Post your Freighter or big boat thread

WestCoastCannuck wrote in post #18826052
Was birding with my 300/2.8 and 1.4X (unsuccessfully) and thought this scene was nice. Only trouble was I could not fit the ship in the frame - I could have just taken off the teleconverter but was lazy and stitched 4 horizontal frames instead.

Please click on link for a nice large view showing some pretty good details on the freighter - and a pretty cool mirage effect on the more distant ship.

Best regards

Mike

IMAGE LINK: https://photos.smugmug​.com …/77750596/O/i-tjgmnCq.jpg

Hi Mike, I often stitch my shipping shots when I can’t be bothered to change the lens or remove the telecoverter. However, if successful it does result in a higher definition image, trouble is it has to have it’s pixels squeezed for the forum. But they still seem surprisingly good.
Another problem I have found is that if you don’t keep an eye on the automatic stitching you can get an extra section of the ship stitched in or left out.
Also, I could get many shots using the 24-105 but I prefer to stitch two or three shots using a higher quality lens - 70-200L II or 100-400L II. But a complex background can be a problem when the ship is moving against it.

Regards

Sunrise Ace Tilbury Dock. River Thames UK - Yesterday 11th May 2019

This is a three shot pano stitched in PS CS6. I used the 24-105 MkII.

I didn't have time to get to Ford Island and the Missouri when I was in Honolulu, but I did get to the Arizona. Toured the Mo in Bremerton as a kid and in Astoria when it was being transferred to Pearl (above decks tour only - everything was welded shut for the tow). Gonna get back someday and see what they've done with her.

shocolite wrote in post #18825147
Personally I think container ships have gone too big. Understandably economy of scale rules in favour of the owners and shippers using such large vessels but as has been witnessed in the past 2 or 3 months there has been several incidents of containers being lost overboard.

One major problem is that the shippers of each container often overload them and then deliberately under-declare the weight. On a large containers ship this can mean a difference of thousands of tonnes. And putting heaving containers up top increases the stresses of the containers below and also of the lashing gear securing them.

Believe it or not, many ports still do not weight the containers as they are being loaded onto the ships.

I was on one container ship were we had about 30 containers collapse due to an old printing press (weighing about 25 tonnes) started moving inside the container causing sidewall damage and eventually crashing through into adjacent containers. Upon investigation it transpired the printing press had not been secured or lashed down in the container and when the vessel encountered heavy seas the damage was done. Many people underestimate how much cargo ships roll and don't realise that despite their size, Mother Nature always has the upper hand.

It is not the responsibility of this occurring that is of primary concern to those onboard the vessel but that your lives are put at risk by such incidents. And regrettably this is true of many other areas of industry.

Hi Shocolite. We frequently hear about large containers being washed up or floating around the oceans - but have you - or anyone else - any experience of a cargo ship hitting one and the damage caused? Would you try to recover them or just leave them?

Regards.

Ray.Petri wrote in post #18828519
Hi Shocolite. We frequently hear about large containers being washed up or floating around the oceans - but have you - or anyone else - any experience of a cargo ship hitting one and the damage caused? Would you try to recover them or just leave them?

Regards.

When containers do fall off they either sink or they float similar to an iceberg, most of their mass below the surface, these are the dangerous ones. Many ocean going yachts have hit these and either have sunk or been badly damaged. During my many years working at sea I've seen an awful lot of these metal 'icebergs'. Trying to recover a lost container is almost impossible due to the fact many container ships do not have the cranes and 'if' they did have cranes the risk of getting damaged is far too much.

chadmcm wrote in post #18827610
I didn't have time to get to Ford Island and the Missouri when I was in Honolulu, but I did get to the Arizona. Toured the Mo in Bremerton as a kid and in Astoria when it was being transferred to Pearl (above decks tour only - everything was welded shut for the tow). Gonna get back someday and see what they've done with her.

is access to the Missouri only via Ford Island? Im no longer active duty and didnt retire so I wouldnt be allowed to go to Ford (i dont THINK). used to be only active duty, dependent and retired could board the ferry to Ford Island, but this was way before the Missouri was transferred there...

id love to take my wife to Hawaii. I used to stay at Bellows Field AFS in the cabins when i caught hops, nearly 30-35 years ago...

Red Dexs wrote in post #18828536
When containers do fall off they either sink or they float similar to an iceberg, most of their mass below the surface, these are the dangerous ones. Many ocean going yachts have hit these and either have sunk or been badly damaged. During my many years working at sea I've seen an awful lot of these metal 'icebergs'. Trying to recover a lost container is almost impossible due to the fact many container ships do not have the cranes and 'if' they did have cranes the risk of getting damaged is far too much.

Thanks for your comment Red, I was thinking that would be the case. But could it ‘hole’ a container ship and cause it to sink?
What about a tanker, or small warship?

Straight of Messina, double-ended ferry

It was several years ago, but as I recall you had to access through the base there - a bus ride and formal tour that I just didn't have time for that trip. I could be wrong, though.

Ray.Petri wrote in post #18828519
Hi Shocolite. We frequently hear about large containers being washed up or floating around the oceans - but have you - or anyone else - any experience of a cargo ship hitting one and the damage caused? Would you try to recover them or just leave them?

Regards.

Hi Ray, no any vessel I have been on has not hit a container (that we were aware of). But a colleague of mine hit a container whilst sailing across from Britain to a European port - he ended up having to radio for assistance as the sailboat was taking on to much water. Both he and the boat did make it to port but a lot of damage was caused to his boat.

We'd never try to recover them but would send a message to relevant authorities about any containers sighted at sea.

Ray.Petri wrote in post #18828607
Thanks for your comment Red, I was thinking that would be the case. But could it ‘hole’ a container ship and cause it to sink?
What about a tanker, or small warship?

Hi Ray, overall I don't think (and am not aware of) containers causing such damage to larger ships. Been a long time since I was on container vessels but the steel on containers is only 3mm thick (if I remember rightly. Only the 4 corner posts are structural/load bearing and of heavier gauge. An empty container is only about 3t weight.

So most larger ships would probably suffer paint scuffing at worst - the hull plating of the ships I was on was about 10mm thick, coupled with the structural framing so fairly strong. But smaller warships (such as those involved with mine clearance) can be of glass fibre construction and I would strongly suspect that a container could likely cause serious damage to such vessels.

The biggest risk is to sailing/power recreational vessels. Whilst never proved to be the cause, a partially submerged container was believed to be the cause of the flooding and sinking of the Irish tall ship sail training vessel "Asgard II" about 10 years ago in the Bay of Biscay, thankfully with no loss of life. Asgard II was a timber hulled vessel.

shocolite wrote in post #18828999
Hi Ray, overall I don't think (and am not aware of) containers causing such damage to larger ships. Been a long time since I was on container vessels but the steel on containers is only 3mm thick (if I remember rightly. Only the 4 corner posts are structural/load bearing and of heavier gauge. An empty container is only about 3t weight.

So most larger ships would probably suffer paint scuffing at worst - the hull plating of the ships I was on was about 10mm thick, coupled with the structural framing so fairly strong. But smaller warships (such as those involved with mine clearance) can be of glass fibre construction and I would strongly suspect that a container could likely cause serious damage to such vessels.

The biggest risk is to sailing/power recreational vessels. Whilst never proved to be the cause, a partially submerged container was believed to be the cause of the flooding and sinking of the Irish tall ship sail training vessel "Asgard II" about 10 years ago in the Bay of Biscay, thankfully with no loss of life. Asgard II was a timber hulled vessel.

Thanks for your detailed replies and the interesting information.
But a 3 ton container, colliding with a 10mm thick hull at 30 knots would have worried me a bit!

Ray.Petri wrote in post #18828607
Thanks for your comment Red, I was thinking that would be the case. But could it ‘hole’ a container ship and cause it to sink?
What about a tanker, or small warship?

They are lethal to a small vessel Ray, they could though 'potentially' punch a hole in any ship, especially if its old and the plates are thin. Ships are made of many separate compartments and with a competent crew can be sealed off with no danger to the ship. Tankers of certain capacities by law have to be doubled skinned to prevent incidents like this, also grounding etc.

Red Dexs wrote in post #18829016
They are lethal to a small vessel Ray, they could though 'potentially' punch a hole in any ship, especially if its old and the plates are thin. Ships are made of many separate compartments and with a competent crew can be sealed off with no danger to the ship. Tankers of certain capacities by law have to be doubled skinned to prevent incidents like this, also grounding etc.

Thanks for your reply, Red.

A two-fer here, Straight of Messina