$10 million yacht sinks after launch

OOPS: Brand new $10-million yacht sinks in Anacortes moments after launch (VIDEO)

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ANACORTES, Wash -- A multi-million-dollar yacht sank in Anacortes last weekend moments after it's launch. No one was injured, but investigators are trying to figure out why it sank after just a few seconds on the water. This video shows the launch and the capsizing of the yacht. Earlier this week crews were able to right the vessel with the help of a huge crane . WATCH THE SINKING VIDEO BELOW: http://youtu.be/lEBJjsdTyWY?t=2m51s

Botched boat launch ruined a $10-million yacht before it could be delivered to owner

First responders used an axe to hack a hole into a new luxury vessel in order to save one of the shipbuilders inside.

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ANACORTES, Wash. — A new, $10-million yacht that sank as it was being launched Sunday in Anacortes, Washington, has been pulled upright while the Coast Guard investigates what went wrong.

After an attempt to deliver the yacht to its owner went awry, first responders were forced to hack at the luxury vessel with a fire axe to rescue one of the ship builders inside — according to local media reports.

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Six people were aboard as Northern Marine Industries launched the yacht. When it began to roll, several went to the engine room to adjust ballast but water flooded inside, the Skagit Valley Herald reports.

Most of the workers got out easily but one was trapped. Rescuers had to chop out a porthole to pull him free.

“It was kind of a mad dash … to get all of us out of there,” shipbuilder Wade Benda told TV station KIRO 7.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Jordan Akiyama says an incident management team is looking into why the new vessel capsized. Salvage efforts are currently underway, with help from a crane, KIRO 7 reported.

The yacht had 120 gallons of diesel on board but none leaked.

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Video Emerges of $10M Yacht Launch Fail

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And now for the video you have all been waiting for… (skip to 2:30 for the action)

As you may have heard, on Sunday, May 18 the 90′ expedition style motor yacht Bäden, estimated to have cost $10 million according to some reports, capsized during its launch in Anacortes, Washington. Luckily, nobody was seriously injured in the incident, although several shipyard personnel were onboard the vessel and became trapped when it rolled over.

The incident is under investigation and, as mentioned in the video, it is likely that this phoenix will rise from the ashes.

UPDATE: In a press release issued May 29, Northern Marine addressed the yacht sinking. Here is their full statement:

On Sunday, May 18, 2014, New World Yacht Builders LLC (DBA Northern Marine) suffered a major accident during the launch of its new 90’ expedition yacht, as the yacht capsized onto its port side during the launch and settled to the bottom of the launch area. Fortunately, the experienced master and crew responded to the peril professionally and a ll aboard escaped, with only two employees suffering minor cuts. There was no property damage to the surrounding launch area and potential environmental contamination was negated as a result of instant response to avoid possible fuel leakage, of which there was none. Since the casualty, there has been much speculation as to what happened, often with little or no supporting evidence. Northern Marine is cooperating with the United States Coast Guard in its investigation into incident. Northern Marine has launch more than 35 vessels, ranging from 57 to 151 foot motor yachts, with all of its trawler models having been launched using transport dollies at the same ramp where the accident occurred on the 18th. Northern Marine continues to have complete confidence in its trawler designs, all of which have been tank tested and passed the same United States Coast Guard (USCG) stability standards applied to commercial fishing vessels operating in the North Pacific. Northern Marine trawlers have safely sailed to destinations throughout world, such as the 75-foot Starship that successfully completed a 1000 day, 78,000 mile journey to explore parts the world rarely seen by mankind. Northern Marine believes the 90 foot yacht involved in the launch accident to be no exception. Since the accident, the project naval architect/Professional Engineer has confirmed that the yacht, as designed, had adequate stability with the amount of ballast aboard at the time of launch, provided that “severe heeling moments” were not induced during the launch. Unfortunately, it appears that just such a severe heeling moment did occur during the launch. While investigations as to the cause of the capsizing are continuing, the physical evidence on, and adjacent to, the launch ramp suggests that the dolly carrying the weight of the port stern of the yacht may have suddenly dropped off the edge of the boat ramp during the launch, causing the vessel to experience a sudden list to port from which it could not recover in its light condition for launch. As noted above, the official USCG investigation continues and Northern Marine will cooperate in those investigations to their conclusion. Northern Marine is also working closely with the yacht’s purchaser and their insurance underwriters to address the losses resulting from the accident. Northern Marine wishes to express its heartfelt appreciation for its many employees that contributed their talents to the construction of the yacht.

Previous Coverage: 

• PHOTOS: Shipyard Personnel Freed with Fire Axe as $10M Motor Yacht Capsizes at Launch
• Time-Lapse Video: Salvors Raise $10M Yacht That Sank at Launch

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6 lessons learned from the Northern Marine 85 launch capsize

Yacht launches can go wrong.

Yacht launches are usually a cause for celebration, but last year one went horribly wrong when a Northern Marine 85 superyacht capsized during her launch in Ancortes, Washington. Now a recently released official Marine Accident Brief from the National Transportation Safety Board details exactly what went wrong.

On May 18, 2014, Northern Marine 85 yacht Baaden , known as project Blood Baron during build, was launched stern-first down a boat ramp at the Fidalgo Marina when it capsized, as seen in the video below. From transcription errors and instability to unorganised project management, there seem to have been multiple problems that led to the capsize of Baaden , all of which offer important lessons on how similar accidents can be avoided in the future.

The first lesson to be learned is simple: understand that accidents can happen and launches can go wrong, and plan ahead accordingly.

Transcription errors can be fatal to a superyacht launch

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of the capsizing of Baaden during its launch to be the "vessels low margin of stability due to the combined effects of a recording error during the final vessel weigh, which resulted in an incorrect assessment of the vessel’s centre of gravity, and an overestimation of the weight of installed ballast."

In other words, there were ballast and stability issues, caused in large part by a transcription error from the builder New World, which had acquired Northern Marine's assets and was operating under its name.

New World had supplied the stability naval architect with an aft starboard load value of 68,500 – a typo as it was really 60,550. But the naval architect used the incorrect measurement to calculate the vessels total weight, and the aft port load had 68,700 – an 8,000 pound difference caused by a typo that proved fatal for this yacht's launch. On top of this, New World also overstated the ballast weight as 23 LT when it was really 16.61, causing the architect to overestimate the yacht's stability.

Don't assume anything when launching a yacht

As the Marine Accident Brief reports, all was going as planned until 40 seconds after the front dolly transporting Baaden submerged and the team said there was a "sudden loud clank and crunching sound from the stern".

The team paused the launch to find the cause of the problem, but there were no leaks and all launch mechanisms appeared to be behaving normally, so they decided to proceed with the launch 12 minutes later. The team had no way of knowing that there were serious ballast and stability issues going on with the yacht.

Hindsight is 20/20, but this excerpt from the report is telling, "the launch team believed the boat would right itself from the port list once it floated free from its cradles."

But as the yacht moved into the water, it was apparent the port stabiliser fin was dragging on the ramp. The vessel listed further to port, slipped off the front of its cradle, and as the captain accelerated to help the yacht into the water more quickly, her roll rate to port only quickened. The boat "quickly capsized" and began to take on water through its engine air intakes.

Consistent project management is a necessity

Before the fateful day of the launch that went wrong, Baaden had a tumultuous beginning. Her initial builder, Northern Marine went bankrupt in 2012, and New World Yacht Builders acquired its assets, construction techniques and retained the company’s name. Baaden began as an 80-foot hull mould and was expanded to 25.9 metres in her midsection and stern while the bow was given more flair.

Project management of the build seems to have been chaotic with the engineer departing early in the project and the yacht owner's onsite build captain being let go and replaced with a less hands-on management group. While the general manager who had previously served with Northern Marine was on the New World team, he was not specifically involved with Baaden . All of this combined could have led to a less than functional build with errors, such as ballast issues, easily slipping through the cracks.

According to the accident brief, "The company's acting general manager stated that the Baaden project had more discontinuity in technical personnel and a greater amount of subcontracted work compared to past builds."

Stern-first launches are tricky for yachts of any size

While it might be tempting to think this launch capsize was a one-off incident, it's important to note that large yachts will always be vulnerable during stern-first launching. As the report states, "Stern-first launching on an angled ramp or incline presents a stability issue that large vessels face only when first entering the water. The large trim angle causes the vessel’s stern to become buoyant while the bow is supported on a cradle. This can cause a momentary negative righting arm and, without additional supports at the bow constraining the vessel from rolling, necessitates getting the hull into the water quickly to obtain full stability."

There were no bow constraints in use on the Baaden launch, nor any launching calculations performed to evaluate stability at various trims and positions when entering the water when the yacht would be at its most vulnerable position.

Plan for worst case scenarios

The launch capsize of Northern Marine 85 superyacht Baaden reminds us to always have a backup plan for worst case scenarios.

The report states that launch crew trapped in the engine room saw water leaking in through the lazarette and determined that the area was likely flooded and they wouldn’t be able to escape this way. Recalling a watertight window in the starboard-side head forward of the engine room, they made their way there and a shoreside team was able to use a rock to break this window and let out four of the five crew members. Fortunately, there were only three minor injuries. An important lesson here is for crews and owners alike to have a plan in place with escape routes and emergency procedures when everything goes wrong – even during launch – but hope they never will need to be used.

Despite being salvaged, due to damage to the interior woodwork, machinery and electrical systems, the capsized superyacht Baaden was declared a total loss worth an estimated $10 million.

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