Bourbon Dolphin
 AHTS Bourbon Dolphin sinking in the North Sea | |
| Career (Norway) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Bourbon Dolphin |
| Owner: | Bourbon Offshore Norway AS |
| Builder: | Ulstein Verft AS, Ulstein |
| Launched: | 2006 |
| In service: | 2006 |
| Out of service: | 2007 |
| Identification: | IMO number: 9351983 |
| Fate: | Capsized April 12, 2007 |
| Status: |
sunk April 15, 2007 59°55′50″N 0°26′22″W / 59.9305°N 0.439333°WCoordinates: 59°55′50″N 0°26′22″W / 59.9305°N 0.439333°W |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Class and type: | Ulstein A102 AHTS |
| Tonnage: | 2,985 GT |
| Length: | 75.2 m (247 ft) |
| Beam: | 17 m (56 ft) |
| Draught: | 8 m (26 ft) |
| Draft: | 6.5 m (21 ft) (max) |
| Propulsion: | 4 × 3,000 kW at 750 rpm |
| Speed: | 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph) (trial) |
| Complement: | 15 |
Bourbon Dolphin was an anchor handling tug supply vessel (AHTS) of Bourbon Offshore Norway. The ship capsized off the coast of Shetland on April 12, 2007, and sank three days later while preparations were being made to tow her to shore.
History
Bourbon Dolphin was built at the Ulstein Verft in 2006, the "Ulstein A102" design. She was part of a three-ship contract with Bourbon, the two others being the Bourbon Orca and Bourbon Mistral.[2]
On February 21, 2007 Bourbon Dolphin succeeded in pulling the German mine hunter Grömitz to sea again after it had run aground near Florø.[3]
Less than two months later, on April 12, she capsized with 15 Norwegian sailors aboard. Eight were picked up by vessels already on scene and two were found by Her Majesty's Coastguard, while five are still missing.[4] Three of the ten recovered were reported dead.[5] The incident happened while Bourbon Dolphin was anchoring the semi-submersible drilling platform Transocean Rather. The 99-man crew of the Rather was evacuated by the RAF.[6]
On Sunday 15 April, Bourbon Dolphin sank in 1,100 meters of water off the coast of Shetland, Scotland.[7]
In January 2009 Bourbon Offshore Norway was fined 5 million Norwegian kroner (€530,000 at the time) after a Norwegian government Commission of Inquiry raised doubts about the ability of both the vessel and its crew to handle large anchors in such deep water. Norway's national prosecutor said the new captain, who died with his son in the sinking, had not been given enough time to learn about the crew and ship, as he only had 90 minutes to take over.[8]
References
- ↑ Bourbon Dolphin Datasheet
- ↑ (Norwegian) Ulstein Verft website
- ↑ (Norwegian) Dregen av grunn, Bergens Tidende
- ↑ Five missing after vessel capsize, BBC
- ↑ (Norwegian) Tre nordmenn omkommet - fem savnet, Dagbladet
- ↑ (Norwegian) Riggen evakuert, Aftenposten
- ↑ (Norwegian) VG Nett: «Bourbon Dolphin» har sunket
- ↑ BBC news: Death vessel firm fined £500,000