The Day We Saved Emma Maersk
Originally published on Facebook Notes, February 2013. Archived here for posterity.
Port Said North Anchorage — February 1st, 2013
It was a normal Friday evening as I came up on watch. The Master was on the Bridge and the Chief Officer was forward and had just brought up the anchor. We were third in the convoy, and were to follow another big container vessel. However we had to wait for the vessel ahead to pick up her anchor. Slowly she heaved up her anchor and proceeded to the canal. We made a starboard turn and proceeded behind her.
As we entered the buoyed channel from the north anchorage we could immediately see the vessel was drifting to port. To keep within the centre of the channel the master ordered a more starboard heading. We were very closely monitoring our track, helm orders were given to keep us right in the centre of the channel in spite of the strong drift. To a layman it would seem we were heading right for the buoy and somehow managing to miss it every time. However the vessel ahead of us seemed to have problems staying within the channel and she kept drifting more and more to the port of the channel. The VTS made repeated calls asking them to head more starboard, but all in vain. The Master decided that we keep a good distance from her.
The VTS called up the vessel ahead again, this time asking if she had hit the port buoy, which the vessel denied instantly. As we passed through, the VTS called us to ask us if we could locate the very same buoy, to which we replied saying we could not see any. It seemed to us as though she had taken out the buoy.
The Alarms
It was time to pick up the pilot and the Fourth Officer was sent down to pick him. What followed was something unexpected. The manual fire alarm was triggered in the shaft tunnel. I immediately acknowledged the alarm. At first my thoughts were that it was just one of those false alarms and somebody had mistakenly cracked the glass. But soon bilge alarms in the shaft tunnel went off and we received a call from the engine room informing us that water was filling up the shaft tunnel. In a couple of minutes the water tight door from the shaft tunnel had to be sealed and I thought we had the problem under control. However it was not to be, even though the water tight door was sealed and holding, the water soon made its way to the engine room. The engine room was filling up with water very quickly.
On the Bridge, we had alarms going off every couple of seconds. The Master instructed me to take care of the alarms and he would take care of navigation. Once the pilot came up on the bridge, he immediately instructed a new helm order. Clearly he was unaware of the strong drift. The Master quickly appraised him about the drift and the vessel's condition. He further instructed the pilot to stop the convoy. The Pilot informed the port control. We had a very large LNG carrier following us and we were going to lose the Main Engine very soon. The Master instinctively increased the speed.
Racing Against Time
The Chief Officer, who had been woken up and sent to investigate, reported water was rapidly filling up the engine room. The engineers had very swiftly started the bilge and ballast pumps to get the water out, but the pumps could not keep up and the water rushed in to fill up engine room.
The Second Officer was called to assist on the bridge. Once he was up on the bridge he was given a quick status report and Master instructed him to call the company and inform them of the situation. As the company was being informed the pilot informed us about a Chief Pilot who was to board our vessel.
I was sent to pick him up. The fourth officer along with an AB was sent to prepare the anchors and lines forward. The Chief Officer was back up on the bridge and he took over from the second officer. The second officer then was sent aft to prepare the lines for the tug. Once I had brought the Chief Pilot up to bridge I was instructed to proceed forward.
At the forward station the fourth officer and AB had prepared the anchors for let go and lines for the tug boat. We were going to turn into the Suez Canal Container Terminal from the North. We were to lose power very soon, so the Master instructed me to prepare for emergency brake release of the anchor windlass.
Meanwhile the Chief Officer had been instructed to prepare the lifeboat for launching. In no time we were ready to launch the lifeboat. We were ready to abandon ship if it came to that. Thankfully it did not.
Getting Her Alongside
Soon the tug boats arrived and we had to make them fast. However the lines had been prepared for the port roller lead and we now needed them on the centre lead. We had to shift the line. Additionally the Master wanted two lines from the centre lead so we had to get another line ready as well. We worked as quickly as we could to transfer the line and get another line out of the forecastle deck store. The lines were lowered to the water and the tugs started pulling even before we had made the lines fast on the bits. I informed the Master who made sure the tug stopped. We made the lines fast on the bits ensuring both lines were of the same length. Once fast the tug started pulling. We made our way into the turning basin of the Suez Canal Container Terminal.
The next problem was to stop the vessel. We were heading for land and the tug boats were unable to stop us. The Master ordered to let go the port anchor first — 2.5 shackles in the water. As soon as this was done he ordered to let go the starboard anchor as well, 2.5 shackles in the water. Finally we had managed to stop her.
Just when I thought I had enough action for one night, the stern started swinging in towards the pier. The wind had changed direction from northwest to southwest. The tug aft tried to stop our stern but the line parted. The second officer sent out the line again and it parted again. The stern went over the pier and then back. We soon found ourselves nearly alongside however the bow was still outside the pier's limit and we had to move aft if we had to be within the reach of the gantry cranes.
The Long Haul
The Master then instructed the second officer to prepare two stern lines and I was instructed to let go the anchors one by one until they were slack. This would normally have meant just pushing a button, but we had lost power on all our winches. So now the task was to manually open the hydraulic brake. We took turns in pumping and got the brakes open. Then we had to do the same with the other anchor as well. The Master instructed me to keep both the chains slack.
At the forward station we were constantly pumping and switching back and forth between the anchors. I could see everybody's energy draining out. The pumping was getting slower and slower. Then the engineers, repairmen and painters came forward to assist us and we continued pumping to keep both the chains slack all the time. We were slowly moving aft and slowly within the reach of the gantry cranes. We had kept pumping and pumping and soon we reached the full length of the chain. Everybody was dead tired now. All the pumping had drained us all.
At the aft station the Second Officer had managed to get two stern lines on. He along with a few ABs, OS, Chief Steward, cadets and engineers had managed to pull up the lines by hand and make it as tight as possible. The Master instructed us to prepare two spring lines forward. Though everybody was tired, nobody was taking a break. All hands were helping in moving the lines. Soon we had the lines on the bollard. It was time to pull up the line again and make it as tight as possible. We all worked as a team pulling up the line in tandem and made it as tight as we could. She was fast on two stern lines and two springs forward.
Aftermath
It was close to five in the morning when we were finished and we found ourselves sitting in the deck office, drinking soft drinks and talking about what had just happened. We were all yet to digest what had just happened and we did not know what next. We were all very tired. Only a few lights were burning and there was no running water. However the most important thing remained that we were all still safe onboard and unhurt.
A couple of things about the incident still amaze me. Firstly the wind — it was the primary reason we could get alongside. I find it hard to dismiss it as a mere coincidence. It is possible that the wind changes direction every year on the very same day and at that particular time, but for us to be in the basin at that exact moment is more than just a coincidence.
Secondly the Master's instinctive reaction to increase speed when he knew we would lose the Main Engine. We would not have made it to the terminal otherwise. I guess that is what you call experience.
Thirdly the way the Master and Chief Engineer handled the whole situation. Even under normal conditions entering the canal is quite stressful — you are maintaining watch on at least two different VHF channels and there are a lot of ships calling the port control and so it is very noisy and to top that there could be strong winds and current causing real concerns. The Master had remained calm throughout, never raised his voice or changed his tone. He seemed relaxed and in control. The Chief Engineer closed the water tight door at the right moment and had kept the bridge well informed at every step of the way.
Finally the crew — at no point was there any real panic among the crew. The whole crew was up lending a hand wherever needed. Everybody did exactly what was asked of them. As the Master later remarked: "We did exactly what was supposed to be done and we couldn't have done it any differently."
Emma Maersk moored safely at the Suez Canal Container Terminal and all containers were discharged.
Note: My memory is a funny thing. This is how I remember it. I have probably missed a few details and it is not exactly in sequence. The views expressed are solely mine and it is by no means an official account. Only a thorough investigation will reveal what caused the incident.
— T. Ayinesh Kumar, Third Officer, Emma Maersk
This post was originally written on Facebook Notes in February 2013 and has been archived here. Facebook discontinued the Notes feature in 2020.