Blackadder - the son of Canterbury by Mark Barratt-Boyes and Keith Ingram

When the Lyttelton Port Company was faced with what to call their new $7 million tug, they wanted the community to feel as equally proud of the vessel and the port in which it served. With a break from tradition, they chose to name the new ship-assist tug after one of Canterbury's favourite sons, the rugby player Todd Blackadder.

'we are naming the tug after Todd because he represents the true Canterbury spirit of hard work, honesty and strength. These are attributes that can be applied to our new tug' the Managing Director of the Lyttelton Port Company, David Viles, said at the launch of the new tug on August 17. He was speaking amid much fanfare at the Auckland shipyard where Blackadder was built by Titan Marine Engineering Ltd.

'The port has huge economic importance to Canterbury, and we wanted a name that Cantabrians can identify with and feel proud of. When we looked at Canterbury's values, they were invariably associated with rugby' he said. Todd Blackadder was not able to be at the launch, as he was in Scotland, but Viles said he was honoured and privileged to have the tug named after him, and looked forward to seeing her on his return to New Zealand. Titan Marine Engineering was selected as successful bidders from yards throughout New Zealand, due to their marine expertise and proven engineering achievements, said Viles.

'I can publicly state today that I am happy to endorse the decision by the Lyttelton Port Company, and act as a reference for Titan Marine Engineering, who have been both professional and excellent to work with throughout the construction of our new tug.' Blackadder was the first new-build Titan has completed in New Zealand.

'With her completion we have confirmed that the New Zealand boatbuilding industry has once again met the challenge of producing a vessel to world-class quality standards, on time and within budget' the General Manager, Clive Royce-Bainbridge, said at the launch. 'The commitment by the Lyttelton Port Company to have the vessel constructed onshore signifies their faith and confidence in New Zealand craftsmanship.' Titan Marine Engineering recognised early in 2000 that to remain competitive within the marine industry it required diversity, Royce-Bainbridge said. 'we had the manpower, the management structure, the facilities, experience and expertise. All that was required was the opportunity to prove to prospective and discerning clients, on and offshore, that the company, which was at that time an unknown vessel constructor, could construct a vessel to international standards.'

The Managing Director of TME Ltd Mike Frewin, headed the tendering team, assisted by senior project manager Glenn Heape, They pursued several opportunities relating to tug construction, and their joint efforts were rewarded when they won the contract to build the tug. Construction began on January 7 under the management of Heape, whose previous experience includes three similar-class tugs, plus a lifetime of marine construction. The construction phase passed without incident.

Commissioning sea trials began on the Hauraki Gulf on September 10 without incident, with Blackadder achieving all the design goals required of her, said Royce-Bainbridge. Mike Frewin and his team had taken the project to heart and had been brilliant to work with throughout, said Michael Barnett from the Lyttelton Port Company. Barnett has led a team which included Maurice Gillard as tugmaster, Ian Fanshawe as tug engineer and other marine staff at different times over the last 15 months to successfully pull the project together. They were assisted by Grant Ford of Ford Off-Shore Services as the on-site project manager for the port company.

'Having a professional owner's representative on site has worked extremely well,' said Barnett. 'It has made the whole project flow from the beginning to the end, with any construction and design problems being identified and dealt with early so as not to effect the shipbuilding team in the yard.'

Blackadder was designed by Robert Allan Ltd of Vancouver, British Columbia. They provided complete construction engineering support for the shipyard, including the design and definition of a complete kit of steel parts, and the physical layout of all the piping and electrical systems. Ford Off-Shore Services also had a significant input into the design requirements after determining the owner's particular operational needs. 'Any design changes, engineering calculations and new drawings were done quickly by Robert Allan Ltd' said Ford. 'They have been excellent to work with.' Blackadder, the first of a new-generation ASD 24/60 class tug, is designed to provide high-performance towage at minimal cost.

The compact, low-profile vessel can provide the most modern, efficient ship-assist tug service available, in line with the port company's focus on anticipating and meeting customer demand. She features a hawser winch installed on the working deck forward, and a small anchor winch and line capstan on the aft deck. Heavy-duty cylindrical fendering is provided throughout. The design incorporates many features to combat the high noise levels in the wheelhouse and on the working decks associated with high power in a compact tug, and ensure noise and vibration is as low as possible.

They include:

resilient mounting of the main engines
twin, high-attenuation silencers on each engine
resilient mounting of the vent fans, and
complete isolation of the wheelhouse from the supporting structure below.

Down in the bowels of the tug and I mean down! a long way down is the heart of the power house, the large functional engine and machinery spaces. Powered by twin 3516BHD Caterpillar's, developing 2375bhp @ 1600 rpm driving Rolls-Royce US 205 Azimuthing stern thrusters. To feed these monsters, Blackadder carries forty tonnes of automotive diesel. Even when under way with so much horse power in the machinery spaces, the extensive use of Acoustop ensures any noise escape remains at a respectable level.

Blackadder is designed to be operated by two crew. She will normally be operated as a day-boat, but basic crew accommodation is provided, with a small pantry and mess area within the wheelhouse, and two staterooms and a spacious lounge/office below the main deck.

Specialist Marine Interiors Ltd has been developing what it calls 'a remote build interior system' for new builds and conversions for some years. The company has a large factory in part of what is now McRae Ship Repairs yard in Whangarei. The team of 20 had developed considerable expertise with numerous small boat refits and new builds, then moved into superyachts three years ago.

Having looked closely at methods used in Europe and the United States, the company developed their own system, said director Grant Willis. Blackadder was seen as the perfect opportunity to develop a system for commercial vessels. 'we wanted to show commercial builders the advantage of building the complete interior out of the boat. We re-erected the pre-finished interior, partitions, ceilings, furniture - the lot - in the tug in 10 days, no spraypainting to do,' said Willis. 'Even the flush boxes were cut in. 'That meant for the whole project the other trades could do their work un-hindered by the fit-out team. The interior was ready well before it was required on the boat, and that gives the programme flexibility. We also saw the opportunity to lift the standard of finish without raising the price tag too much.

The efficiency of building in the factory certainly reflects in the bottom line. We are very keen to develop further the commercial system, and promote the Lamitex sprayable laminate we used in the pilothouse. This system is proving unbeatable, and we are using it for all the crew spaces and service areas on another project, the conversion of the ex-hydrographic vessel MY Flinders into a 50m luxury motor yacht.'

Royce-Bainbridge says the success of Blackadder will promote Titan Marine Engineering to a new level as a competitive international vessel constructor. 'However, we will not sit on our laurels and pontificate as to our recent success.' There were 10 other competitors out there with the same capabilities as Titan, so the company was making every effort to maximise its market share through effective marketing, quality performance and compromise to meet the needs of the industry.

Titan Marine Engineering had an 1800 tonne slipway that required continuous 'Feeding' with vessels requiring repairs, and two large fabrication and machining workshops to be kept busy. 'Our facilities keep us ahead of the competition. However, we are still required to meet market prices, while keeping abreast of new technologies related to fabrication and general operating techniques.' 'As General Manager, I am pleased with our general direction,' he said. 'we are survivors. Our strengths are our tenacity within the industry, our combined knowledge of the marine and related industries, our capacity to effect and accept change while maintaining an excellent service to our respected and valued clients, and above all, our employees, our team, the catalyst that is Titan'

When she arrives in Lyttelton in September, Blackadder will be the most powerful harbour tug in New Zealand, says Viles. 'She will set new standards in port services, and is part of our drive to accommodate new trends in shipping, namely larger vessels entering Lyttelton requiring much more powerful tugs.' Blackadder will replace the Godley, which is now almost 25 years old and lacks the power the port company will require in the future. She is the sixth tug to be built to serve Lyttelton. By coincidence, the first, launched in 1860, was called the Titan. The naming ceremony was to be held in Lyttelton on September 27.

Crew in desperate battle to save destroyer by Hugh Ware

Gale warnings were in effect when the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Nottingham arrived off Lord Howe Island, 500km from Australia, in the mid-afternoon of July 7.

The destroyer was visiting the island to drop off a sick sailor so he or she could be flown to an Australian city for treatment. Part of the 253-man (and women) crew boated ashore for some 'leg-stretching,' as the warship's captain, Commander Robert Farrington, later phrased it. He also went ashore on that remote island, a speck in the middle of the Tasman Sea, which is so beautiful and full of diverse life that it was named a World Heritage site in 1982.

In between showers, the crew played soccer on the beach, while the CO visited local dignitaries. But then a small front embedded in the prevailing sou'westerly winds hit the Island. By the time the CO was ready to depart it was night, rain was falling intermittently, and it was still fairly windy.

The ship's Lynx helicopter ferried Commander Farrington to the Nottingham, which lay several miles off the eastern side of the island. The ship, which was reportedly under the control of a lieutenant, manoeuvred to allow the helicopter to land. At about 2200 hours, while the chopper was being rolled into the hanger, the 3500 tonne ship 'Juddered slightly', as Farrington later phrased it.

Recognising what had just happened, he dashed to the bridge.

The ship was rocking on something unknown (later identified as Wolf Rock), so Farrington backed the Nottingham off for fear the warship would break her back, and moved her north to an anchorage off Middle Beach. Asked by local television what caused the accident, he said: 'A combination of unfortunate circumstances and human error.' He told reporters on the island: 'we have done significant damage to a major British warship. This is not a good day for me.'

Meanwhile, the crew started a desperate battle against inrushing water which would last for several days.

The damage was severe. The Nottingham was 15 degrees down by the bow, and her transom was out of the water. She had at least one 30.5m gash, which flooded five watertight sections, including the main engineroom, the starboard stabiliser well, the missile magazine and the computer room for the SeaDart missile system, and several living spaces.

In response to requests for assistance, the Royal Australian Navy quickly assembled pumps and a team of divers, who were flown to Lord Howe Island on an RAAF Hercules C-130, which made several flights. Both the divers and pumps went to work. The Royal New Zealand Navy sent the frigate HMNZS Te Mana and the oiler HMNZS Endeavour, both of which were in the general area, and they were to provide vital assistance. (The Te Mana first had to refuel from a tank bowser at Mackey.) New Zealand Navy Chief Petty Officer Den Hannah, a crew member on the Te Mana, later said, 'By rights, she should be at the bottom of the sea. Her crew did an amazing job to keep her afloat,' while a Nottingham crew member reported that the multi-compartmented warship was within six minutes of sinking.

The Royal Navy sent teams of experienced salvage and public relations personnel.

A survey flight by an Australian Maritime Search and Rescue plane revealed no oil spillage, and only a light sheen of oil from water pumped overboard. Greenpeace protested at the presence of a warship at a World Heritage site. The Australian divers welded steel patches across gaping holes and closed hatches. Inside, massive wooden shores braced compartment bulkheads, and other damage control and cleanup work began.

The Nottingham's evaporators were soon making clean but undrinkable water again, and it was used to wash the main engines, two Rolls Royce Olympus gas turbines. The oil system was continually flushed.

Meanwhile, the Te Mana and the Endeavour were supplying drinking water, laundry and hotel services, damage control and watch-standing personnel, and other support.

Their small boats, plus boats from Lord Howe Island, were invaluable, because the Nottingham's two inflatable had developed problems. Concrete boxes stopped many leaks, but some water still came into the engineroom and elsewhere. The weather deteriorated at times, and for several hours, 40 knots and a beam sea inducing seven to 10 degree rolls forced the RAN divers to leave the water. But work never stopped inside the Nottingham.

Wooden shoring was replaced by steel shoring airlifted from Australia, dewatering continued, and partitions and lagging were stripped out so that welding could secure the steel shoring. Preparations were made for off-loading contaminated fuel to the Endeavour. The Lynx helicopter was transferred to the Te Mana, and was replaced by a civilian skid-equipped BK117 helicopter of similar capacity.

Among other jobs, it was used to transfer supplies from the Endeavour. One tug arrived on July 15, and the Te Mana, her part completed, left on July 16. By mid-July, the ship was no longer leaking, and she was being readied for towing to Australia. However, authorities warned that bad weather could still jeopardise the vessel.

The tow started on August 6. The anchor-handling tug Pacific Chieftain towed the bow-down destroyer stern-first to minimise further damage to her bow. The Singapore salvage tug Yam O provided steering, while the Austral Salvor was the standby tug. Most the Nottingham's crew had returned to England, but about 30 remained on board. The convoy arrived at Newcastle four days later after a routine voyage.

At the time of writing, her stores were being unloaded and the stricken vessel further inspected. Later, a semi-submersible heavy-lift vessel, hired at a reported cost of £38 million, will take the Nottingham to the United Kingdom for repairs or, possibly, disposal as a target or by scrapping. In a break from the tradition that the captain of a vessel is entirely responsible for the actions of his crew, Commander Farrington will not be subjected to a court martial. Indeed, he is being praised for his quick response and actions in saving the warship from sinking.

Numerous questions naturally arise. The most-important remains: Why was the Nottingham conducting air operations at night and in bad weather anywhere near Wolf Rock when the whole of the Tasman Sea was available? For now, only the board of inquiry and the Royal Navy know the real facts of this curious accident.

The second most important question may be: Was the bridge team relying on GPS to monitor the ship's position in relation to the charted position of Wolf Rock? If so, was the GPS receiver switched to the wrong grid datum? (A datum is a mathematical model of the world's shape, and is used to calculate the coordinates on any map or chart. Over 200 datums exist, with WGS84 being the most-widely accepted. Positions in latitude and longitude can differ by several hundred metres, depending on what datums are used.)

Other factors

Weather: Lord Howe Island's harbourmaster, Clive Wilson, summarised the weather thus: 'It was rough winds, wild seas, breaking waves that night.' But the Australian Bureau of Meteorology described conditions on the evening of July 7 in somewhat gentler terms. The prediction for Lord Howe Island at 1500 hours called for west to sou'west winds at 20 to 30 knots in the afternoon, easing to 15 to 25 knots overnight, with rough seas and a moderate sou'westerly swell.

Tides: Since, according to Wilson, Wolf Rock 'is awash most of the time', it can be spotted, especially at the half-tide prevailing at the time of the accident. But, as Wilson added, 'I doubt if anyone could have spotted the rock that night.'

Night-time: Darkness should have had little impact.

The Nottingham's bridge team. The bridge should have been manned by an adequate number of suitable personnel, who undoubtedly became experienced and qualified during a long deployment from the UK under a highly competent commanding officer. The normal bridge team for a Type 42 destroyer like the HMS Nottingham numbers four: the Officer of the Watch, a quartermaster, a bosun's mate and a communications rating. But 'Special sea dutymen' are called during air operations, adverse weather, sailing at night or in poor visibility, and sailing close inshore, plus several other conditions of no concern here. The bridge team then consists of the OOW, perhaps a second OOW (usually an officer under training), the navigator (a lieutenant), the helmsman, a bosun's mate (a general helper able to leave the bridge), a communications rating, probably two lookouts on the bridge and perhaps an engineering officer.

Is Wolf Rock actually at the position shown on the chart (or map) that was used? Wolf Rock lies 3.7km off the island's eastern shore. Commander Farrington is reported as stating that Wolf Rock was well-charted, and his crew knew the rock was nearby. It should be well known to cartographers, because a ship was wrecked on it in 1937. However, relevant charts are largely based on data from an 1837 survey by the HMS Benham. The latest Royal Australian Navy chart of the island, AUS 610 (produced in 2000 and based on grid datum WGS84), has the notation 'Inadequately surveyed.'

Wilson agrees, saying, 'Some areas along the shore are not definitely charted.' And the pertinent Admiralty chart (a renumbered AUS 610) bears a note stating that Wolf Rock was 'Reported to lie 1.5 cables NW in 1990.' This chart should have been in use on the Nottingham's bridge, and the note should have warned the navigator that some positional uncertainty existed. (The New Zealand cartographer and maritime historian Robert J McDougall has pointed out one fascinating, but unlikely, possibility. The Nottingham's bridge team may have been using a detailed 1985 topological chart of Lord Howe Island (It shows considerable underwater detail), instead of AUS 610. The map and the chart are based on different datums.)

Professional Skipper thanks Bob McDougall and Michael Pryce for their contributions to this feature.