MV Tampa
 MV Tampa at Papeete, French Polynesia | |
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: |
'Tampa Barber Tampa |
| Owner: | Wilhelmsen Lines Shipowning |
| Port of registry: |
 Norway |
| Builder: |
Hyundai Heavy Industries Ulsan, South Korea |
| Yard number: | 248 |
| Completed: | 1984 |
| Identification: |
Call sign: LMWO3 IMO number: 8204951 MMSI no.: 257497000 |
| Notes: | [1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 39,900 DWT 66,532 GT |
| Length: | 262.3 m (861 ft) |
| Beam: | 32.26 m (105.8 ft) |
| Draught: | 9.78 m (32.1 ft) |
| Decks: | 12 |
| Speed: | 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) |
| Crew: | 25 |
| Notes: | [2] |
MV Tampa is a roll-on/roll-off container ship completed in 1984 by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. in South Korea for the Norway based firm, Wilhelmsen Lines Shipowning.
Tampa affair
In August 2001, under Captain Arne Rinnan, a diplomatic dispute brewed between Australia, Norway, and Indonesia after Tampa rescued 438 Afghans from a distressed fishing vessel in international waters. The Afghans wanted passage to nearby Christmas Island. The Australian government sought to prevent this by refusing Tampa entry into Australian waters, insisting on their disembarkment elsewhere, and deploying the Special Air Service Regiment to board the ship. At the time of the incident, Tampa carried cargo worth A$20 million, and 27 crew.
The crew of Tampa received the Nansen Refugee Award for 2002 from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for their efforts to follow international principles of saving people in distress at sea.
Cocaine smuggling bust
In October 2006, MV Tampa was one of two Wilhelmsen ships involved in a cocaine-smuggling operation intercepted by the New Zealand Customs Service and the Australian Federal Police. Twenty-seven kilograms of cocaine was allegedly attached to the side of the two cargo ships bound for Australia in purpose-built metal pods, although New Zealand authorities stated they did not believe the ship's crew or owners were involved.[3]
MythBusters test model
In the 2006 episode "Whirlpool/Snowplow" of the TV show MythBusters, a 1:550 scale model of MV Tampa was assembled, weighted with lead shot to simulate a full load of cargo, and used as a scale scientific test bed vehicle for determining whether ocean whirlpools are capable of sinking a large container ship.
See also
References
- ↑ "Tampa (166504)". Shippingdatabase.com. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ↑ "MV Tampa". Wilh. Wilhelmsen. 2010. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
- ↑ Crewdson, Patrick (27 October 2006). "Tampa one of two ships named in cocaine bust". The Age.
Further reading
- Decision of Justice North, Federal Court of Australia 11 September 2001
- Decision of Full Court overturning decision of Justice North, 18 September 2001
- David Marr & Marian Wilkinson Dark Victory. ISBN 1-74114-447-7
- Ian McPhedran "The Amazing SAS". ISBN 0-7322-7981-X
- News.com.au: Reflections by Julian Burnside on Tampa with public comments published to coincide with 5-year anniversary of the event
- Daniel Ross, Violent Democracy, ch. 5.
External links
- NauruWire, an Australia based site Update on status of detainees. Accessed 25 June 2005.