found
this in a SHIPTALK newsletter…funny my trips on her were startling
chaotic and while enjoyable I’ll never forget the day I was asked to
leave …a day sitting anchored in the muddy estuary of the Churchill
river as belugas bobbed to the surface like giant fishing floats……I had
just completed an interview with CBC Hull for french tv about working as
a chef at sea and as I worked around the dilapidated Russian galley,
broken appliances, open grated water drains backing up, this guy was
asking me (and no one else as it seemed the rest of my crew had
abandoned me to drink and dance all night with the Russians) what it was
like……well about two hours later after feeding 100plus I was in my
cabin struggling with a broken zipper on my duffel bag, duct taping it
shut as I had about 5 minutes to catch the last zodiac ashore in order
to get to the plane and then the bar at the Montreal airport…..it was
quite funny really as I had not been paid in 2 months, had put up with
Russians stealing from my forward reefers as the grub they ate(I can
attest as I sailed as the only English person with them from the Canary
Islands–Hi Tom, Maria and little one) was pitiful(…..kasha kasha
kasha…..), equipment that did not work, asking to get it fixed took days
as I had to relay my requests to the mate who eventually sent down an
electrician and one time a cleaning lady as he thought that my request
to have the tilt skillet looked at somehow meant a haircut……good times….
Ghost Ship
Over the centuries there have been some infamous ghost ships – the abandoned “Marie Celeste”, the ghostly “Flying Dutchman” and now the lost “MV Lyubov Orlova” has joined the ranks of spooky spectre ships.
The Orlova was not a notable vessel–the Yugoslavia-1976built ice-strengthened cruise ship spent its dotage providing polar cruises for the adventurous holiday maker, but ran into financial troubles.
Eventually it was abandoned dockside in St. John’s, Newfoundland after being seized for debts of US$251,000 owed to the charterer, Cruise North Expeditions, from a cancelled cruise due to faults with the ship, and unpaid wages.
The vessel say in St. John’s for over two years steadily deteriorating before plans were hatched to tow the vessel to the Dominican Republic to be scrapped. However, just one day into the epic tow south the tow rope broke. The crew of the tugboat tried unsuccessfully to reconnect the line hampered by strong winds and high waves. Finally the vessel was off, drifting slowly eastward.
The vessel was eventually “recaptured” when a Husky Energy tug was contracted to regain control of the drifting vessel. On February 1, 2013, Transport Canada announced that the tug had successfully gained control of the drifting ship, which was no longer a risk to oil and gas operations in the region. One in international waters, Transport Canada decided to cut her loose and the “Lyubov Orlova” was left to drift once more.
After an uncertain few weeks when the vessel was effectively lost the ship was located on February 23, roughly 700 nautical miles off the Irish coast, still in international waters.
However, an EPIRB only starts transmitting when the device is exposed to water, leading experts to believe the ship had finally sunk, and it seems the tale of the “Lynbov Orlova” was finally over but was exciting while it lasted.
Ghost Ship
Over the centuries there have been some infamous ghost ships – the abandoned “Marie Celeste”, the ghostly “Flying Dutchman” and now the lost “MV Lyubov Orlova” has joined the ranks of spooky spectre ships.
The Orlova was not a notable vessel–the Yugoslavia-1976built ice-strengthened cruise ship spent its dotage providing polar cruises for the adventurous holiday maker, but ran into financial troubles.
Eventually it was abandoned dockside in St. John’s, Newfoundland after being seized for debts of US$251,000 owed to the charterer, Cruise North Expeditions, from a cancelled cruise due to faults with the ship, and unpaid wages.
The vessel say in St. John’s for over two years steadily deteriorating before plans were hatched to tow the vessel to the Dominican Republic to be scrapped. However, just one day into the epic tow south the tow rope broke. The crew of the tugboat tried unsuccessfully to reconnect the line hampered by strong winds and high waves. Finally the vessel was off, drifting slowly eastward.
The vessel was eventually “recaptured” when a Husky Energy tug was contracted to regain control of the drifting vessel. On February 1, 2013, Transport Canada announced that the tug had successfully gained control of the drifting ship, which was no longer a risk to oil and gas operations in the region. One in international waters, Transport Canada decided to cut her loose and the “Lyubov Orlova” was left to drift once more.
After an uncertain few weeks when the vessel was effectively lost the ship was located on February 23, roughly 700 nautical miles off the Irish coast, still in international waters.
However, an EPIRB only starts transmitting when the device is exposed to water, leading experts to believe the ship had finally sunk, and it seems the tale of the “Lynbov Orlova” was finally over but was exciting while it lasted.
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