Stena Hibernia - night of the big roll

 

There was barely a breath of wind as the Stena Hibernia lay alongside at Dun Laoghaire on 16th January 1993 loading for the 20.45 sailing to Holyhead. Of course, the great landmass above Dun Laoghaire sheltered the town from the SSW'ly gale that was blowing in the Irish Sea.

 

The Master had instructed the loading officer to 'storm load' and this involved stowing all the freight vehicles 'block-stowed', three lanes either side of the centre casing secured with our rachet/strap lashings. The cars were loaded at both the for'd and after ends of the main vehicle deck. No mezzanine decks were in use.

 

We sailed 'right time' out of Dun Laoghaire, the engine room and onboard services having been advised of the weather conditions outside. Approaching the Kish Light we started to feel the wind although sea conditions were good as we were still in the lee of the Codling Bank. But it wasn't too long before the passage became uncomfortable.

 

I know it was somewhere around that time that I decided to go up to the bridge to 'have a look at the sea' and that is indeed what I saw! I'd only been on the bridge for a few minutes when the ship dropped into a trough in the quartering sea. A large foam-capped swell appeared on the startboard quarter which seemed to tower over the ship as she lay heeling to starboard in the trough. Like a 'kelly doll' she was thrown over to port to an angle that was in excess of the parameters of the bridge inclinometer (it jammed full over).

 

With the same violence the ship rolled back to starboard  and to a similar angle. And there we were, frozen in a moment of time, staring at our destiny in the form of another very large swell approaching like an express train. In that moment I hoped that this wall of water would not have the same effect again. But it did.

 

Over we went again to port and back to starboard. It felt as tough we were on our beam ends. The bridge was wrecked. If it could move, it did and if it couldn't move, it soon found a way of doing so. How we managed to keep our feet I don't know! 

 

Even through all of this, the Captain and helmsman managed to steer the ship out of this synchronous rolling pattern.

 

And so she settled down. I was despatched to the car deck to check on the cargo. I was met at the bottom of the stairs by the car deck watchman, who was in a state of fright having lost his footing and slid under a lorry; thankfully he was okay. My rapid assessment indicated that the lorries had shifted to port but the block stow had restricted that movement. However some of the cars, particularly at the for'd end, were badly damaged. In fact the cars had re-stowed themselves and resembled the order of a scrapyard. They had not fared well.

 

In the passenger accommodation there was absolute mayhem. The 'hotel' accommodation had reverted back to true; a ship. Potted plants, fixtures and fittings, decorations, cabinets, tables and chairs had all become mobile. Even the corner of a heavy gaming table had tried to make exit through a window. And amongst all of this were the passengers, who were very frightened. Many people had suffered injury but thankfully the majority were of a minor nature. The bureau staff had assumed control of the situation and took charge of the catering crew in organising First Aid.

 

The engine room fared well. All equipment had been well secured and had survived the roll.

 

The remainder of the voyage was far less eventful although rough. Eventually we made the lee of the North Stack and entered the calm waters of Holyhead with a 3.5 degree port list. Waiting for us on the quay were 13 ambulances for the injured, the press and a whole team of Sealink Stena Line staff to assist the passengers. When the passengers were called to the car deck I was amazed. There was silence. Nothing was said as though the piled-up cars were a normal feature. The rest of the day was spent with the fire brigade with hydraulic equipment trying to separate the lorries.