Canadian Miner

[BobG]

Slip, if you mean ballasted for proper stability while running under power in open water, in Aug 1981 when the Miner was the Maplecliffe Hall she unloaded at South Chicago and departed light drawing about 11' forward and 20' aft. At Port Colborne her draught was 13' forward and 22' aft. The increased draught was at least partially due to having filled the forward and aft fresh water tanks enroute. (These figures come from the scrap log.)

Under tow as she was recently I have no idea what was considered appropriate for stability. Naturally there was no need for rudder/propeller functions .

[Herb]

Any update following yesterday's heavy weather. One CBC report had winds at 100km.+ and storm surge of 6 to 8 feet all from the north east the point of exposure. Can't imagine the old girl would ride that out quietly.

[Slip]

Read somewhere that Canadian Miner is "guessed to be" in water approx. 12 ft. deep. I would think totally empty she should draw app. 3 feet. But I don't think thats possible because she would be top heavy. Can anyone venture a guess as to what depth she would have to be ballasted (empty) to be stable

[fireman12]

Latest Marine forecasts for Cabot Strait and Fouchu area is storm warning in effect . High water ( storm surge ) level warning in effect . With northeasterly winds increasing to 35 knots early tomorrow morning , then 40 to 50 later in the morning . Winds increasing to 50 to 60 by afternoon . Seas could be as high as 8 to 10 metes by then as well .

Not a good forecast at all , and if the spin doctors are trying to deflect and or reduce any talk of the cracks that divers were checking earlier last week , that will almost certainly become a much larger item as the storm gets worse . Talk down here is beginning to take the blame route now , with an editorial in todays Cape Breton Post centering on why the tow line broke , and why another towline was not attached to the ship in a more accessible manner - the one that we all saw affixed around the stern rail , and supposedly the go to line if the towline broke . As well information about what is the next step is not forthcoming , as any plan is useless when the kind of weather about to hit changes everything .

I still say what should be attempted , or what should have been attempted , is securing the ship to the shore , with heavy tackle , and putting a salvage in situ plan together , although now that the weather has turned , as one local fisherman said to the paper yesterday , that place , Scaterie Island , very quickly can become a hellhole this time of the year .

[ashland69]

Mamnoet seems to have very good credentials. From what I saw at their website they have a lot of heavy lift capabilities. But, what does heavy ground tackle imply Does it imply pulling as opposed to lifting. Am I correct in my thinking that CM weighs appx. 9000 tons

Based upon other 730 footers, the Canadian Miner weighs closer to 7000 tons lightship weight.

[Slip]

Mamnoet seems to have very good credentials. From what I saw at their website they have a lot of heavy lift capabilities. But, what does heavy ground tackle imply Does it imply pulling as opposed to lifting. Am I correct in my thinking that CM weighs appx. 9000 tons

[fireman12]

CBC News tweet this AM latest report says that Mammoet officials will present their plan to ` remove ` the ship today . And since wallywallace reports that they are looking for all the heavy ground tackle they can get , looks like they will attempt some kind of a salvage . Although I`ll put my money on a salvage in situ , whenever weather permits . And as my colleague Ron Beaupre reported , weather willl not be cooperating much this week . The ground tackle Mammoet is looking for may well be more to secure the Miner`s hull where it is at , than to get her off what I still say is her final stop .

[Ron Beaupre]

The Marine Weather forecast for this week is for strong winds right through Friday. Winds as high as 40 to 50 knots and seas today and tomorrow up to 5 meters.

[CottonwoodStudios]

Does anyone know the severity and location of the punctures?

[wallywallace]

HI! I have a friend in Cape Breton who is in the ship repair busniess and Mammoet is looking for all the hevy tackle it can get. The ship is reported to have multiple punctures thru the hull and is cracked also. The Weather is to get worse and the removal of the ship is to get under way as soon as the inspectors and salvage people make a plan . It was reported that there was arguments with officials on the best way to remove her before all hope is lost. The general idea is that it will be scrapped in canada and not transit the ocean. He will send more information as it becomes available. Wally

[Guest]

I see in that photo the rear anchor was removed. Are the front anchors gone also?
With no anchors, having someone on deck would not have done much good.

[Guest II]

All things considered, it's good that no lives were lost and nobody injured in the grounding - as could have been the case if she were grounded while under power. That said, it's a shame to see her go this way but somehow better than the torch.

[Mr Link]

Why couldn't they get another tow line on the Miner before she went aground?

Getting men up on her is no easy task in rough weather, if that was the case..

She was rigged with an emergency tow line so there would have been no reason to have to put anyone on board. Note the wire draped along the deck line in this photo. [] They often add additional rope to a buoy floating behind the tow so they don't have to approach too close in heavy weather. Just snag the buoy and haul in the towline.

That said, whatever they tried didn't work. Perhaps they couldn't snag the emergency line, or perhaps it broke as well. Maybe they didn't even know were the tow was. Not many details are known yet publicly.

[Guest]

Why couldn't they get another tow line on the Miner before she went aground?

Getting men up on her is no easy task in rough weather, if that was the case....

[Shawn]

The Miner will not be left there. Under the Abandon Shipwreck Act the ship will have to be removed.

Others have commented on the ownership of the wreck not being governed by US law, but the evidence is ample that shipwrecks are still left in place to rot, including the SS America.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_America_%281940%29

Sad to see something left to rot like that but it does still happen.

[Paul Beesley]

Receiver of Wreck

The Receiver of Wreck is an officer of Transport Canada, designated under the Canada Shipping Act, 2001.

The Receiver of Wreck acts as the custodian of found and recovered wreck. This involves researching ownership and working with the finder/salvor, owner, archaeologists, museums, and other interested parties.

If no owner is found, the Receiver of Wreck may dispose of the wreck or award the wreck in whole or in part to the salvor.

From Transport Canada web site.

Paul

[Guest]

Why couldn't they get another tow line on the Miner before she went aground?

[Rob]

What's the likelihood they'll scrap her in place?

[Guest]

Pretty Sure the Receiver of Wrecks was done away with. The wrecks hvae been left in places long after the Fayette Brown. There is a trawler in Sydney Harbour partly submerge for example, been there for a long time. Another trawler went ashore near St.Johns,NL after it was towed out when it caught afire in harbour and she beat to piece in freshwater bay in the late 1970's. Pieces of her still there. Another trawler outside Cataline in the 1980's pretty sure she's still there too.

[fireman12]

Cape Breton Post today reports that fuel removal from the Miner began this afternoon . Mammoet Salvage , a very well known world wide salvage company are in charge and are attempting to remove all the fuel before the weather gets worse later this weekend .

Planning the rest of the operation is still in discussion stages with a meeting possible on Monday with Federal officials . The only thing said about that is a suggested way forward to move with a possible salvage . But as reported earlier , with the cracks found in the hull , and the bad weather on it`s way , the ship will only suffer more damage , and I think it is even possible that the hull may begin to break up as it has already even with minor weather . With northeasterly winds and seas forecast tomorrow , the Miner will take the full brunt of it .