YM Uranus – A good planetary alignment for Brittany

When the news broke at about 8:30 am on Friday morning we all started staring at each other at our Paris office. Chemical tanker YM Uranus, carrying 6,000 tons of pygas said to have been involved in collision with bulk freighter Hanjin Richzad. Both vessels were heading north, the former to Amsterdam and the latter to Rotterdam. Eventhough YM Uranus indicated a significant water leak on port side, no pollution is reported so far… Crewmembers were evacuated by a French army helicopter early this morning. They are all safe and sound.

The sinister shadows of the Erika, Amoco Cadiz and Prestige massive spills are again hovering above the tip of Brittany. What is going to happen? It is now 9:00 a.m. I don’t have time to think too long. The phone is already ringing. Philippe, our photographer, is on the other end of the line. He’s calling from his small house in Rennes. « What do we do ? Are we going ? Do you think the ship can stay afloat much longer ? » The latest news in Paris don’t mention if the chemical tanker is a single or a double hull type (as a reminder, single hull freighters should be banned from European waters by 2015. But the issue is subject to debates as numerous maritime experts estimate that double hulls don’t solve every problem as there is a risk of explosive gases accumulating between the two hulls… To be continued).

But the YM Uranus is a recent construction. Lorraine and I start surfing our usual vessel identification websites and we quickly obtain fairly detailed information on the ships involved. The YM Uranus is a Turkish owned 119-meter (392 ft) double hull chemical tanker built in 2008 at a Turkish shipyard. As stated in the news strings she is registered in Malta and is based in Valetta. As for the vessel said to be responsible for the collision, information is more difficult to obtain. There is a rather simple reason for that : the name released by the French authorities is not correct. She is first referred to as Hanjin RICHZAD. But after checking several times we discover the correct name of the ship is Hanjin RIZHAO. She is a 292-meter (not 190 meters as stated by several media) bulk-freighter built in South Korea in 2010 and registered in Panama by its South Korean owners. A brand new monster which is a single hull vessel, a specification nowhere to be found in the media… According to the press agencies, the Hanjin Rizhao came to a stop upon hitting the YM Uranus, waited for the French authorities then resumed her voyage after « having taken care of the usual formalities ». One must bear in mind that the whole operation took place 50 nautical miles from the French coasts, in international waters. The investigation of the accident will hence not concern the French authorities.

« So, are we going? » Philippe’s voice brings me back to earth. We have to think fast and act efficiently. She has a double hull but with a 15° list, there is a definite risk to see the ship sink. It is sad but thus is the way the media work : if she sinks, our photos can be worth a lot of money. If she does not sink, at worst the story makes a simple headline, at best a small article at the back of the paper ; and we can keep our photos. But we are tempted to cover. The ship is a recently-built double-hull. It gives us several hours. After a quick survey of the weather forecast, we realize from Paris that force 4 to 5 south-southeast wind is blowing on the tip of Brittany along with a 5-ft swell. The mid-Atlantic low-pressure zone is significant. Wind forecast is supposed to reach force 6, maybe 7 late in the afternoon. But the weather is fair. The light condition should allow to take beautiful helicopter shots. Thanks to our commercial vessel tracking websites we know the precise location of the collision. But once taken under tow by French salvage tug Abeille Bourbon which is already en route to meet the YM Uranus, we will move in the dark as the tug boat has turned off all beacons upon sailing out of Brest. The damaged ship is 90 kilometers from the coast… which leaves us with a pretty wide perimeter to cover. I finally tell Philippe: « Go ahead. We’ll see what we get. Find a helicopter and bring back beautiful pictures. we’ll take care of locating the ship for you. »

It’s noon. We have two hours maximum to find him GPS coordinates the helicopter pilot can use. At 750 euros an hour, they have to fly right to the target. We cannot afford more than three hours of flight. I have been calculating positions for one hour when Philippe calls again. « It’s OK, we’re taking off at 15:30. We should reach the zone by 17:00. Do you have the coordinates? » So far, so good. We have obtained the current GPS coordinates of the Abeille Bourbon from the the CROSS (Centre régionaux opérationnels de surveillance et de sauvetage / Operational Regional Maritime Monitoring and Rescue Centers). The tug boat is at 48°25’ North and 5°34’ West. But that was at 15:20. I tell Philippe that « we’ll try again about 17:00″. But there is no guarantee.

And we’re back to calculations. We know that the helicopter will need about two hours to reach the position of the tug. The Abeille moves at an approximate speed of 4.5 to 5 knots. Not faster knowing that she is towing an almost inoperative boat. We hear that men have been brought on board YM Uranus by helicopter and that they have managed to restart one of the engines that would, most probably, help pour the water out from the hull. The tug and ship should cover a distance of 9 nautical miles in two hours. If we consider Brest as the port of destination, they must be sailing on a bearing of 105. I send Philippe to the position we think they will most likely have reached by 17:00: 48°23 north and 5°20’ west. What if we are totally wrong? I calculate everything again. Even a third time. The sea and wind are against them. They may have been slowed more than we imagine in Paris. I review my direction angles and I realize that we have drawn a straight line between the location of the collision and Brest. They will certainly head south of Ouessant (Ushant) in case the ship should sink. It is almost 17:00. They must have reached the zone, in the middle of the sea, and must be training their eyes at the horizon. Once again I recalculate the possible position with a more southerly route this time. I text the new coordinates to Philippe. Then comes the wait. Will they get my new calculations. I wait with Lorraine for half an hour. « Don’t worry, I am sure they will find the ship, » a reassuring Lorraine tells me. It is a gamble with many parameters.

At 17:58, message from Philippe: « Mission accomplished… great light. I’ll call you after landing. » Relief invades the office. The ship has not sunk (and it is quite good news), but I know that Philippe has done everything possible to shoot the YM Uranus under every angle. We can study the pictures later. At least, they have not taken off for nothing. We did our job, even if the army has handed out pictures to the media all afternoon. We have our own.

Back in Rennes after three hours in flight, Philippe rushes home and sends us his photos. they are perfect. We really feel like we were there. Then he debriefs us over the phone. « She is really damaged. The collision must have been really violent. The crew had to abandon ship from the back with the survival raft. It is no longer on its ramp. All the port holes have exploded. Then, look at the port side, there is the hole, towards the rear third of the ship. On all decks, the railings are seriously damaged… » We are quite surprised such a collision was possible with two ships so recently launched. There are a few unclear aspects surrounding this accident. First the two vessels were headed the same direction (to Rotterdam and Amsterdam). It means they were going about the same speed on similar courses towards the Channel shipping lanes. They must have sailed close to each other much longer than if they had been going opposite directions (a few minutes against a few seconds). Then, these brand new units have several radars each and are equipped with several warning systems. They must have been very close to each other for several minutes and alarms must have sounded on both vessels… How is it possible that neither crews reacted? « I’m curious to see the condition of the other ship, » wonders Philippe at the other end of the line. Anyway, the position you gave us was perfect. We flew right to them. The pilot could not believe it. »

We send our photos to the Jounal du Dimanche in the evening as they seem to be interested. But I harbor no illusions. There is a good chance the YM Uranus reaches port without sinking and that the story will soon be forgotten. But it does not matter, we are happy the ship made it to port without sustaining more damage and that the French rescue operations went perfectly. Let’s hear it for the guardians of our coasts! You have displayed exemplary professionalism in this dreadful event. Brittany was off with a good fright. Unfortunately it is certainly not the last time.