The Singapore-flagged cargo vessel Cougar Ace has tipped over off the coast of Alaska. All 23 crewmembers have been rescued. The same cannot be said, however, for the 4,700 Mazdas aboard the ill-fated 654-foot ship.
According to Mazda, 60% of the cars aboard are Mazda3s, and 30% are CX-7 SUVs. The Associated Press reports that the Cougar Ace tipped after her ballast was adjusted in the open sea. The resulting imbalance sent her over into the 60-degree list she is currently experiencing. As seen in the US Coast Guard photo above, her keel, rudder, and propeller are all out of the water.The Coast Guard reports that aside from the list, the ship is stable and not sinking. Mitsui O.S.K., the Cougar Ace's owners, has initiated a salvage operation and the company they're working with is expected onsite in approximately one week.
Mazda does not know the extent of the damage to its vehicles and will refrain from further comment until it has more solid information, but based on photos of the ship, it looks like it's safe to assume that the conditions in the hold are, at best, a gigantic mess.
(Mazda press release after the jump)
[Sources: Mazda, AP via CTV, Alaska Report)
PRESS RELEASE:
Mazda Vehicles Aboard
Stricken Car-Carrying Vessel, Cougar Ace
On July 24, 2006, Mazda was advised that the Mitsui OSK Lines' Cougar Ace had run into trouble off the Alaskan coast. Although it is reportedly still afloat, the vessel is on its side,
What caused this incident or the extent of the damage to the vehicles is currently unknown. Just over 4,700 Canadian- and U.S-bound Mazdas were on board. Approximately 60 percent of the cars are MAZDA3s and close to 30 percent are Mazda CX-7s. The vehicles were headed to the ports of Vancouver (Canada), Tacoma and Hueneme in the USA.
A plan for salvaging the vessel is being developed and will be executed by Mitsui OSK Lines as soon as possible.
Mazda will wait until the situation has been fully evaluated and understood, before disclosing further information.
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Reader Comments (Page 4 of 5)
Speed42 @ Jul 28th 2006 1:41AM
#52, we're also car shopping (http://tinyurl.com/ja4ko) and wish there were more choices in the small wagon/hatch category. Looks like we're leaning toward either a Volvo XC70, Audi A3, VW Passat Wagon, one of myriad Subarus or, on the other end of the spectrum, the Honda Fit.
You should check out the Fit. Not bad for the class. Not bad at all for the price and fuel econ.
Forget Matrix and Focus. Both small and out of date. The Caliber has potential, but will need a real interior first. The Mazda6 wagon is nice, too. Then there's the Civic Si, of course.
Galley @ Jul 28th 2006 9:37AM
4700 sounds like an awful lot of cars on one ship. I was thinking more like 470. Just how big is that sucker?
lavardera @ Jul 28th 2006 11:26AM
Car shopping:
Yes, the Subarus are good, but they seem to cost so much more for a given size - of course you get AWD for that, but its just not apples to apples. Volvo, Audi, etc are out of my price range. BMW and Merc don't bring their small hatches here. Cooper is great, but a premium for such a small hatch, two doors only too.
I did look at the fit and liked it a lot although is really is a class smaller, I was really looking for something the size of an imaginary Civic Hatch -but anyway I think there is almost as much room in the fit as the Mazda3 due to the great rear seats. But the dealer won't budge of mrsp - for 800 more I can get the base Mazda3 hatch. At least more bling for the buck.
boss @ Jul 29th 2006 4:48PM
What ships captain would SHIFT the BALLAST once out at sea. THINK HE SHOULD GO BACK TO CLASS TO GET SKIPPERS CERTIFICATE.
bill stephens @ Jul 29th 2006 5:53PM
ive been onboard this ship a number of times coming in and out of the harbor and seen the lashings used for the cars. i agree that this may have started out as a ballast problem but this in turn created the cargo to shift. i can only picture the mess inside!
Wendell Taylor @ Jul 30th 2006 7:28PM
Pertinent to a previous bloggers comment, I do not think the weight of an automobile (or 5000 of them) can be compared to the similar volume of other cargo (i.e. iron ore, wheat, oil, even many small manufactured items) as a car for its' overall size contains more air than metallic or plastic content. I think that if this carrier was filled with iron ore, that very weight would have taken it down on flipping.
Kobe Diesel @ Jul 31st 2006 10:56PM
To reply to "Wendall Taylor"' comment, you are correct about the volume and air relationship for car carrying ships. These ships are not very efficient for cargo carriage, there is plenty of unused volume. Compare this type vessel to a container ship, oil tanker or a grain/ore carrier...there is a big difference in the remaining volume on board after the cargo is loaded.
As a result, that's why car ships are the lowest revenue earners in the shipping fleets.
Also, to comment on "boss"'s reply, what captain would ballast a car ship (PCTC type vessel) at sea? Well, it's done all the time on these ships and other ship types. It has to be done to comply with international regulations. Ballast exchange operations are performed to prevent marine growth that are exclusive to one marine ecosystem to be transferred to another that can result in an imbalance of that other ecosystem. This is a regulation that came about from strong lobbying from the "green" campaign. So, it's okay to ballast a ship at sea, as long as it is done correctly. And the Chief Mate (not the captain) who performs ballasting operations on any ship, is responsible for this. How do I know this, you might ask? Well I work as an engineer on these car ships. So, for those of you who wish to comment as to how a ship is to be operated, make sure you have something smart to say and that you have your facts straight. Cheers...
NaNa @ Aug 1st 2006 1:49PM
On December 20, 1964, the crew of a charter vessel carrying 1187 VWs destined for Long Beach, CA, rescued 34 men adrift in a lifeboat from their sinking grain-filled U.S. cargo ship.
Leslie @ Aug 1st 2006 3:29PM
Please post on Craigslist auto discussion section when you find out where all the dented Mazdas will be sold. They sound brand new with substantial body damage. A whole bunch of great new engines/trans etc. None drivable. Body shops should line up to buy them, take 15 or so and resell them. I also suspect that the vehicles were simply driven on and not chained down. I am truly amazed that ship didn't sink (yet).
Chad @ Aug 1st 2006 4:43PM
I was at the dealer and they told me about this and I said, ya right, and I'm Santa Claus!
Chris Connolly @ Aug 1st 2006 8:59PM
Too bad for those mazdas,... good thing i sell toyota products
Ben @ Aug 2nd 2006 7:38PM
Yeah, a radical list like that may have started out as a bad shift in ballast water but the tipping was definatly reached !! Is this called the "Heeling Moment" (like on loaded grain ship) ??
I'm quite sure that inside that ship is one heck of a mess...cars virtually stacked side by side almost vertically by now. There must be some fore-and-aft separating walls on each car deck but still... If even just half the cars are a total loss the insurance company covering the cargo on that voyage is going to take one hell of a financial blow. Say $12,000 per vehicle (wholesale) X 2,500 ?? Wow !! And that's not counting the ship if it capsizes and sinks as well.
That's, what...another thirty-five million for a fairly new car carrier ?? Holy smokes !! What a nightmare for the insurers.
Any comment ??
Kenneth Johnson @ Aug 3rd 2006 11:04PM
My new MX-5 Grand Tourng was on that ship. So much for ordering a car just as you want it!!!!
KJ, San Diego
Steve @ Aug 4th 2006 9:02AM
Rail and truck shipment strap down cars as well. Cargo ships probably secure tight enough that the lash will hold. Strapped tight enough to withstand storms on the high seas, I doubt rolling the ship on it's side would be a problem. However, after a week, the straps may begin to stretch some.
There is probably not a lot of clearance between the cars. I bet you cannot walk between them normally.
Once, there was an ice storm that hit at work just after everyone arrived to work. The parking lot was on a hill. All the cars slid sidways down the hill slowly into each other. The inside of the hull may look like that.
Early reports stated the Cougar Ace was listing 80 degrees. Now, I see websites stating a list of 60 degress. That would indicate the cargo is shifting, but I have not seen that evidence from the photos. The list looks the same in all the posted photos.
Beyond the scratch and dent possibilities, vital fluids are probably the biggest concern.
The biggest possible leakers would be windshield washer fluid and maybe engine oil that would be damaging paint and making footing treacherous.
Oscar Lima @ Aug 5th 2006 1:16PM
No comments.
adrian fargeat jr @ Aug 9th 2006 8:59PM
Look out for a Mazda special sale:
BUY A MAZDA 3 OR CX 7 AND GET 3 LBS OF ALASKAN KING CRAB IN THE GLOVE COMPARTMENT FOR FREE!!!
sorry I could not resist.
Richard @ Aug 10th 2006 10:43PM
As a member of the salvage team for the Cougar Ace, I can tell you this incident was unequivocally the result of improper ballasting. As far as we can tell, none of the tie down straps have failed. Zooom!
jwbalano@maine.rr.com @ Aug 12th 2006 1:39PM
The cars stowed fore and aft have four 500 Kilogram nylon lashings each. The ones stowed thwartships or crossways have six lashings. If they were properly checked and tightened the cars should stay in place even if the ship is upside down. I don't understand how they could have gotten that light on ballast without someone realizing it. You can tell by the rolling period and by the way the ship feels when it is getting too tender. It seems like it must have been a very poorly trained crew at a time when there is so much blah blah blah about safety and quality and environment that it is becoming obvious that the steamship companies talk a good line at the same time that they want to make everything as cheap as they can. I have a feeling they got exactly what they paid for which is a third world crew for absolutely nothing that had simply purchased all of their required endorsements and certificates. They probably had a bunch of farmers with all the licenses and certificates who had never seen the water.
Jim
Elayna @ Aug 15th 2006 1:24PM
My car was in this wreck. We have been waiting for my car for 2 months! What a pain!
Surpriseman @ Aug 15th 2006 11:37PM
I'm following all this with some real interest as the Cougar Ace has transported a number of used vehicles for me from Japan to Adelaide - happily they have always arrived undamaged.
Regarding the crew. . they were all Burmese, including the Captain.
One thing that was characteristic of this ship is that my vehicles have all arrived without tools, including jacks and one minus its stereo. My cars always ended up lighter after a cruise on the Cougar Ace
My cars have been thoroughly searched, with trim panels removed etc. It's bad and very blatant. One the more ravished ones had a copy of the ships loading schedule under a seat where it had been accidentally buried after a frenzy of interior dismantling.
I now pay my supplier to remove the stereo and do his best to hide it deep within the vehicle.