SS THORFINN HOME PAGE

BACK FROM THE EDGE

May 5, 2008

From Disaster to freshly Reconstructed Dive Cruiser, now exhibiting finest ‘state of art’ pedigrees.

Hello divers and interested parties..!

This little story comes from a wearied, but very happy Captain Lance, of the SS THORFINN.

Weary from a long 10 months of first surviving a Micronesian weather reef encounter, through to final delayed delivery from a major Philippine ship repair facility. Nearly 5 months passed after promised repair delivery, becoming our major issue, and one for which we pass sincerest apologies to many booked parties that required our diversions to other facilities to hopefully satisfy their expectations.We are extremely sorry for not providing our direct personalized service and customer care, but trust the efforts and considerable costs we encountered were able to satisfy most that came on in spite of the frustrating late notices of our delayed return.

Happiness comes from returning home to Truk Lagoon where we’ve served faithful clientele for past 27 years. Now better prepared and equipped than ever before, we’ll serve every possible diving desire from high technical levels through to all others seeking maximum dive vacations. Fresh new comforts and facilities aboard are served by a caring family crew of 22, still serving just 22 divers from this largest and longest operating dive cruiser.

Early stress turned to satisfaction in working with straight up Australian insurance underwriters that supported most of our plight from a long arduous salvage, lengthy tow, and final repairs at a distant facility. These are difficult times to locate suitable shipyards to accommodate a vessel on short notice, due most facilities being overloaded with at least 1 to 2 years advance booked repair/construction reservations. Current shipbuilding booms have placed the apple clearly in mouths of the shipyards with owners taking the back seat, and paying highest costs ever known.

Such was our fate at a big facility brimming with other ship maintenance and huge oil rig construction programs. Close to 3,000 employees bustling to build huge rigs, caused shortages in experienced hands to attend our complex reconstruction. Much of our work was finally let to outside contractors often from Singapore and other locations as far as Shanghai, to hopefully close time gaps and delays occurring from lack of available talent at the big yard.

Guaranteed repair deliveries are near unatttainable on short notice basis, and we bore these shortcomings without ability to force various issues. Purchase of 3 new 200 KW generators, replacing huge tailshaft and propeller, along with developing all new electric controls and boards was a massive task partially overcome by gratifying help from developed friends attending other ships alongside us.

Many protocols were supplied and served well in completing this big transition. A virtual new ship is now back with 75% of bottom steel replaced, much new steel and aluminum housework, many auxiliary machinery replacements, all new hydraulics and electrics, and a completely overhauled and revitalized steam propulsion plant. Nightmares of constant thieving occurred with removal of many key brass and copper fittings, pipes and gauges, as valuable as gold to many workers and so-called security sources. How these removals occurred without observation remains an unsolved mystery. Apologies from the yard did little to assist in replacing this critical equipment. Contemplated legal action was averted through later billing concessions.

Greatest shortcoming was at job’s end with apparent loss of nearly 200 tons of boiler fuel requiring removal and storage while undergoing bottom side repairs. After high removal fees, we learned that an organization sanctioned by the yard and local municipality had supposedly disposed of it all. We were later offered low quality wastes at USD $350/ton for amounts we had brought with us. Subsequently, fresh fuel bunkers to return home cost nearly USD $175,000 before ship’s departure. Not a small item to this little firm.

We pushed every possible way in final stages of work to support earlier delivery promises to large dive groups and to curtail losses of revenue being incurred by having to divert them to other facilities at Truk Lagoon. A ship normally requires complete and thorough test runs after extensive refitting to check newly installed equipment, but we cut short with just a few dockside checks prior to a ‘cold turkey’ departure. We sustained a few minor problems, but maintained our way for the 2,500 mile voyage to home destination.

Stories and experiences of this entire encounter would likely fill two full sized novels if told in detail, but suffice to say the ship and facilities are great bringing high accolades from recent divers, and the weight lost under returning duress by the riding crew and captain are now being regained within comforts of Truk’s big lagoon.

Seaward Holidays, managing owners of Thorfinn invite all divers to join us for a lovely week of the world’s best wreck and coral diving within reasonably priced vacation packages found at our website www.thorfinn.net. Select program options satisfy near all diving desires, and we take pride in delivering the most diving and onboard comforts in the process.

Wish you the very best on your next undersea tour, hopefully it may be with us. E. Lance Higgs, Capt. SS THORFINN

E. Lance Higgs,
Capt. SS THORFINN

April 20, 2008

Please be informed that our beloved ship, the S.S.Thorfinn is finally back in the Truk Lagoon today – April 20, 2008 @ 1100hours.

Captain Lance will make further announcement soonest. It has been a great struggle for all of us that’s why we’re very excited to re-launch the newly refitted and redesigned S.S.Thorfinn.

More updates coming soonest!!!

April 9, 2008

Please be informed that our Beloved Ship, the S.S.Thorfinn made a stop in Yap last yesterday afternoon-April 08, 2008 to pick up Yap Power Plant’s Waste Oil for boiler fuel and is expected to depart by Friday-April 11, 2008.

Current ETA Truk is on April 15, 2008 Captain Lance will make a big announcement upon the Thorfinn’s arrival here in “Paradise” ---Truk Lagoon!

Yours faithfully, Carol - S.S.Thorfinn

March 30,2008

To all near endless well wishers and interested parties, ... especially the speculators and various others displaying our agonies on the so public World Wide Web...

To everyone we pass the following good news .....

We are so happy to announce that our good ship, the S.S.Thorfinn is finally steaming its way back to the Truk Lagoon. It departed Keppel Batangas Shipyard, Philippines early on March 30, 2008 and is expected to be back home base (Truk) on or before April 4, 2008.

It was indeed a difficult and long journey for us but we’re about to cross the finish line. We thank everyone for their kindest concerns, patience and prayers… The best comes to those who waits..

Captain Lance would surely make a big announcement upon the Thorfinn’s arrival here in “Paradise” ---the Truk Lagoon!

Yours faithfully, Carol - S.S.Thorfinn


February 14, 2008

To all near endless well wishers and interested parties, ... especially the speculators and various others displaying our agonies on the so public World Wide Web... To everyone we pass the following good news .....

We are now on the final stage of the refit. The ship is brilliant as you can see above --afloat at pierside at the dry dock facility in Batangas, Philippines. Our best indicators from winding down of work aboard ship now floating alongside repair pier, is that we'll be undergoing sea trials by 23rd of February and away for the week long return by month's end.

That is the best view we can supply at this moment with all the matters coming together as we see them. As you can surely determine it’s a mad rush to get away, and we're doing all that is humanly possible to make the earliest departure happen.

We'll definitely inform you if any little hiccups develop after installing such a massive amount of equipment and undergoing the huge renovations aboard. There will be many pleased and satisfied guests returning from future visits aboard.

Yours faithfully,
E. Lance Higgs, Capt
Captain, SS THORFINN
On-line streaming video

 

One of the world's first and perhaps greatest dive ships has returned from a severe encounter for survival after brushing a deep unmarked coral ledge of outer coral reefs at Pohnpei's harbor entrance last June 8/07. This big steam powered ship was loaded with nearly 300 tons of waste oils from shore side power plants to burn cleanly in her propulsion boilers, and headed back to her Truk Lagoon base, when the accident occurred.

Her captain, Lance Higgs maneuvered his stricken ship onto the reef ledge to avoid sinking into deep outlying waters with certain disaster of loss and serious oil pollutions. For next 37 days a harrowing tale of survival began, without any immediate salvage assistance available. Most vessels would have succumbed early to the damaging bumps and grinds from ocean swells working at her tenuous perch, but this sturdy vessel's ice strengthened construction kept her intact and finally able to be patched and floated off with capable assistance from a local construction company, and tow off power from the FSM government's prime service ship, the MV 'Caroline.

Throughout the period of strand, her crew remained aboard to cope with any and all emergencies, preventing all but slight oil traces into local waters. Pohnpei State's local EPA maintained tight surveillance and assisted in preventing what could easily have been a major pollution hazard had matters turned badly. Weather conditions were mostly favorable with occasional storms creating tense periods aboard from heavy ocean swells pounding into the ship's semi-submerged weather side.

Salvage efforts finally succeeded in getting off the reef by mid July, with the ship escorted into Pohnpei's inner harbor for permanent sealing of several hull punctures, and readied for a 2,000 mile tow to the big Keppel Batangas Ship Repair facility near Manila, Philippines. Saipan Shipping's capable tug, MV 'Don Juan Tenorio' completed the tow in 14 days without further incident.

The SS 'Thorfinn' is undergoing thorough steel bottom replating, complete refurbishing of all new generators, boiler retubing, re-wiring, improved topside facilities and layout for future diver enjoyments to even greater satisfactions than before. Full satellite communications and Internet services will now be provided with new full Comsat F77 equipment offering the finest communications afloat.

Diving equipment has been replaced or improved, offering the widest range of diving services from technical down to basic levels. Dive operations at Truk Lagoon are being maintained from the ship's new 30ft covered RIB launches, with Thorfinn's experienced dive staff continuing full dive services for pre-booked guests staying ashore at local hotels until ship's expected return by late November/early December.

Staff and owners of Seaward Holidays thank everyone for the strong support and well wishings received during this firm's strains of this incident. We're pleased to have disproven certain forecasts of doom, and know future guests aboard will enjoy even greater satisfaction from further changes and improvements being worked into this extensive USD $ 1.6M restructure."