WIRED: Cowboys of the Deep Seas Attempt to Save a Boatload of Mazdas

[El Pinko]

The Cougar Ace lists at a precarious angle in Wide Bay, Alaska.
Photo: Courtesy of US Coast Guard





http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/magazine/16-03/ff_seacowboys


High Tech Cowboys of the Deep Seas: The Race to Save the Cougar Ace
By Joshua Davis Infographics by Don Foley 02.25.08 | 6:00 PM

Latitude 48° 14 North. Longitude 174° 26 West.
Almost midnight on the North Pacific, about 230 miles south of Alaska's Aleutian Islands. A heavy fog blankets the sea. There's nothing but the wind spinning eddies through the mist.

Out of the darkness, a rumble grows. The water begins to vibrate. Suddenly, the prow of a massive ship splits the fog. Its steel hull rises seven stories above the water and stretches two football fields back into the night. A 15,683-horsepower engine roars through the holds, pushing 55,328 tons of steel. Crisp white capital letters — COUGAR ACE — spell the ship's name above the ocean froth. A deep-sea car transport, its 14 decks are packed with 4,703 new Mazdas bound for North America. Estimated cargo value: $103 million.

Joshua Davis narrates this collection of photos and Coast Guard video taken during Titan Salvage's attempt to save the Cougar Ace.
Video produced and edited by Wired's Annaliza Savage and Michael Lennon. Clips and photos courtesy of US Coast Guard and Titan Salvage.

On the bridge and belowdecks, the captain and crew begin the intricate process of releasing water from the ship's ballast tanks in preparation for entry into US territorial waters. They took on the water in Japan to keep the ship steady, but US rules require that it be dumped here to prevent contaminating American marine environments. It's a tricky procedure. To maintain stability and equilibrium, the ballast tanks need to be drained of foreign water and simultaneously refilled with local water. The bridge gives the go-ahead to commence the operation, and a ship engineer uses a hydraulic-powered system to open the starboard tank valves. Water gushes out one side of the ship and pours into the ocean. It's July 23, 2006.

[JNelson6563]

1. It's incredible that they can do this

I watched the clip at the link, amazing! :toast:

Julie

[Libby2]

2. Wow!! That was a fascinating read........thanks.

[trotsky]

3. Awesome story.

Thanks for that.