item of interest the article indicated that the Empress of the North may have actually gone aground early monday morning on Rocky Island and not on Hanus Reef.
16/05/2007 1:09 am
Sorry, that one does not work. Try www.kinyradio.com/juneaunews Then click on "latest edition" and scroll down until you get to Empress of the North News. Also you can try other days. Lots of detailed information.
16/05/2007 12:11 pm
Here´s the press release by the USCG
http://www.uscgalaska.com/go/doc/780/156708/
including some pix showing the Empress back in Juneau.
Carmen
16/05/2007 5:11 pm
And another press release by MAL
http://www.majesticamericaline.com/cms/Files/EON%20Next%20Steps%20Release_FINAL.pdf
Carmen
20/05/2007 6:22 pm
More Empress News from The Juneau Daily News
NTSB: "Empress" hit Rocky Island then drifted to Hanus Reef
The National Transportation Safety Board team sent to Juneau to investigate the grounding of the cruise ship Empress of the North conducted another briefing this afternoon. (Wednesday)
Initial reports indicated the vessel struck Hanus Reef, but it actually hit Rocky Island, about two miles north.
Board member Kitty Higgins cleared that up.
She says the crew realized it was heading straight toward Rocky Island and tried to correct their turn.
The vessel struck the island on the starboard side and then drifted to the vicinity of Hanus Reef.
When the skipper contacted the Coast Guard at 1:35 Monday morning, he gave his location as the reef.
According to the investigation so far, there was a change of watch at 11:45 p.m.
The crew on the bridge at the time was the third mate, who's charge with directing navigation, and the helmsman, who steers the vessel.
After the accident occurred at about 1:30 a.m. , Higgins says the captain was contacted, immediately came to the bridge, assessed the situation, and contacted the Coast Guard.
She says the crew on the bridge at the time of the accident are licensed. Higgins says they'll be looking at their level of training and experience in Alaskan waters.
The names of the crewmembers on the bridge at the time are not being released.
The results of drug and alcohol testing are still pending.
On a preliminary basis, the team is ruling out problems with the vessel itself.
A dive survey of the damage is ongoing, according to team member Brian Curtis.
He says the starboard side was scrapped, bruised and indented, according to Curtis. The "Z" drive on the starboard side had suffered some propeller blade damage.
There were 206 passengers on board.
Two people were taken to Juneau's hospital for observation because of pre-existing conditions and not injuries related to the accident or evacuation.
All were taken back to Juneau's Auke Bay on board the state ferry Columbia following their evacuation to Good Samaritan vessels that responded to the Coast Guard's emergency marine broadcast.
The vessel had a crew of 75.
The investigation could take up to a year.
The Empress of the North will remain at Auke Bay for a few more days as the documentation work and damage assessment continue.
After that it will be moved to a shipyard for permanent repairs.
Virginia couple send thanks following Empress of the North ordeal
Richard and Patti Pfeiffer got back to their home in Fairfax, Virginia, late Tuesday night.
20/05/2007 6:26 pm
Other news from same source The Juneau Daily News
Tuesday, May 15, 2007 8TH EDITION
Grounded cruise ship was equipped with voyage data recorder
The Empress of the North may have actually gone aground early Monday morning on Rocky Island and not Hanus Reef.
That revelation was made during a press conference this afternoon (Tuesday) with members of the National Transportation Team and Coast Guard conducting the investigation.
Coast Guard Captain Mark Guillory says the shoal area with the aid to navigation on it is charted as Rocky Island which is just north of Hanus Reef. They believe the cruise ship went up on that island.
Guillory, who is Captain of the Port for Southeast Alaska was the federal on scene coordinator for the response to this incident.
The NTSB is now in charge of the investigation and will be assisted by the Coast Guard.
Kitty Higgins, an NTSB board member, heads up the team that arrived in Juneau Monday night.
She says the ship was equipped with a voyage data recorder.
Higgins says the recorder will tell investigators location, speed and course at the time of the accident.
And, she says, they belie it also recorded the conversations that would have occurred on the bridge before and after the accident.
The ship also has an electronic charting display information system.
Higgins says that chart was being used as well as the traditional paper chart to navigate the vessel.
Preliminary crew interviews have been done and drug tests have been administered.
Higgins says the probe could take up to a year.
The Empress of the North will remain at Auke Bay for a few more days as the documentation work and damage assessment continue.
After that it will be moved to a shipyard for permanent repairs.
20/05/2007 10:17 pm
My husband, Forrest, has forwarded to me an interesting account about the entertainer who was leading the "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" chorus in the show room while they awaited evacuation ...
http://www.palatkadailynews.com/articles/2007/05/18/news/news01.txt
21/05/2007 12:05 am
Lil Smith;5707 wrote: My husband, Forrest, has forwarded to me an interesting account about the entertainer who was leading the "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" chorus in the show room while they awaited evacuation ...
http://www.palatkadailynews.com/articles/2007/05/18/news/news01.txt
Hi Lil,
Yes, that was an interesting article and Lindy performed in the true tradition of entertainers. But it should be mentioned that Phil Westbrook was also there, playing piano and doing his bit to keep the pax occupied during what was surely a tense time.
"Good job" to both of them.
Paul
21/05/2007 4:58 am
It also seems to me that in one of the video clips taken in the show room by one of the passengers (a delightful lady in a wheelchair who had them film her being carried off the boat), I caught a brief glimpse of the ever lovable Eric Hadley, attending to passengers in the show room. (We don't get Eric on the DQ as often as we would like -- like, almost never -- but on one of the rare times they snagged him for us, he was kind enough to drag my 94 year old mother, the venerable Miss Helen, up during his show, plant her in a chair, and croon to her personally, on bended knee, with his absolutely smashing voice. Wow! She didn't know what had hit her.)
Let's face it, ain't nothin' like SO many of the crew on these boats. Oh, that's right, you know a little about that, don't you, Paul? Kudos to the whole gang of ya ....
22/05/2007 7:23 am
Empress relocated to Ketchikan for repairs
According to MAL´s press release the Empress has relocated to Ketchikan for permanent repairs
http://www.majesticamericaline.com/cms/Files/Ketchikan%205%2021%2007%20FINAL%20(2).pdf
Also check Kinyradio.com with todays Juneau news
http://www.kinyradio.com/juneaunews/latest_juneau_news.html
Carmen
22/05/2007 10:10 pm
I just read the article about the NTSB investigation into the accident, and in it an investigator comments about all the latest up-to-date navigation equipment, etc. and how one would assume that with all those gadgets, this accident could have been avoided. Yes, one might think that. This points up the reason there is no substitute for local knowledge and EXPERIENCE when it comes to navigation and operation of a large vessel. Thankfully, no one was hurt in this accident, and the laws concerning safety and lifesaving equipment go a long way in preventing tragedy when an accident does occur. Double skin hulls offer another layer safety in the event of accidents. I don't know what caused this accident, but from some things I am seeing in the press, I have to at least wonder if greater experience in these waters might not have prevented some very expensive damage to the boat, adverse publicity, loss of revenue, etc. Sometimes the "cheaper" way to go (hiring less experienced officers, etc.) is a great deal more expensive in the long run. I hope that is not the case here, but I must wonder.
24/05/2007 9:54 am
Empress drydocked in Ketchikan
Read more here
http://www.modernagent.com/Resources/Editorial.aspx?n=25756
Nice picture on the frontpage of Ketchikan Daily News (online)
http://www.ketchikandailynews.com/
Carmen
Page 2 / 2
Prev