1988: Crew Safe in 'Pod' as Oil Rig Capsizes

[think]

As I thought of the missing crew of the Cargo ship El Faro I wondered if there was some kind of rescue pod that could have been deployed to give the crew a higher chance of survival. It appears such devices aren't new and have had success in the past.

I don't know much about the shipping industry nor the cost of these pods but it certainly seems worth considering.

This is a very brief article posted in full:

Crew Safe in 'Pod' as Oil Rig Capsizes

December 16, 1988|Associated Press

NEW YORK — An offshore oil rig being towed across the Atlantic Ocean capsized in high winds Thursday but all 26 crew members were safe inside an enclosed boat called a "survival pod," the Coast Guard reported.

The rig, Rowan Gorilla I, capsized about 1,200 miles east of New York City in gale-force winds and 40-foot seas, Coast Guard officials said.

The tugboat Smit London, which had been towing the rig from Nova Scotia to Yarmouth, England, remained with the pod, said Lt. Cmdr. Paul Milligan, a Coast Guard spokesman in New York.

Two commercial vessels were heading toward the tug and pod, but because of weather conditions officials said it would take two days to get the crew out.

Source:
http://articles.latimes.com/1988-12-16/news/mn-171_1_oil-rig

[HooptieWagon]

1. IDK if ship had a pod, which is only an enclosed lifeboat.

And it's one thing to abandon a ship in a Gale (40 knot winds) and quite another to attempt to abandon ship in a Cat 4 hurricane (150 knot winds). Without power, the ship was probably lying beam to the wind and seas, and most likely capsized rather suddenly. Low probability of survivors.

[cwydro]

2. I watched the CG new conference a short time ago.

They said they had recovered one survival suit with "human remains" in it, but that the body was unidentifiable.

I thought survival suits covered one head to toe, so it leaves me wondering why the body could not be identified. Maybe I'm wrong about the suits.

I'd like to know more.

[HooptieWagon]

6. I didn't see that.

It's possible the person was battered against floating debris from ship. It's rare that anything or anybody can survive a storm of that strength. Especially a cargo ship, where the cargo can break loose and shift, causing the ship to capsize. I'm pretty sure that's what happened. It's doubtful a lifeboat or raft can hold together, they'd be tumbled underwater in breaking waves more often than atop.

[cwydro]

7. This is interesting if you want to check it out.

A woman crewmember:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/10/05/daughters-last-message-from-el-faro-there-is-a-hurricane-out-here-and-we-are-heading-straight-into-it/

[think]

4. Thank you for your thoughts. Still it just seems in this day and age we could do better.

Maybe nothing could be done but with all the breakthroughs in science & technology it just bothers me we don't have better systems in place.

[HooptieWagon]

8. Imagine being inside a barrel going over Niagra Falls...

...repeatedly for 2 or 3 days. It's almost unsurvivable with any technology. You can barely manage to abandon ship and survive in a gale or minimal hurricane. Surviving at sea in a Cat 4 is a miracle.
Google up Typhoon Cobra. Admiral Halsey steered a US Navy Task Force directly into the path of a typhoon in the South Pacific during WW2. Several navy warships capsized and sunk, almost all suffered extreme damage. In one case, sailors aboard a listing destroyer went on deck with acetylene torches to cut away the communications masts and funnel to reduce windage so the ship would right itself. Future POTUS Gerald Ford led a damage control crew aboard an Escort Carrier that had a raging inferno on the hanger deck from aircraft and bombs that had come loose. They manged to throw aircraft and equipment overboard despite the ship's rolling in the waves.

[liberal N proud]

3. This would be their only hope

If they could have gotten to it and deployed from the ship.

[think]

5. Lot's of ifs to consider in a cat 4 but it would be nice to have the option.

Thank you for the pic. Would be interesting to know more about the vehicle's cost, features & viability in extreme hurricanes.