Bourbon Dolphin Disaster

There's not much we can do today with wind and swell. Excellent day for paperwork. What I am reading is very serious stuff; the report about the loss of the anchor handling tug 'Bourbon Dolphin' on April 12th 2007. This tug capsized during anchor handling operations for the rig 'Transocean Rather' on the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Shetlands. Eight crew members got killed (the 14-year old son of the captain included). The conclusions of the investigation were published in March 2008. There were 146 pages with direct and indirect causes leading to this disaster, but the deck tool which played a key role in the sinking, is the one you see on this picture; the Karmfork System. What you see are two guide rollers on the outside with flaps on it, and two wire- and chain stoppers inside. We can raise and lower them hydraulically from the bridge. All wires and chain paid out over the stern roller are guided by these rollers. It is obvious that you don't want a heavy load of chain hanging over the side, but on the stern and these rollers keep them on the stern. In short; what happened on the 'Bourbon Dolphin' is that a massive weight of chain under tension hanging over the stern, shifted from the starboard set of guide rollers to the port set of rollers. They had two complete Karmfork sets and the shifting of the chain caused excessive weight on one side which pulled the vessel over. Within seconds. A sad loss, a sad story and a black day for the whole offshore industry.