KPress Vol. 07 Iss. 15
Jaynes, Bill (2007-06-27). KPress Vol. 07 Iss. 15 (PDF) (Report). Kolonia, Pohnpei: Kaselehlie Press.
- Has attachment: File:MY4GGEUV.pdf
Abstract: KPress Vol. 07 Iss. 15: NEWS: Liability issues and rough weather hamper salvage operation; Captain Lance Higgs, who by his own account has made a thousand or more journeys into and out of Pohnpei’s Sokehs Harbor—the FSM’s main port of entry—describes the grounding of the Thorfinn, a liveaboard dive vessel based in Chuuk, after 26 years of his experience as skipper; on Friday afternoon, June 8, for the first time in the Thorfinn’s career, something went wrong and the vessel ran hard aground on the reef just outside the main pass; Higgs likened the incident to a familiar car accident caused by momentary distraction in a well-known environment, explaining that while leaving the harbor he received a radio call, set the autopilot slightly early for a westerly course, went to the radio room to respond, experienced a brief engine hesitation, and shortly thereafter heard a loud impact as the vessel struck the outer edge of the reef; the article notes the difficult salvage conditions, including heavy weather, with images of the Adams Brothers’ barge returning in rough seas and a crew member playing guitar aboard the stranded Thorfinn, which remained in full public view to the captain’s discomfort; despite the vessel’s exceptionally heavy construction—having been designed as an ice-breaking whaler for Arctic operations—the reef tore a hole in the engine-room wall and the ship began taking on water; Higgs stated that he deliberately put the Thorfinn onto the reef to avoid sinking in the channel and creating a more serious hazard, given its load of more than 80,000 gallons.
