Not so much a Para Handy chuffer as a tug. Doesn't sound good for the two missing crewmen.
A major rescue operation will resume on Saturday morning after a tugboat with two people on board capsized off Greenock in the west of Scotland, police said.
Helensburgh RNLI lifeboat, several police launch boats and rescue craft from vessels in the area went to the scene on the River Clyde when the alarm was raised at about 3.30pm on Friday.
A rescue helicopter and other coastguard teams also attended.
They said there were two crew members on board the vessel when it capsized.
The search will resume at 8am on Saturday morning, police said.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Police were made aware of a tugboat having capsized off Custom House Quay in Greenock around 3.30pm on 24 February.
“Emergency services attended, including HM Coastguard and RNLI.
“Officers, including Police Scotland’s dive and marine unit and air support unit, have been carrying out searches in the area and these searches will resume on the morning of 25 February.
“Inquiries are ongoing, assisted by partners, to establish the full circumstances.”
Police cordoned off the area near Custom House Quay in the Inverclyde town.
Eyewitnesses said they saw the tug escorting the Hebridean Princess cruise ship into the harbour when it was apparently pulled over.
Daniel McBride said the tug had capsized “pretty instantaneously”.
The eyewitness told the BBC: “At that point I contacted the coastguard and was asked to go and keep eyes, so I parked up and watched.
“Within 12 minutes the first coastguard vessel came. At that point the boat was still capsized with a hull visible in the water.
“I witnessed them bashing on the hull, I guess trying to see if there was any signs inside. Unfortunately then the boat went down a short time afterwards.”
Members of the coastguard stood down from their role in the operation on Friday evening.
A coastguard spokesperson said: “HM Coastguard has been responding to reports of a capsized vessel off Custom House Quay in Greenock today.
“It is believed the vessel had two crew members onboard.
“Just before 3.30pm coastguard rescue teams from Helensburgh and Greenock, a lifeboat from Helensburgh RNLI and the coastguard helicopter from Prestwick were sent to assist and searched the area.
“Multiple vessels on the Clyde in the vicinity of the incident also responded, including an MoD police vessel.
“The coastguard’s involvement in the surface search was terminated at 8pm.”
The Beacon arts centre in Greenock announced on Twitter that roads around the venue had been closed by police as a result of the rescue operation and Friday night’s performances had been postponed.
It said: “Due to an ongoing emergency incident on the River Clyde, roads around the Beacon have been closed by police and there is no access to our building.
“We have been advised by police to cancel tonight’s performances at very short notice.”
The centre added: “We will reschedule tonight’s performances or provide full refunds and will be in touch with our customers with more details as soon as possible. We appreciate your patience.”
- The Guardian
Re: Tragedy on the Clyde...
Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2023 9:45 am
by 1DC
On a modern tug if it starts to girt the skipper can knock the tow rope out from the bridge instantly , unfortunately that tug doesn’t look modern. Saw it happen once was amazed at the speed..
On a modern tug if it starts to girt the skipper can knock the tow rope out from the bridge instantly , unfortunately that tug doesn’t look modern. Saw it happen once was amazed at the speed..
A new term for this landlubber.
Girt, to
To constrain or distort a sail by a rope or other hard edge running across it. The hull may be girt by a mooring line or anchor cable.
I am assuming the tow rope ran under the tug's hull and then pulled taut thus capsizing the small vessel?
Sadly Biter seems to have lived up to her name.
Re: Tragedy on the Clyde...
Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2023 4:00 pm
by 1DC
Sorry for a late response,been away, usually happens when the tug gets itself broadside to the tow and the big ship pulls the tug over.
Re: Tragedy on the Clyde...
Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2023 4:48 pm
by ricardian
Nylon hawsers are strong but they are very difficult to cut and speed is of the essence when girting commences.
Re: Tragedy on the Clyde...
Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2023 4:53 pm
by Fox3WheresMyBanana
The trick to avoiding it is always keeping some tension on the towline, isn't it?
Just enough to keep it from submerging.
That's what a very old skipper at the JSSC told me.
Re: Tragedy on the Clyde...
Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2023 7:25 pm
by 1DC
If the tug is towing the ship it mustn't let the ship run over the tow line and effectively sink the tug and if the tug is at the stern and being towed it must get at ninety degrees to the direction of the tow so that the ship can pull it over.
Re: Tragedy on the Clyde...
Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 7:15 am
by John Hill
...'land is girt by sea'..........
Re: Tragedy on the Clyde...
Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 7:41 am
by Hydromet
Girt = archaic past tense of girdle(v).
Re: Tragedy on the Clyde...
Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 8:28 am
by G-CPTN
In Geordie, Gurt means 'great' - so 'gurt big' means 'huge'.
Etymology 4
From Middle English girt, gert, a metathetic variant of gret (“great”). More at great.
Adjective
girt (not comparable)
(UK, rural dialect) Alternative spelling of gurt in the sense 'great'.
Re: Tragedy on the Clyde...
Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 6:54 pm
by John Hill
Girt, on a sail boat, pull a line across the surface of a sail to disrupt the aerofoil shape and gain a temporary reduction in boat speed. Example, approaching a mooring etc.
Re: Tragedy on the Clyde...
Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2023 11:22 am
by 1DC
Tug in Melbourne Oz about to girt but managed to release the tow line before the disaster occurred, two people went over the side bit they were recovered.
Apparently in North America they call it girding and their are various articles about it on line.
Re: Tragedy on the Clyde...
Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2023 12:04 pm
by Fox3WheresMyBanana
I think the above is a different problem.
The towline doesn't go under the tug, it's just that, about the vertical axis, the rotational moment sum of the towline tension and the hydrodynamic drag of the tug's hull on the tug is greater than the tug's available rotational moment (rudder, differential thrust) to counter it. So the tug ends up broadsided. Then, about the longitudinal axis, the rotational moment of the towline is greater than the rotational moment deliverable by the cross-sectional differential buoyancy of the tug as it lists.
Unlike girting, the Melbourne tug wouldn't have been inverted, filled with water, and sunk; it would just have listed to 90 degrees, then been dragged till it filled, and sank.
The Melbourne tug's problem is similar to what happens to a racing yacht when the spinnaker sheet jams, with the tow rope having the effect of the wind. I used to trim spinnakers.
Re: Tragedy on the Clyde...
Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2023 1:49 pm
by 1DC
The Melbourne incident is considered to be a type of girting among tug folk.
Re: Tragedy on the Clyde...
Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2023 5:51 pm
by Fox3WheresMyBanana
Failure to understand the true cause of a problem does tend to lead to its repetition.
From my above description, it is clear that once the tow rope is creating a yawing moment that the helmsman cannot counteract, then it becomes immediately necessary to release the tow.
This is already occurring at the start of the video.
The tug has no significant list at this point, but what happens next is inevitable.
It takes another 14 seconds and two men overboard until the tow is actually released.
It would appear at first glance that the tow is released in reaction to the listing of the tug, which is when it should be released with true girting (tow rope under the hull).
Tug boat demonstrates bridge passage...
Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2023 7:16 pm
by John Hill
I cannot find the original video but maybe these stills will give you the idea, the tug pushed a barge under the bridge then collided with the bridge eventually rolling and passing under the bridge. I do not know if it was just the current that pulled the tug under but I suspect it had a cable to the barge that dragged the tug down.
Once on the other side the tug popped upright and the video showed a burst of diesel smoke as it set off in pursuit of the barge.
No, nothing to do with girting/girdling et al.
Re: Tragedy on the Clyde...
Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2023 9:44 pm
by Fox3WheresMyBanana
These lifting bridges, especially in rural locations, can be opened quite late. I've seen this on the ICW.
I would assume the tug captain was expecting a late lift, and was unable to fully stop when s/he didn't get it.
Maybe Leroy the Bridge Guy had a few too many the night before....or that morning
Must've been going quite slow as it reached the bridge, as the barge hasn't gone very far afterwards.
The way the tug tucks under then recovers on the other side almost makes it look like it was deliberate!
