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When the gas tanker got caught in Japans TsunamibyJoseph FonsecaMay 23, 2011, 3:05PM EST

Capt Mukeshs gas carrier though battered by the Tsunami while at KashimaPort came out in one piece to discharge its lethal cargo which could have

done inconceivable damage

All seafarers will agree that the closest thing to hell on earth is being on agas tanker in a port during a Tsunami. In command of Flanders Tenacity,Capt Mukesh Yadav had just berthed his gas carrier that is under EXMARShipmanagement, at Kashima port in Japan on that ominous day, 11

thMarch

2011. All set to discharge the 23,500 tons of deadly propane cargo he noticedsevere vibrations. Thinking that someone may have wrongly started theengines he rushed out of the cabin to find that it was a severe earthquake

underway. Soon he learnt through the VHF that a tsunami was due to hit thecoast shortly.Being saddled with such heavy odds, he could not help conjuring images ofmassive walls of water smashing his ship against the rocks. The gas carrierhad enough propane to destroy the port if it escaped or if the tanks sufferedan explosion. He made frantic bids to pull out attempting to call for tugs and apilot to guide the vessel out of the port, but these efforts were in vain aseveryone had deserted the port sensing danger. Communication lines werealready down and there was neither help nor assistance possible.My greatest concern was for the safety of my 24 member crew, related Capt

Yadav. There were over 15 other vessels in and around the port besidesinnumerable tugs, boats and smaller craft that could pose a danger to the gascarrier in case of a collision. As the waves began coming we lost our mooringsand started being dragged astern. We started the engines and prepared todrop both anchors. Just then we saw one of the vessels Rokkosan losing itsmooring and come rushing directly at us. We barely made it in time to use the

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7/29/2019 Capt. Mukesh Yadav

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engines astern and avoid immediate collision, luckily the vessel changedcourse and came alongside parallel to our own vessel.To complicate matters, hardly had we got theRokkosan out of the way, thatwe noticed another vessel China Steel Integrity right at our stern. Wedropped both anchors and cut down speed but our vessels sterns collided.

We were still safe. Our vessel then continued to suffer collisions from thesmaller boats and tugs. At one stage we hit the jetty which caused a gash tothe side of our vessel and we began taking in water into the engine room.The tsunami waves kept coming at intervals of 15 minutes; the water depth inthe port dropped and rose by several meters. The vessel ran aground anumber of times and rose with the rising tide. At one stage the ship began tolist making the ships capsizing a reality. But Capt Yadav decided to heave upthe anchor and move the vessel outside the channel. As the port anchor couldnot be raised, it was decided to cut the anchor chain.Capt Yadavs immediate worry was to prevent the ingress of water into theengine room. If the water submerged the generators they would stopfunctioning, cutting off the power supply to the compressors used for coolingthe gas to maintain it in a liquefied condition in the tank. The damage to thevessel being extensive it was risky going into deep waters. The water keptflooding the engine room. If the cooling stopped the gas would start bubblingout and eventually crack the surface of the tanks or even explodedisastrously. Worse still there was no electricity in the port because of thepower failure after the earthquake.With no tugs coming to our rescue and both our anchors down, we got our

vessel moving out, said Capt Yadav. We were about 2/3

rd

of a cable lengthfrom the exit of the channel when the anchors bit into rocks which caused ourvessel to stop. I used ballast to list the vessel until the gaping hole in the sideof the vessel was above the water level. That came as a big relief as weprevented further flooding of the engine room. But then to make mattersworse, I realized the rudder had got damaged and had got bent makingnavigation difficult. We finally moved out to sea but kept to the shallow waterswhere we anchored.They remained at anchor for at least two weeks before discharging the cargo and latertaking the ship to the repairs yard. But this wait of two weeks had become a nightmareas the rumors of nuclear fallout from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant percolateddown to the officers and crew causing their morale to sag steeply. The hazardous effectof radiation kept playing on the minds of every one. Food was running short and had tobe rationed. Later they moved the beleaguered vessel to Tokyo Bay but keeping themorale up became a major problem. Somehow Capt Mukesh succeeded in keepingeveryone in good spirits till they were able to discharge the cargo.