[i74js]

Listing as a phenomenon is always considered in large cargo movers, this is a clear case of negligence and though the consignment is insured for transit, insurance company will not budge easily for release of settlement amount.

The negligence will be attributed to the marine / ship liner and part payments will be made

The Captain is certainly in trouble here, however smart he may be in predicting this trouble.

Cheers

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

The loss of the naval architect from the salvage team was really depressing. And Mazda scrapping all the 4000 odd cars onboard!

The cars may have been insured but all the efforts and time spent into building each one of them and rolling them off the assembly line just went in vain. I am wondering what happens to the Wraith onboard. Rolls Royce may not simply write off a handcrafted luxury car just like that!

I don't really understand the need to scrap everything. Can they use these as donor cars for parts at least? Things like door panels and lights can easily be salvaged right?

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by Jaguar

Can they use these as donor cars for parts at least? Things like door panels and lights can easily be salvaged right?

Ideally they can be but I guess Mazda (or lets say the manufacturer) did not want to go through all the hassles so decided to scrap everything. In Cougar Ace's case, Mazda donated some of the transmission parts to a school for training purposes (from that article) but that's pretty much it. Look at the snaps, some areas remain untouched!

For all we know, some cars barely may have had some scratches or dents and zero damage to the performance parts but if that car developed issues later on, the owner would be prejudiced that he was sold a car that was a part of this wreck and thus, the issues came up.

[jaaz]

One News Channel has estimated the Value of the Cars to be around Rs. 355 Crores.

The Diagnostics of the Damage to the Cargo, sometimes costs more. So, scrapping is beneficial to the Vehicle manufacturer - subject to Insurance Companies approval. But Insurance Companies will fight tooth & nail for the Salvage.

[madbullram]

The cougar ace episode is being made into a movie by Dreamworks

[prashanthyr]

The ship re-floated itself during high tide today and has been towed to a deeper location in the Southampton area. Hopefully this will mean that the ship will remain afloat at the same angle and can be righted and brought back to port.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-30723855

[nijelj]

They could take these cars and use it for car chase movies with expensive looking exotics tail gating the hell out of each other.

[PGNarain]

Originally Posted by Gansan

Will there not be ballast tanks to compensate for this? As there are in tankers and bulk carriers?

Originally Posted by Mr.Boss

Remember seeing some tank arrangements in ships compensating the weight loss by filling those tanks with water (couldn't recall the actual name) Is that nor available in case of car carriers?

Ballast Tanks are available on Car Carriers as well and for that matter on all manner of cargo / passenger vessels. I am pretty sure the Captain+crew would have tried to correct the list using ballast or in the least, at least attempted it.
However, once a ship has started to list and is already having a negative GM (unsuitability has already set in) it is very difficult (almost impossible) to correct it using ballast and may even exaggerate the situation if not done properly. In any case ballast tanks can only do so much!!

Loading of cargo and simultaneous ballasting / de-ballasting is a carefully pre-planned operation.

[ariesonu]

IMO this incident may not be about be negative GM but about crew fatigue and am sure later reports will mention this. Let me give you an example:
CAR CARRIERS (RO-RO) have very fast turnaround time, say about 3-8 hours in single port. Yes you heard me right CAR CARRIERS (RO-RO) ships can do 2 to 3 ports in a single day (read 24 hours).
When ships are doing Europe run, the ports and countries are very close to each other and that can increase crew & officer's working hours to point of breakdown. Add to that the extreme weather conditions, traffic infested channel transits(this case), foggy visibility conditions and different nationalities working together.
It is now reported that MV RENA that ran aground near New Zealand in October 2011 was nothing but human error. It is reported that the Master & duty officer made small fatal corrections to otherwise safe passage planning in their attempt to reach the pilot boarding grounds and rode right over ASTROLABE REEF and capsized.
The Interim Report released by a New Zealand commision has crucified the Filipino Master for same. I wonder what they would have done if the captain was Australian, NZ or British national.
Regards,
Sonu

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by Mr.Boss

Remember seeing some tank arrangements in ships compensating the weight loss by filling those tanks with water (couldn't recall the actual name) Is that nor available in case of car carriers?

Edit: Just noticed Gansan's post on the similar query.

The tanks that you refer to are called Ballast tanks. I am sure they must be available for car carriers as well.

[rattanw]

This might be a moot point, hence a stupid question. In cases like this, isn't it possible (or sensible) for the car manufacturer / insurance company to sell the damaged cargo, in this case high value automobiles to buyers who are willing to take chances at a fraction of the original cost. I mean it is definitely better than scrapping the vehicles like Mazda did.

[luvtandon]

Originally Posted by rattanw

This might be a moot point, hence a stupid question. In cases like this, isn't it possible (or sensible) for the car manufacturer / insurance company to sell the damaged cargo, in this case high value automobiles to buyers who are willing to take chances at a fraction of the original cost. I mean it is definitely better than scrapping the vehicles like Mazda did.

It may be a win-win situation for the Insurance Company if what you are saying can be replicated as it will be able to cover a sizeable amount of its loss but will lead to enormous loss to the goodwill/reputation of the Car Manufacturer if any of the vehicle suffers any fault in either long or short run and it is publicized.

Therefore the manufacturer is left with no other feasible option other than to scrap the vehicles very well knowing the underlying value of the assets.

[nitrous]

Originally Posted by rattanw

This might be a moot point, hence a stupid question. In cases like this, isn't it possible (or sensible) for the car manufacturer / insurance company to sell the damaged cargo, in this case high value automobiles to buyers who are willing to take chances at a fraction of the original cost. I mean it is definitely better than scrapping the vehicles like Mazda did.

In western countries with very strong consumer laws, if there is a freak crash, the car driver's lawyers (mostly "no win no fee" type) would make sure it bites the manufacturer's backsides for millions. Major loss to brand equity as well. People around the world would get an aversion to the brand.

[Motard_Blr]

On a related note, here's an article on shipping accidents that I came across:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...ver-hear-about

Because of under-regulation and supervision, there are some very serious safety issues in the industry. Sadly none of the issues are ever discussed even though with the boom in world trade, shipping has also boomed.

[prashanthyr]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-31002897

Finally, the cars are being offloaded from the ship. Pictures show some damage to the cars, nothing major though.