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TITANIC....Replica / New build

Discussion in 'Everything Else Heritage' started by Just_Sayin, Apr 13, 2012.

  1. 60017

    60017 Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    Happens to all of us sometimes :)
     
  2. 60017

    60017 Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    I've heard similar horror stories from some of the crew sailing on Italian built passenger ships :eek: Fincantieri are widely known as 'Tincantieri!' Some of the RFA new builds are Chinese IIRC.
     
  3. MarkinDurham

    MarkinDurham Well-Known Member

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    I've visited an Italian built LPG carrier when invited to do so by some former colleagues - rather them than me...

    The new RFAs are built in Korea, I think. I've worked on several Korean-built ships, including my present 'office'. No problems of any note from me regarding steel quality or build quality.
     
  4. 60017

    60017 Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    That's a relief!
     
  5. Bean-counter

    Bean-counter Part of the furniture

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    I think there have been problems with the new RFAs, related to electrical fit and delaying entry into service. Changes in statutory requirements have been mentioned as contributing to this.

    Steven
     
  6. Thompson1706

    Thompson1706 Part of the furniture

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    About 20 years ago I was asked to do an informal report on the accommodation outfitting on a Chinese built products tanker. The quality of workmanship was appalling. The fitted furniture & bulkhead panels poorly fitted , & the deck screed looked like it had been laid with a shovel.
    Quite a lot of remedials were required berfore she entered service.
    The welding standards on steelwork weren't brilliant either.
    My dad worked on building 'Mauritania' at Lairds in the 30's not long after he finished his apprenticeship as a boilermaker / plater.

    Bob.
     
  7. 60017

    60017 Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    That's awesome! She was a beautiful ship, almost a smaller version of the Queen Elizabeth. Sadly, I never saw her in service, but I did take a break from chasing A4's in Scotland during February 1966 to go and see her when she was lying in Wards, Inverkeithing awaiting scrapping :(
     
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  8. Copper-capped

    Copper-capped Part of the furniture

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    Back to the "builder" of the new titanic, the man's business dealings are "interesting" to say the least. I would go so far as to say that he is all kinds of wrong as a businessman and in his political aspirations. He is having another tilt at politics right now after his last effort ended in shambles. His current blight on Queensland is a failed nickel refinery and his seeming refusal to pay redundant workers entitlements. Court cases abound.

    I highly doubt this project will ever see a slipway.
     
  9. MarkinDurham

    MarkinDurham Well-Known Member

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    That's unfortunate, but as RFAs are built to Merchant Shipping, SOLAS and Class Rules, a necessary evil. However, whoever signed off on the plans should have known about forthcoming changes and taken them into account before steel was cut. No doubt said individual won't be even admonished though... :(
     
  10. MarkinDurham

    MarkinDurham Well-Known Member

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    You may well be right. Time will tell.
     
  11. MarkinDurham

    MarkinDurham Well-Known Member

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    Some things would appear not to change...

    As a well known saying has it:- "The bitterness of poor quality remains, long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten"
     
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  12. MarkinDurham

    MarkinDurham Well-Known Member

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    Indeed, I'm reminded od a story from about 13 years ago. My then employer was asked to take on the Management of a class of 4 new build Products Tankers being built in China. Now, you may or may not know that many Chinese yards give big discounts if an Owner only accepts the ship on completion, having not had anyone 'standing by' in the yard as it's being built. I mean, what could possibly go wrong? The ship is being constructed under the supervision of Class, in order to conform to all International Standards, and will be ready to go into service immediately, correct?

    Well, a crew was appointed, flown out to China, joined the ship and sailed for Europe. Let's ignore the fact that this lot did no setting up of the paperwork required to comply with ISM, Company SMS etc - that's another matter.

    Anyway, she arrived at Grangemouth to load her first cargo. The first thing discovered was that the Cargo Manifold wasn't to any known International Standard, so a local workshop was asked to make a connecting bobbin. However, the Terminal then started looking around, and spotted a long list of major non-conformities in both build quality that should have been seen by any self-respecting and competent tanker crew, and gaping holes in the ISM/SMS setup. Upshot was that the ship was thrown off the berth and a representative from my Company was summoned to Grangemouth for a discussion - and coffee + biscuits were NOT on offer...

    The Management of these ships was immediately cancelled, as was the crewing agreement with the company sub-contracted to supply competent crews for these ships.

    It was later said by a representative of the oil major involved, a chap who I know very well and had sailed with many times before he went ashore, that the shipboard organisation could have been dealt with, but the fact that the ship itself wasn't of sufficiently good standard or quality was the real issue.
     
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  13. 60017

    60017 Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    Should we be afraid??? !!!

    http://news.cision.com/stena-line/r/stena-line-confirms-plans-for-its-3-new-irish-sea-ships,c2546004
     
  14. MarkinDurham

    MarkinDurham Well-Known Member

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  15. Martin Perry

    Martin Perry Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator Friend

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    I have recently come across a number of dubious inspections/certifications of safety critical equipment by one of the major classification societies, for a unit built in China.
     
  16. MarkinDurham

    MarkinDurham Well-Known Member

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    Oh yes - I had the same when commissioning the new newbuild I brought back to Europe in 2014. I am in regular contact with a senior manager of the large Classification Society involved; I presented him with a great deal of evidence to show the deficiencies that had been signed off by the office in China. He took it from there. A lot of faecal material then hit the wind-propelling device, as it were. Whether the person(s) involved were simply fired, or criminal charges were brought, I don't know.

    Bottom line - a fistful of Yuan will get signatures where, frankly, signatures should not be appended :(
     
  17. Thompson1706

    Thompson1706 Part of the furniture

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    I have been told of bulkhead panels supplied from China & used on an M.O.D. vessel in the last few years which actually contained asbestos.

    Bob.
     
  18. MarkinDurham

    MarkinDurham Well-Known Member

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    I can believe that. There are many ships presently trading which have used jointing material declared as asbestos free, but testing has revealed it to contain asbestos fibres. Yes, the supply chain for the material used goes back to China...
     
  19. paullad1984

    paullad1984 Member

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    And funnily enough the international market for asbestos has increased of late...
     

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