Article & photos by WFLA
A cargo ship lost power while approaching the dock at the Port of Tampa Thursday. Officials said quick thinking by harbor pilots and tug boats got it under control.
Cargo ship Tyndall came to Tampa from Mobile, Alabama. The power went out at about 9 a.m. No damage was reported.
Tampa Harbor Pilot Captain Ken Sears knows the port like the back of his hand.
A cargo ship lost power while approaching the dock at the Port of Tampa Thursday. Officials said quick thinking by harbor pilots and tug boats got it under control.
Cargo ship Tyndall came to Tampa from Mobile, Alabama. The power went out at about 9 a.m. No damage was reported.
Tampa Harbor Pilot Captain Ken Sears knows the port like the back of his hand.
Capt. Pilot Kenneth Sears
Capt. Pilot Kenneth Sears
“I’m passionate about, and I’m very fortunate that I get to do it every day, something that I enjoy very much,” Sears said.
Sears was on board the Tyndall for the transfer, so he directed the crew. He said the important part of approaching the dock is controlling the speed. At the time, it was down to a knot and a half.
“I could see the RPM indicator showing me that the engine wasn’t working,” Sears said. “And we’re now approaching the dock. We’re still doing about a knot and a half, and I had to change plans quickly. I was able to use the tug and the ship’s bow thruster to start angling away from the dock. So as the ship gradually slowed down, going past its final mark.”
There were cranes, the dock, and another ship in the Tyndall’s path.
“If we weren’t able to slow it down and get the angle corrected, that’s what we were, I would have been heading for,” Sears said.
Sears was on board the Tyndall for the transfer, so he directed the crew. He said the important part of approaching the dock is controlling the speed. At the time, it was down to a knot and a half.
“I could see the RPM indicator showing me that the engine wasn’t working,” Sears said. “And we’re now approaching the dock. We’re still doing about a knot and a half, and I had to change plans quickly. I was able to use the tug and the ship’s bow thruster to start angling away from the dock. So as the ship gradually slowed down, going past its final mark.”
There were cranes, the dock, and another ship in the Tyndall’s path.
“If we weren’t able to slow it down and get the angle corrected, that’s what we were, I would have been heading for,” Sears said.
Containership TYNDALL
Containership TYNDALL
Harbor pilot Brett Baker commends Sears for avoiding a potential disaster.
“[It] could have been pretty terrible, but Ken did a great job,” Baker said.
The Tyndall went under the Skyway Bridge before getting to Tampa. In 1980, a ship hit the bridge, causing it to collapse.
More recently, a cargo ship crashed into the Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland.
Powerless cargo ships have led to fatal and costly wrecks.
But how common is it for these massive ships to lose power?
“It’s, you know, luckily, it’s not very common. But ships lose power. It’s a mechanical system, you know, I’m sure the crew did a great job maintaining it, but accidents happen and systems fail,” Baker said. “The state, you know, licenses us and regulates us to make sure that there’s someone here to prevent these types of potential disasters.”
Baker said had this gone wrong, people’s lives could’ve been endangered as well as the economy, as 45% of the states fuel comes through this bay.
Sears said they are trained for moments like this.
“Only when there’s a disaster are we really reminded of what is at stake, and an event like this morning shows that it can happen and still end all right,” Sears said.
Tampa Port officials said the mechanical failure was reported to the U.S. Coast Guard. They will determine if the ship is safe to depart from the port again.
“[It] could have been pretty terrible, but Ken did a great job,” Baker said.
The Tyndall went under the Skyway Bridge before getting to Tampa. In 1980, a ship hit the bridge, causing it to collapse.
More recently, a cargo ship crashed into the Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland.
Powerless cargo ships have led to fatal and costly wrecks.
But how common is it for these massive ships to lose power?
“It’s, you know, luckily, it’s not very common. But ships lose power. It’s a mechanical system, you know, I’m sure the crew did a great job maintaining it, but accidents happen and systems fail,” Baker said. “The state, you know, licenses us and regulates us to make sure that there’s someone here to prevent these types of potential disasters.”
Baker said had this gone wrong, people’s lives could’ve been endangered as well as the economy, as 45% of the states fuel comes through this bay.
Sears said they are trained for moments like this.
“Only when there’s a disaster are we really reminded of what is at stake, and an event like this morning shows that it can happen and still end all right,” Sears said.
Tampa Port officials said the mechanical failure was reported to the U.S. Coast Guard. They will determine if the ship is safe to depart from the port again.
