News on everyone’s favorite automotive shipping line:
[ Fuel cells help power zero emissions ship ]
I say kudos to Wallenius for going the extra mile on this project. Let’s just hope they can keep it above water.
Update: More info can be found below:
[ New Clean Design for Ocean Going Car Carriers ] Fuel Cell Today
<p>very very cool. i love seeing practical applications of inovative technology.</p>
<p>Oooof!! Can you imagine if your brand new M5, that you have waited months and months for, is now sitting in the bottom of the Dover Strait?!?!?!</p>
<p>I would cry for about a week.
………………</p>
<p>I cant wait for the first report on Motoringfile of a ship full of green MINIs making the passage from England to the US on a 100% green ship. I am inspired to see a large hugely oil depandant company looking towards a greener future. We should all buy an extra MINI this year to show our support. :)</p>
<p>-m</p>
<p>Wow, I’m really glad to hear that. Is this due to new EU regulations, or simply their own magnanimous intentions?</p>
<p>I did my part. Had a CR/W MCS for 6 months ans last week, my wife got a CR MCSC. We do still have a Honda Pilot for Home Depot trips but our daily cars are Mini Cooper S’</p>
<p>I did my part. Had a CR/W MCS for 6 months ans last week, my wife got a CR MCSC. We do still have a Honda Pilot for Home Depot trips but our daily cars are Mini Cooper S’</p>
<p><a href="http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/FuelCellToday/IndustryInformation/IndustryInformationExternal/NewsDisplayArticle/0,1602,5679,00.html" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/FuelCellToday/IndustryInformation/IndustryInformationExternal/NewsDisplayArticle/0,1602,5679,00.html</a></p>
<p>Another link with more info – very cool</p>
<p>so… are all those cars just under water now? I wonder if one could go done there and get some free cars, that would be awesome, although due to the pressure down there I doubt it. Still cool to think about though.</p>
<p>The salt water bath has already destroyed the electronics, wiring, interior and the metal is probably already rusting away. They are totally lost.</p>
<p>The wreck of the Tricolor has already been salvaged. It was in shallow enough water in the shipping lane that other vessles hit it several times, so the wreck was cut up and removed. There were some interesting photos of the salvage operation on the Wallenius website a year or so ago. </p>
<p>Since the vessle was lying on it’s side, they used an abrasive cable to slice through the hull. They then lifted the sections out of the water and took them by barge to the port, and then set them on land. They are neat cross-sections of the ship, including it’s cargo. It’s amazing how cleanly the cable cut the ship. It cut through pieces of equipment without ripping them out of the deck.</p>
<p>As for salvaging the cars on board,of course the mechanical and electrical bits are toast. I guess modern rustproofing really does work as you really didn’t see any rust on the cars. Of course, since the vessle was on it’s side, everything was in a pile on the low side of the ship, so it was all scrap. </p>
<p>Yes, from what I have read, there was one MINI on board. I belonged to a service man who bought it in europe and was having it shipped back to the states.</p>
<p>The cars were taken out a very short while after the wreck happened. All of the car companies involved hired special salvage teams to get those vehicles. They didn’t need scavengers going down there, digging them out, and then doing who knows what with them. Russian black-marketeers are infamous for getting ahold of stuff like that.</p>
<p>It still amazes me several other ships ran into the sunken wreck of the Tricolor. It’s not like it was moving around. You’d think their GPS would have been programed to avoid it.</p>