ROCKNES

19 January 2004

Capsized

VESSEL & Interveners

Corner of Railroad &, Chicago Street, Port Area, Manila, Philipinnes

NB : Information 1 to 14 are extracted from the database EQUASIS. Information are updated at the date of the casualty.

Information from 15 to 20 were found on public websites

The bulk ship capsized in icy seas off the coast of western Norway on Monday. "Rocknes" capsized in icy seas off the coast of

western Norway on Monday. At least two seamen were killed. 18 crew members died.

 
Agrandir le plan

Date :

26 January 2004

Source :

Aftenposten (Norway)

Cargo shift made captain nervous

A German captain who was on board the doomed bulkship Rocknes for extra training grew visibly nervous after part of the ship's gravel load shifted, the vessel's pilot said Monday. The Norwegian captain in charge, however, claimed the cargo shift was normal.

The bulkship Rocknes was a fairly new ship that had never been faulted during previous inspections.

Pilot Vermund Halhjem, who was on the bridge with the two men before the ship suddenly capsized last week, said the two captains didn't agree on what effect the cargo shift might have. Both men are among the 14 still missing and presumed dead after the capsizing.

Halhjem said the two discussed the situation, and that the German captain "appeared nervous" about the vessel's stability.

"It is completely ordinary for a ship to tilt after a turn," Halhjem testified at a maritime inquiry into the accident. "What was noteworthy was that it didn't right itself properly when we set a new course."

He said the German captain thought the vessel would stabilize as soon unloading began. "I didn't really have anything to do with that, but I think I said 'yes' when he mentioned it," Halhjem said.

The bulker, which had left Eikefet the morning of January 19, later took on bunkers (fuel) at Esso Skaalevik. When the vessel came close to the refuelling site, Halhjem asked the captain to resume responsibility.

The pilot then left the vessel to buy some newspapers and reboarded at 2:30pm last Monday.

"I was standing and chatting a bit with the Norwegian captain about everyday things," Halhjem testified. "He said the German captain seemed nervous, but he didn't say why."

The pilot then asked for another break in the inquiry. Testimony on the vessel's ill-fated voyage out to sea was to continue later in the afternoon.

Complicated ownership

The bulker Rocknes, like most ships, had a complicated ownership structure. It was in the fleet of Jebsens Group of Bergen, controlled by shipowner Atle Jebsen, but Jebsens only managed the vessel.

Jebsens itself, Atle Jebsen testified earlier on Monday, had no ownership stakes in Rocknes. Rather the vessel was owned by limited partners who had wanted to register it in both Germany and Antigua.

Atle Jebsen emphasized that the vessel had been inspected several times and had all its papers in order. It was classed by Germanischer Lloyd and had never attracted criticism.

"This terrible and unexplainable accident has affected us all deeply," said Jebsen. "All the Filipino crew on board have worked for us for between 10 and 22 years, and Captain (Jan Aksel) Juvik had worked for us for 31 years." The vessel's captain is among those missing and presumed dead after the capsizing.

An unusually large number of people (30) were on board because of training and maintenance work that was to be carried out on the voyage that was supposed to end in Emden, Germany.

Date :

26 January 2004

Source :

Aftenposten (Norway)

Inquiry begins into maritime tragedy

The pilot who guided the doomed bulkship Rocknes out to sea last week testified at a maritime inquiry Monday that everything "seemed okay" with the vessel after he went on board the morning of January 19. The inquiry hopes to find out why the vessel suddenly capsized later that day, claiming 18 lives.

The doomed bulker Rocknes has been lying overturned near where it capsized a week ago.

Pilot Vermund Halhjem was the only person on the ship's bridge who survived the maritime tragedy. The vessel's captain and a German captain on board for training are among the 14 persons still missing and presumed dead.

Halhjem was the first to testify at the maritime inquiry, which attracted wide interest when it began in Bergen Monday morning. Observers started lining up an hour before it began and around 250 were on hand when it began at 10:30am.

Halhjem, age 41, said he went on board the vessel at Eikefet at 8:50am last Monday and was on the bridge five minutes later. They sailed at 9:10am.

"The first thing I asked the captain was how deep down we extended, and I believe he answered 10.4 meters," Halhjem said. "I've been on board these ships before, and know that they extend deep into the water."

He said the journey out the sound called Tjuasundet also was normal. "Everything seemed okay," he said.

Halhjem, who had piloted Rocknes once before when it sailed as Kvitnes, also had piloted its sistership Stones several times. He confirmed the vessel Rocknes was equipped with approved nautical maps, both electronic and on paper, and had a gyro, a global positioning system and all normal navigational aids.

He said he gave few orders, as both the captain and the deck officer were experienced and familiar with the area. The vessel's third mate was also among those on the bridge.

He said the vessel, loaded with gravel, tilted slightly after it made a slow swing, but the captain told him they were sailing with a divided cargo in one of the cargo holds. One of them apparently had shifted to starboard (right).

"'This isn't unusual," the captain told me, and I was more preoccupied with a vessel that was lying in front of us in a fog patch," Halhjem said. "The captain said he would shift some cargo more to port, and it would take about 20 minutes to get the ship upright."

He then asked for a break in the proceedings. Testimony was to continue in the afternoon.

The maritime inquiry, due to last at least three days, is being led by local judge Ove Kjell Hole. More than 20 people including surviving crew members, witnesses and rescue workers were expected to be called to testify.

Date :

22 January 2004

Source :

Aftenposten (Norway)

'Earthquake' measurement was "Rocknes" impact

Instruments at the Geophysical Institute at Bergen University reveal three powerful measurements in the area where the Rocknes capsized, just before the ship overturned. Experts can see no other explanation for the readings other than the ship striking bottom, newspaper Bergens Tidende reports.

"The readings are consistent with the boat scraping along the mountain edge first. Afterwards we have the first, powerful impacts," Institute professor Jens Havskov told the newspaper.

The readings at four measuring stations in the area show a minor impact followed by a larger one. Finally a powerful blow is registered, and two minutes later the first emergency messages came from the Rocknes.

Havskov said that the Institute's measurements have no other likely explanation, the only alternative being a series of powerful explosions in a 50-second time-span within a kilometer of the capsizing.

On Thursday afternoon police sergeant Harald Andersen in Laksevag confirmed that there were signs that the sea bottom had been disturbed, but hesitated to draw any conclusions.

Newspaper VG reported that maps dated before 2003 do not indicate a newly discovered shallow only nine meters deep in the narrow sound. The Rocknes extended ten meters beneath the water surface.

Twelve of the 30 men on board survived the rapid capsizing of the ship. Three were found dead, and a fourth victim was found on Thursday afternoon. The remaining 14 are still missing.

Date :

21 January 2004

Source :

Aftenposten (Norway)

Unstable "Rocknes" floats higher

Salvage teams intend to pump more in and more oil out of the capsized bulker "Rocknes" before towing the ship to dock at Hanoeytangen. In the meantime rescue workers continue to look for victims with boats and underwater cameras, while police wanted to wait before sending in divers.

The wreck of the "Rocknes" was floating higher in the water after having air pumped into its ballast tanks and was probably more stable now since its cargo room - filled with 23,000 tons of stone - is formed like an inverted pyramid.

"We have decided to continue with stabilization of the ship before beginning to tow," said information chief Ove Arvesen for the coastal administration Kystverket.

After the human tragedy of the ship's sinking, environmental concerns have arisen, with escaping oil damaging sea birds and threatening an ecological nightmare.

The seven seamen who were released from Haukeland University Hospital were being questioned by police investigators on Wednesday.

A central theory to explain the sudden and shocking capsizing of the bulker is that it struck ground and lost stability after damage to its hull.

Several of those who piloted the "Rocknes" had expressed concerns about how difficult it was to maneuver the vessel, but the ship's classification company Germanicher Lloyd insisted that the boat's construction met all rules and regulations.

The Jebsen shipyard also said that no deficiencies had ever come to light in the inspections made of the "Rocknes".

Date :

20 January 200

Source :

Aftenposten (Norway)

Bondevik promises aid after accident

Families of the 18 crew members killed or missing after their ship capsized off Bergen Monday will get assistance from the Norwegian government, Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik vowed Tuesday. A formal investigation into the cause of the accident will also be held in Norway.

 Missing or dead after bulker tragedy:

Christopher A Alday, age 30, Philippines

Arnold Bactindon, 28, Philippines

Hans Büntz, 51, Germany

Raynaldo S Calma, 57, Philippines

Marife A Cave, 30, Philippines

Aberlardo L Cortada, 46, Philippines

Pepito A Delgado, 45, Philippines

Romulus Dingcong, 40, Philippines

Israel P Gaga-Anan, 26, Philippines

Sieje C Gamez, 27, Philippines

Jerome C Guiuo, 26, Philippines

Gil E Juaton, 47, Philippines

Jan Aksel Juvik, 56, Norway

Christopher Y Marques, 26, Philippines

Carlito S Nicdao, 53, Philippines

Marlon D Reluao, 41, Philippines

Magno D Sartario Jr, 41, Philippines

Cesar S Villian Jr, 41, Philippines

"All conceivable resources will be tapped to help the families of those killed and missing after this deeply tragic accident," Bondevik told news bureau NTB.

He said that loss of human life "is the worst thing that can happen," and his thoughts go to those left behind after the bulker Rocknes suddenly capsized after leaving Bergen. Three crew members have been found dead and 15 others remain missing, including the ship's captain.

"The families are in a terrible situation and we will do what we can to help," said Bondevik, who also is an ordained pastor in the state church.

He said Norway's ministries for justice, fishing and trade will cooperate in the aftermath of the shipping accident.

Trade Minister Ansgar Gabrielsen was already in Bergen on Tuesday for meetings with the company that operated the vessel, Jebsen Management AS. Fishing Minister Svein Ludvigsen also was in Bergen to monitor pollution from the stricken vessel and its containment.

Date :

20 January 200

Source :

Aftenposten (Norway)

Survivors say doomed ship ran aground

The chairman of the Bergen shipowning firm that operates the doomed bulker Rocknes said neither he nor his colleagues can understand how it could have capsized. No cause was immediately confirmed, but survivors report the vessel hit ground before suddenly flipping over.

The bulker Rocknes was only three years old.

"It's gruesome that something like this can happen to such a modern ship," Atle Jebsen of Jebsen Management AS in Bergen told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK). He claimed the specially built vessel for the offshore industry was constructed to the highest standards.

It also was a new vessel, built in 2001 and loaded with equipment that allowed it to specialize in hauling gravel and stone used to secure undersea pipelines from oil platforms.

The vessel was loaded with stones and had just refuelled before heading from Bergen to Emden in Germany.

Neither Jebsen nor the vessel's insurer, Gard of Norway, has confirmed a cause for the accident. Several witnesses, however, said they spotted holes in the vessel's hull, leading to speculation that it ran into a rocky outcropping and took on water shortly before it capsized.

Survivors also have said the vessel hit either ground or rocks before the accident. Others have said they heard stones crashing just before the vessel flipped, suggesting its cargo shifted and left the vessel out of balance.

Both the vessel's Norwegian captain, 57-year-old Jan Aksel Juvik, and the pilot, Vermund Halhjem (41), were on the bridge when the vessel allegedly grounded, reports the online edition of newspaper Bergens Tidende. The pilot survived but the captain remains missing.

Coast guard workers were trying feverishly Tuesday to contain the oil and diesel fuel on board the vessel, in hopes of preventing a major spill.

Jebsen said 30 persons were on board including 29 crew and the pilot. Both the pilot and the captain are Norwegian, while the crew consisted of three from the Netherlands, one German and 24 Filipinos.

Date :

20 January 2004

Source :

Aftenposten (Norway)

Bulker survivors doing well, hopes dwindle more will be found

Twelve persons rescued from an overturned bulker or plucked from the icy seas around it were recovering in a Bergen hospital Tuesday. Rescue workers said there was little hope, however, that 16 crew members still missing would be found alive.

Rescue crews saved 12 persons from the capsized bulker Rocknes outside Bergen Monday evening.

The 12 survivors include three crew members from the Netherlands, eight from the Philippines and the Norwegian pilot who was on board the vessel to guide it out of Bergen.

Two other crew members were confirmed dead after the 25,000-dwt Rocknes suddenly capsized while cruising out of Bergen late Monday afternoon.

Three Filipino survivors rescued from the vessel's engine room after emergency crews cut through the vessel's hull were the most seriously injured. All suffered fractures and said they survived by finding an air pocket inside the overturned ship.

August Bakke of Haukeland Hospital's surgery unit told reporters Tuesday that all 12 survivors were doing relatively well given their ordeal. The nine plucked from the water included three Dutch and five Filipino crew members.

"They're in good shape, they're awake and oriented," Bakke said. "They suffered minor physical injuries, but are of course very much affected by what they've been through. They've also lost work colleagues."

He said most could be released from the hospital, but it was unclear when. 

"They can decide themselves," said Bakke. "The most important thing for them is to stay together. Some have understandably expressed a desire to go home to their families."

No further signs of life

Rescuers said Tuesday morning that hopes of finding more survivors were fading. They reported no more signs of life in or around the vessel

It also was doubtful any crew members thrown into the sea and not yet found would have survived the night in the icy waters.

Among the missing is the Norwegian captain of the specially built bulk carrier.

Five Dutch engineers were flown to the site of the capsized vessel early Tuesday, to advise rescue crews where they could try to make more cuts in the hull, in the hopes of finding more crew members.

They would also advise how to best keep the vessel floating. It was unclear how much water had flowed into the doomed vessel.

Date :

Aftenposten (Norway)

Three dead, 15 missing in ship disaster

 A bulk ship capsized in icy seas off the coast of western Norway on Monday. Three crew members have been found dead and 15 were still missing by midday Tuesday.

"Rocknes" capsized in icy seas off the coast of western Norway on Monday. At least two seamen were killed.

Rescue workers found a third body in the sea Tuesday and brought the dead crewman to land.

Three crew members on board the bulker Rocknes were rescued during the night from inside the vessel after being trapped for around seven hours. Rescuers managed to cut through the hull to reach them.

Boats and helicopters earlier picked up nine survivors from the frigid water after scouring the sea around the vessel near the western port of Bergen, a spokeswoman for the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre for southern Norway said.

The survivors - three Dutchmen, five Filipinos and a Norwegian - were being cared for at Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen. One of the nine was put in intensive care, while another was taken into X-ray. The remaining six suffered only minor injuries.

The Norwegian ship's pilot was among the survivors, according to information leader Trygve Hillestad of Hordaland police.

Rescue workers late Monday evening managed to cut a hole in the hull of the Rocknes and make contact with those trapped inside the vessel, communicating with written notes.

Working conditions for the rescue team were very difficult. Climbers from the Fana Red Cross tried to secure the hull to allow rescuers safe access.

Some doubts remained Monday night about the number of crew members on board when the Rocknes' load of gravel apparently shifted, causing the vessel to flip onto its side.

Rescue action spokeswoman Cecilie Watne later said the crew comprised 23 seamen from the Philippines, three from the Netherlands, two from Norway and one from Germany.

Atle Jebsen, board chairman of shipowners Jebsens Group of Bergen, told TV2 that there were 30 on board when the accident occurred.

Coast guard and other vessels in the area took part in the dramatic rescue operation.

Watne said that about 15 ships were in the area assisting the rescue mission which included four helicopters. The ship capsized only a few hundred metres from shore.

TBA

Hull :

EUR 32 000 000 + 15 000 000 for modified superstuctures

Sources :

©Aftenposten

©Scanpix