Sailing cargo ship sinks

[Kettlewell]

A sailboat hauling cargo from Colombia destined for Europe sank in heavy weather off the Bahamas this week, and the Coast Guard said Thursday that it has ended its search for two missing crew members.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/coast-gua...l?guccounter=1

[CaptTom]

That's sad. I didn't even know anyone was trying to run sailing cargo ships. From their web site:

As pioneers in shipping by sail, we offer a low-carbon solution for any producer or shipper concerned about its environmental footprint.

Interesting market niche. It would have been nice to see if it succeeded commercially. Thoughts and prayers with the lost crew and their families.

[Bowdrie]

I'm not so sure that vessel was a wise choice for what they used it for.
A 90' schooner with only ~8>9' draft built in 1916, might that not raise some eyebrows?
They pics I've seen seem to indicate that loaded up with 35 tons she had very low freeboard for its size.
Built in the Netherlands I would imagine the draft was kept on the shallow side for use in those waters?
With a storm or seaway running it's easy to imagine a foot of water sluicing back-and-forth over the deck with every roll.
Shallow hull with shifting cargo?
Hopefully we'll learn some more particulars about the water ingress.
A tragedy that two were lost.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

That's sad. I didn't even know anyone was trying to run sailing cargo ships. From their web site:



Interesting market niche. It would have been nice to see if it succeeded commercially. Thoughts and prayers with the lost crew and their families.

There's a ship called Tres Hombres that's been running goods from the Caribe to Europe for a few years now, have run into them several times in Horta over the years.. she has no engine and uses her rib to push her in and out of port.
Sad news about the two ladies lost.. Commiserations to all concerned..

[grantmc]

This is very sad news. I guess the positive is that 6 of the 8 crew were found and saved.

It is disingenuous to throw stones. The vessel had been making trans Atlantic trips for 7 years, clocking up over 100,000 miles under the Vanuatu flag. She was rated to carry up to 35 tons. Here's a link to the companies web site.

There are a number of freight companies all over the world trying to eek out a living under sail. Some are using high tech modern designs of ship and sail, others traditional sailing vessels.

In the Pacific there is a company using traditional Drua vessels (double hulled canoes carrying a single large sail). These are large vessels able to carry tens of tons under sail with a small auxiliary engine. There are a number sailing cargo and people between Pacific Island nation states.

Contumacious certainly but these are usually motivated people looking to bring the green to the blue.

[GordMay]

Unfortunately, ship sinkings are not very rare.

FWIW:
According to ‘Statistica’ [1]: “Between 2013 and 2022, some 807 vessels were lost at sea [an average of about 90 per year]. The majority of ships lost during this period [around 311] were cargo ships. In 2022, the most perilous regions included the waters off the Southeast Asian coast, as well as the Baltic Sea.”

There were 38 large ships totally lost in 2022, a decline from 59 in 2021, according to latest data from Allianz. 'Safety & Shipping Review 2023' [2] reports improvements in maritime safety have been significant over the past 10 years.

The region encompassing South China, Indochina, Indonesia and the Philippines had the largest number of shipping losses in 2022 with a total of 10. The region has ranked first in shipping losses over the past decade.

[1] Worldwide ship losses by vessel type 2013-2022 ➥ https://www.statista.com/statistics/...ips-worldwide/

[2] Allianz Safety & Shipping Review 2023
About [Press Release] ➥ https://commercial.allianz.com/news-...view-2023.html
Report ➥ https://commercial.allianz.com/news-...ng-safety.html

[Benz]

Without getting on a soapbox, I'd like to say that sail-cargo is a splendid thing, and I believe there's a space for new cargo schooners and ships to be built that would be relatively safer than the fleet of re-purposed/re-furbished/up-cycled ships that's aging out.
Perhaps there's a topic for another thread....for now, condolences to those who suffered loss.

[GordMay]

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Ultra low carbon and zero-emissions energy sources for container ships, bulkers, tankers, cruise ships, ferries and more. If you are interested in how rotor sails work, what are the latest developments in wing sail technology, finding out more about suction wings, how are kites being used, can a wind turbine help propel a ship, and how is the revival in traditional sail progressing, then you are in the right place. Direct wind energy is being used to power ships around the world today and the future looks bright for these technologies.

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Future-proofed traditional sailing cargo ships, working with the free fuel, provided by wind and sun.
Video ➥ https://youtu.be/-uU6Qncod_E
Go Sail Cargo Ships ➥ https://www.gosailcargo.com/

“Sailing Cargo Ships are Making a Genuine Comeback“
➥ https://maritime-executive.com/edito...nuine-comeback

[CaptTom]

The holy grail would be to get to the point that wind- and solar-powered shipping was more economical than burning fossil fuels. It seems achievable. I hope we get there.

There are, of course, non-fossil fuels which can run internal combustion engines, so that might be the biggest competition.

Either way, it's good that there are people today willing to pay more for products shipped this way. Someone has to get the market going.

[senormechanico]

The title was missing an apostrophe. It should have read,



"Sailing Cargo Ship, Sinks"


At first, I thought their cargo was actual sinks.

[Tillikum]

The cargo sailboat carrying eight crewmembers sank in the South of the Bahamas after encountering unexpected sudden and violent weather while sailing in a smooth condition.

Some reports say she capsized which would tend to suggest a knock-down at least and if the cargo was inadequately secured and shifted she'd be a goner.

An iron or steel hull and reportedly fully restored in Holland in 1987 so structural failure seems unlikely.

Six French male(?)crew were rescued from life rafts and were all wearing survival suits? I assume they were all male since their gender was not reported whereas that of the women was.

Hard to see a scenario in which everyone else makes it into the suits and life rafts and the two women do not.

If they had made it into survival suits, then considering the reportedly warm waters in the area it would seem premature to call off the search after 44 hours.

And if they didn't make it into survival suits, was their cabin door blocked by shifting cargo?