MS Stolt Surf
Encyclopedia
The MS Stolt Surf was a Chemical tanker
, operated by Stolt-Nielsen Inc.
She achieved a measure of infamy when she was struck and damaged by a rogue wave, an event that was photographed by a crew member and subsequently added to the ongoing debate over the possibility of such waves out in the deep ocean.
, of Gothenburg
, Sweden
, the Stolt Surf joined the merchant fleet of Stolt-Nielsen Inc., one of the largest operators of parcel tankers in the world. She served for seven years without major incident.
The Stolt Surf departed Singapore
on 4 October 1977, on a routine voyage across the Pacific Ocean
to Portland
, in the United States
. A storm was brewing out in the Pacific. The advice from the weather routing agency was to keep far to the north, to avoid a developing storm to the south. Despite being contrary to his experience and instinct, the Stolt Surf’s Captain Oddenes decided to follow their advice. This proved to be a mistake, when by 20 October the Stolt Surf encountered an enormous cyclone
. Whilst battling through waves in excess of the usual 10 metre height, she encountered at least one 'freak wave', which towered above the tanker, reaching a height of at least 22 metres and rising above the height of the bridge deck. Several times waves crashed over the bridge itself. Chief engineer Karsten Petersen took a number of pictures of the storm, which recorded several features distinct to freak waves, namely deep troughs and waves so tall that they break.
The breaking wave crashing onto the deck and superstructure of the Stolt Surf caused considerable damage. Three of the tank hatches and the door to the pump room were torn off, despite their strong construction. The pipelines running across the decks were bent and the gangways were tossed over the deck and wrecked. Steam pipes and electric cables were torn and ruptured, whilst the wave smashed a number of windows and port holes. Flooding entered the ship, smashing the furniture and tearing off bulkhead
panelling. Despite the severe damage, there were no serious injuries, and only one sailor was subsequently hospitalised. The Stolt Surf was fortunate in that her engines remained operational, and the ship was able to remain with her stern into the waves. Had she lost headway, the storm would have forced her to turn sideways into the oncoming waves, where she risked being hulled or capsized, particularly if she encountered another rogue wave. The Stolt Surf limped into port a week later on 26 October.
The Stolt Surf’s name was perpetuated in a new tanker built for Stolt-Nielsen and launched in 2000.
had predicted that such extreme waves were extremely rare, to the extent that a 30 metre crest to trough wave would occur only once every 10,000 years. The proof gathered by the Stolt Surf joined a growing body of evidence that the linear model did not adequately explain all of the types of waves that could be encountered. The loss of the MS München
in a storm in the North Atlantic the following year was attributed to an 'unknown event', but was later considered to be one of the first losses that could be confidently attributed to a freak wave. Despite this, it was not until the separate encounters by the cruise liners Bremen
and Caledonian Star in the South Atlantic, that the possibility of nonlinear causes of freak waves was seriously considered. The resulting theories helped to explain the possible causes of the freak waves encountered by the Stolt Surf.
Chemical tanker
A chemical tanker is a type of tanker designed to transport chemicals in bulk.Ocean-going chemical tankers generally range from to in size, which is considerably smaller than the average size of other tanker types due to the specialised nature of their cargoes and the size restrictions of the...
, operated by Stolt-Nielsen Inc.
Stolt-Nielsen
Stolt-Nielsen Limited is a Norwegian-Bermudean shipping and seafood company. The company has its headquarters formally in London although most of its operations are in Rotterdam, it is listed on Oslo Stock Exchange.-Stolt Tankers:...
She achieved a measure of infamy when she was struck and damaged by a rogue wave, an event that was photographed by a crew member and subsequently added to the ongoing debate over the possibility of such waves out in the deep ocean.
Wave encounter
Built in 1970 at the yards of EriksbergsEriksbergs Mekaniska Verkstads AB
Eriksbergs Mekaniska Verkstads AB was a Swedish shipbuilding company based in Gothenburg. It was founded in 1850 by Christian Barchman under the name Ericsbergs metall och tackjerns-gjuteri. It delivered its last ship in 1979.-Introduction:...
, of Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, the Stolt Surf joined the merchant fleet of Stolt-Nielsen Inc., one of the largest operators of parcel tankers in the world. She served for seven years without major incident.
The Stolt Surf departed Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
on 4 October 1977, on a routine voyage across the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
to Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. A storm was brewing out in the Pacific. The advice from the weather routing agency was to keep far to the north, to avoid a developing storm to the south. Despite being contrary to his experience and instinct, the Stolt Surf’s Captain Oddenes decided to follow their advice. This proved to be a mistake, when by 20 October the Stolt Surf encountered an enormous cyclone
Cyclone
In meteorology, a cyclone is an area of closed, circular fluid motion rotating in the same direction as the Earth. This is usually characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth. Most large-scale...
. Whilst battling through waves in excess of the usual 10 metre height, she encountered at least one 'freak wave', which towered above the tanker, reaching a height of at least 22 metres and rising above the height of the bridge deck. Several times waves crashed over the bridge itself. Chief engineer Karsten Petersen took a number of pictures of the storm, which recorded several features distinct to freak waves, namely deep troughs and waves so tall that they break.
The breaking wave crashing onto the deck and superstructure of the Stolt Surf caused considerable damage. Three of the tank hatches and the door to the pump room were torn off, despite their strong construction. The pipelines running across the decks were bent and the gangways were tossed over the deck and wrecked. Steam pipes and electric cables were torn and ruptured, whilst the wave smashed a number of windows and port holes. Flooding entered the ship, smashing the furniture and tearing off bulkhead
Bulkhead (partition)
A bulkhead is an upright wall within the hull of a ship or within the fuselage of an airplane. Other kinds of partition elements within a ship are decks and deckheads.-Etymology:...
panelling. Despite the severe damage, there were no serious injuries, and only one sailor was subsequently hospitalised. The Stolt Surf was fortunate in that her engines remained operational, and the ship was able to remain with her stern into the waves. Had she lost headway, the storm would have forced her to turn sideways into the oncoming waves, where she risked being hulled or capsized, particularly if she encountered another rogue wave. The Stolt Surf limped into port a week later on 26 October.
The Stolt Surf’s name was perpetuated in a new tanker built for Stolt-Nielsen and launched in 2000.
Consequence
The evidence in the photographs, showing abnormally large waves out in the deep ocean, where science, using the linear modelLinear model
In statistics, the term linear model is used in different ways according to the context. The most common occurrence is in connection with regression models and the term is often taken as synonymous with linear regression model. However the term is also used in time series analysis with a different...
had predicted that such extreme waves were extremely rare, to the extent that a 30 metre crest to trough wave would occur only once every 10,000 years. The proof gathered by the Stolt Surf joined a growing body of evidence that the linear model did not adequately explain all of the types of waves that could be encountered. The loss of the MS München
MS München
MS München was a German LASH carrier of the Hapag-Lloyd line that sank with all hands for unknown reasons in a severe storm in December 1978....
in a storm in the North Atlantic the following year was attributed to an 'unknown event', but was later considered to be one of the first losses that could be confidently attributed to a freak wave. Despite this, it was not until the separate encounters by the cruise liners Bremen
MS Bremen
MS Bremen, is a cruise ship operated by Hapag Lloyd since 1993. She was built as Frontier Spirit at the Mitsubishi Shipyard, Kobe in 1990....
and Caledonian Star in the South Atlantic, that the possibility of nonlinear causes of freak waves was seriously considered. The resulting theories helped to explain the possible causes of the freak waves encountered by the Stolt Surf.