Seismic vessel burning up and sinking

[King Herald]

Not sure if these pics have been posted before, but a girl I used to work with captured them a few years ago when the CGG Mistral caught fire and sank.





















































Everybody got off safely.

[King Herald]

el stovey said:

fk.

I believe that expletive was repeated at least twice in the wheelhouse on the day.

[King Herald]

el stovey said:

Great series of photos, thanks for posting them.

No worries, had them on my PC for years, rediscovered them today.

The boat was towing several oil filled streamer cables, about 5 miles long, which you may be able to see in the pics. That was also why they were towing the burning vessel, to try and keep the stuff afloat and in a straight line.

[King Herald]

Mr Pies said:

Ok I accept that this probably a stupid question to ask you boat beards, but why did it sink if set on fire?

Did the resultant heat cause the hull to split or something like that?

I heard rumour it was actually pumped full of water by the monitors off the tug boats.

But I'd guess there was also damage to low melting point water pipes, seals, hoses and such-forth below decks.

[King Herald]

Mojocvh said:

Horrendous and frighting how disaster can sneak up on you like that.

I have been told the fire started in the ships laundry, which, apparently, is the most common cause of fires at sea.

Nothing exciting like overheating turbos, fuel lines rupturing, just good old dryer lint catching fire.

[King Herald]

TheHeretic said:

Simpo Two said:

There will always be somebody who is affected personally by such things, but it doesn't mean nobody else can enjoy them.

Having worked on seismic vessels, they have a very dark sense of humour. There is no need to be offended on their behalf.

We lost a guy off our 'fleet' a couple of years ago, drowned, spent a week scouring the area with a dozen boats and ships, plus Coast Guard chopper and plane, but we couldn't even find his body.

That was in the Gulf of Mexico, and he fell overboard when a small-boat personnel transfer was going on.

It is just a job really, but things can turn very nasty very quickly, so a dark/forgiving/warped sense of humour is essential. I've seen some weird and wonderful things in the 18 years I've been doing it.