MV Swanland
Encyclopedia
MV Swanland was a bulk carrier
Bulk carrier
A bulk carrier, bulk freighter, or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo, such as grains, coal, ore, and cement in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, economic forces have fueled the development of these ships,...
.
The ship was was built by Bijlsma Lemmer Scheepswerf of Lemmer
Lemmer
Lemmer is a town in the municipality of Lemsterland , in the Netherlands. It has a population of around 10,500 and is one of Friesland's most famous water sport towns.Lemmer also is a common Luxembourgish last name....
in the Netherlands in 1977. Originally named Carebeka IX, she was renamed several times. The vessel was last owned and operated as Swanland by Torbulk, a company based in Grimsby
Grimsby
Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...
, and was registered in the Cook Islands
Cook Islands
The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...
as a flag of convenience
Flag of convenience
The term flag of convenience describes the business practice of registering a merchant ship in a sovereign state different from that of the ship's owners, and flying that state's civil ensign on the ship. Ships are registered under flags of convenience to reduce operating costs or avoid the...
. She was 266 feet long and 46 feet wide with a draft of 11 feet, and displaced
Displacement (ship)
A ship's displacement is its weight at any given time, generally expressed in metric tons or long tons. The term is often used to mean the ship's weight when it is loaded to its maximum capacity. A number of synonymous terms exist for this maximum weight, such as loaded displacement, full load...
2,180 tons.
In 2010 she narrowly avoided grounding off Lizard Point, Cornwall
Lizard Point, Cornwall
Lizard Point in Cornwall is at the southern tip of the Lizard Peninsula. It is situated half-a-mile south of Lizard village in the civil parish of Landewednack and approximately 11 miles southeast of Helston....
, after her engines failed and she had to be taken in tow by the emergency tow vessel
Emergency tow vessel
An emergency tow vessel, also called emergency towing vessel, is a multi purpose boat used by state authorities to tow disabled vessels on high seas in order to prevent dangers to man and environment...
Anglian Princess and towed into Falmouth
Falmouth
-Canada:*Falmouth, Nova Scotia, a community in Hants County*Upper Falmouth, Nova Scotia-United States:*Falmouth, Florida*Falmouth, Indiana*Falmouth, Kentucky*Falmouth, Maine*Falmouth, Massachusetts...
.
Swanland sank
Underwater
Underwater is a term describing the realm below the surface of water where the water exists in a natural feature such as an ocean, sea, lake, pond, or river. Three quarters of the planet Earth is covered by water...
in a gale force 8 storm
Storm
A storm is any disturbed state of an astronomical body's atmosphere, especially affecting its surface, and strongly implying severe weather...
in the Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
10 miles off the Lleyn Peninsula, Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
at approximately 0200 on Sunday 27 November 2011. She was carrying limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
from Raynes Jetty near Colwyn Bay
Colwyn Bay
- Demography :Prior to local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974 Colwyn Bay was a municipal borough with a population of c.25,000, but in 1974 this designation disappeared leaving five separate parishes, known as communities in Wales, of which the one bearing the name Colwyn Bay encompassed...
to Cowes
Cowes
Cowes is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east Bank...
on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
.
The search and rescue
Search and rescue
Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
mission was co-ordinated by Holyhead Coastguard and involved RNLI Pwllheli
Pwllheli
Pwllheli is a community and the main market town of the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, north-western Wales. It has a population of 3,861, of which a large proportion, 81 per cent, are Welsh speaking. Pwllheli is the place where Plaid Cymru was founded. It is the birthplace of Albert Evans-Jones -...
Mersey class lifeboat
Mersey class lifeboat
Mersey class lifeboats are all-weather lifeboats operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution from stations around the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland...
Lilly and Vincent Anthony and Porthdinllaen
Porthdinllaen
Porthdinllaen , is a small coastal village in the Dwyfor locality on the Llŷn Peninsula within Gwynedd, North Wales, previously in Caernarfonshire. It is near the larger village of Morfa Nefyn....
Tyne class lifeboat
Tyne class lifeboat
Tyne class lifeboats were designed to serve the shores of the UK and Ireland as a part of the RNLI fleet. They are named after the River Tyne in north-east England....
Hetty Rampton, RAF Westland Sea King
Westland Sea King
The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engines , British made anti-submarine warfare systems and a...
search and rescue helicopters of No. 22 Squadron RAF
No. 22 Squadron RAF
No. 22 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Sea King HAR.3 and HAR.3A at three stations in the southern United Kingdom. The squadron was originally formed in 1915 as an aerial reconnaissance unit of the Royal Flying Corps serving on the Western Front during First World War...
from RAF Valley
RAF Valley
RAF Valley is a Royal Air Force station on the island of Anglesey, Wales, and which is also used as Anglesey Airport. It provides fast-jet training using the BAE Hawk and provides training for aircrew working with Search and Rescue. Unofficially the motto for RAF Valley is 'One Valley, Training...
and RAF Chivenor, Irish Naval Service
Irish Naval Service
The Naval Service is the navy of Ireland and is one of the three standing branches of the Irish Defence Forces. Its main base is in Haulbowline, County Cork....
patrol ship LÉ Róisín
LÉ Róisín (P51)
LÉ Róisín is the lead ship of her class of offshore patrol vessel in the Irish Naval Service.-History:Róisín was built by Appledore Shipbuilders in Devon, entered service with the Irish Naval Service in September 1999 and is based at the Haulbowline Island, Cork Harbour Headquarters and...
and an Irish Air Corps
Irish Air Corps
The Air Corps is the air component of the Defence Forces of Ireland providing support to the Army and Naval Service, together with non-military air services such as search and rescue and the Ministerial Air Transport Service...
Casa
CASA
- Aviation :* Civil Aviation Safety Authority - Australian statutory authority responsible for the regulation of Civil Aviation* Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA- Spanish aircraft manufacturer, became EADS CASA in 1999...
maritime patrol aircraft, and Irish Coast Guard
Irish Coast Guard
The Irish Coast Guard is part of the Department of Transport. The Irish Search and Rescue Region, which includes most of the Republic of Ireland and parts of Northern Ireland is the area over which the coast guard has authority. This area is bounded by the UK Search and Rescue Region...
helicopters from Dublin, Waterford
Waterford
Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...
and Sligo
Sligo
Sligo is the county town of County Sligo in Ireland. The town is a borough and has a charter and a town mayor. It is sometimes referred to as a city, and sometimes as a town, and is the second largest urban area in Connacht...
, and other ships in the area - MT Bro Gazelle, MT Monsoon and MT Keewhit.
Two of the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n crew, Roman Savin, (26), and Vitaliy Karpenko, (48), were rescued during the sinking with Prince William, Duke of Cambridge taking part in the rescue mission. A third crewman, Chief Officer Leonid Safonov (50) was later found dead during a search for survivors. The rescued crew described how a large wave
Wave
In physics, a wave is a disturbance that travels through space and time, accompanied by the transfer of energy.Waves travel and the wave motion transfers energy from one point to another, often with no permanent displacement of the particles of the medium—that is, with little or no associated mass...
broke the ship's back.
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch
Marine Accident Investigation Branch
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch established in 1989 following the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster is a branch of the United Kingdom Department for Transport which can investigate any accident occurring in UK waters, regardless of the nationality of the vessel involved, and accidents...
(MAIB) is to conduct an inquiry into the sinking.