Owner of MV Vezhen That Severed the Baltic Cable Between Sweden & Latvia Says...THE ANCHOR BROKE?

[@AltaMirage]

Capt. Kalchev: "The dog ate my anchor."

[@ThatOpalGuy]

Reminds me of the family circus comics. Ida know.

[@Mart-u2u]

Indeed.

[@ahoannon5711]

LOL. Time to send the good captain to the principal.

[@thechancellor3715]

Oh, so the captain Kalchev is a Russian....

[@TheLittlered1961]

I think there is a lot of fertilizer being spread here.

[@ColorNerdChris]

"Vezhen was carrying a load of fertilizer" Kalchev's broken wire chain explanation sounds like a load of fertilizer too.

[@jonathanbair523]

It sure got me snickering... Company line seams to match the load....

[@alexandrebelinge8996]

10/10

[@adyear3168]

So there's this cyberattack meeting and some dudes walk in with an anchor and chain saying "Hear me out' (borrowed comment)

[@markwalters4525]

The "load" grows by the day.

[@ProctorsGamble]

😆 The dark kind of fertilizer 💩

[@afre3398]

Hmm it is strange that ships suddenly start to loose anchors only since about 2023 in the Baltic sea

[@CBDuRietz]

And only ships going to or from Russia.

[@RamonPalomino85]

Strange, Strange?!

[@hakantorstensson8053]

Sweden here, the "explanations" delivered by the owners remind me about the denials from the old USSR.

@@hakantorstensson8053 Same kind of people, same mongz.

[@matsv201]

​@@CBDuRietzisnt that strange. What are the ods. In fact most ships in the baltic is going to non russian nations. And the baltic is packed with ships

[@JonasAlexanderson]

I've said it before, there is no way that you can drop the anchor part way by accident. It's nothing or everything. If the anchor starts being paid out it will only stop if someone puts the brake on (and that has to be at the first two shackles at that speed). After the whole chain is out the chain will be "out by the root". The stopper in the chain locker is meant to break in that case. The ship is not that big and the whole crew will be awake by the nice. The officer of the watch (OOW) will absolutely notice that the speed drops drastically and the auto pilot will have to have a hard time keeping the ship on course. The duration of the time the vessel had a reduced speed will be for at least two watches on the bridge. There is no possibility that two OOW will not notice that something is wrong. I am a retired ship's pilot, ship's captain with 47 years experience at sea in all kind of vessels.

[@rlbadger1698]

Try again, the chain ran out to the bottom of the locker and hold fast.

[@Fatamus]

Thank you for your input.

[@AL-pc1rb]

*payed

[@emptiest]

We once accidentally paid out a bight of anchor chain 2 shots long. Anything can happen. Anything.

[@VladimirStepanov-e6h]

Sorry to say, but so called BITTER END is NOT designed to brake in this case. It can be released by BIG HUMMER normally in place nearby just outside chain locker's bulkhead.

[@Shiciloy]

Capt.:"Everything broke", 5 sentence later "The ship is brand new!".

[@oceanaxim]

Well, I have been on newbuilds that have been built pretty sketchily. But still, no excuse. I have been on 300 meter long ships and when you drop the anchor it will shake you out of your rack from a deep sleep for sure!

[@x--.]

You haven't seen Star Trek V?!

[@gdwnet]

if it's russian that would track

[@borabora4480]

@@x--. " Janeway decides to batten the hatches, drop anchor and ride out the storm."

[@changeshifter4852]

There have been 11 incidents of cable cutting in the past 15 months. In no way is that accidental. That is Pootin's hybrid warfare.

[@ramrod9556]

11 claims.

[@vaevak418]

@@ramrod9556should change your name to nimrod

Not hybrid. They don´t see it that way. it is pure acts of war.

[@Willy_Tepes]

And Nordstream was just a farting whale?

[@c-row66]

Well, if you really want to piss off the eurokids, you cut their internet access...

[@psarj]

Whether the dropped anchor was an accident or done intentionally, the owners of the ship should be liable for the costs of repairing all damage to cables. INTENIONALITY would come into play in deciding whether to lay criminal charges against the crew, and possibly the owners IN ADDITION to the fines and compensation for the damage caused. Also, it's not just the case that this has happened four times in a short span of time. It has happened four time with ships bound to or from RUSSIA! There's a lot of ship traffic in this part of the world, but the problem is clearly with ships with a Russian connection.

[@matsv201]

Its also a bit diffrent this time when the achor lost a bit that probobly is right next to the cable

[@petrikallio2485]

As a Fin I'm biased, but 4 anchor drops and all of them cut important cables and pipes. I don't believe that these were accidents, but they might be hard to prove in a western court

[@juhajuntunen7866]

Not ruzzian cables were harmed doind these videos.

[@nicklockard]

No need to prove. Simply forbid all Axis power ships from transiting across the important infrastructure.

[@petrikallio2485]

@@nicklockard But this ship is owned by EU memberstate and sailing under anotner EU member so how would you prevent those?

[@michaelinsc9724]

​@@petrikallio2485Incorrect. Ownership goes back to a Hong Kong company.

[@petrikallio2485]

@@michaelinsc9724 I know that, because of our media found it out day after the incident. Problem is that there are 2000 ships in the baltic and you need to go through every ships owner with a really thight comb and thats not gonna work.

[@JN-om6rw]

Am a retired sea captain master mariner and never heard such rubbish

[@ABC-ABC1234]

Honestly, I don't feel sorry for neither Sweden or latvia! These baltic countries assisted in the destruction of Nord stream pipelines, or at the very least looked the other way!

[@seaman5705]

What is a sea captain master mariner ? In my 40 years as a marine engineer on board, never heard this title - is this in STCW ?

[@phwhitefly]

@@seaman5705 A Master Mariner is a US term for an Unlimited Tonnage, Oceans Captain. Yes, my STCW says Master on it.

[@VladimirStepanov-e6h]

​@@seaman5705 Most probably fake captain.

[@seaman5705]

@ STCW is a convention - not a license , not yours, not mine . Licenses are called certificates and endorsements .There is no rank in STCW named sea captain master mariner . There is not even something like master mariner in STCW - this is an American crap . It sounds to me like a lower rank port skipper which managed somehow to become master on a sea going ship . You know, something like "polivalent" officers (deck and engine) in the high maritime education systems from France and Netherlands .

[@lauchlanguddy1004]

This ship is brand new and has a triple point anchor failure AND no one was aware at any level.

[@TheSuzberry]

If the anchor broke, you aren’t maintaining the ship properly. If my car brakes fail, it’s my fault.

[@ThatOpalGuy]

Maintaining it is up to the owners. Capitalists don't get wealthy by spending capital.

[@NocKme]

​@@ThatOpalGuy if I take car and tyres a worn out, police will fine me not company because I as a driver should not drive it.

[@trbry.]

@@ThatOpalGuy they also do not get wealthy with ships getting detained mate.

[@Lt.-Dans-Legs]

@@ThatOpalGuy Capitalists didn't make your life miserable, that's on you, mate.

[@bizzarostormy]

@@trbry. Considering the amount of damage these attacks guarantee, the process is cost effective and achieves direct results. It is much cheaper than the cost of using missiles.

[@adam-k]

"it was the waves. A ship is not expected to deal with waves."

[@whistlingchickenleg]

A wave? At sea? Chance in a million! With credit to the immortal 'front fell off sketch', which sadly seems more relevant by the day.

[@matsv201]

On top of that. This is really mild conditions for the baltic in january. We havnt have it so mild for decades. Probobly need to go back to the 90s. "Oooh 20knots wind" If its less than 40 and not frezing temperatures in january. That is a briliant day (when its -10C the wind tend to slow down, but then there is drift ice in stead.

[@gregculverwell]

Criminal negligence or sabotage? It's still criminal. Not to say that I think it was anything other than sabotage.

[@emptiest]

It’s international terrorist attack. Period.

[@PeterFrewer]

The explanation of what happened to the anchor is , I suggest, complete tosh. Even if the anchor was able to ‘gradually’ slip out, the noise would have to be heard on the Bridge. I cannot believe that nobody was aware of it for all that time.

[@RealCadde]

@@rlbadger1698 Except, he's actually right. If the anchor is being let out enough to swing freely against the hull. Someone would have heard the anchor hitting the hull and investigate. And if it's only the brakes that are holding the anchor, the moment it lets out any more chain, the brakes will be set too loose to hold back the extra weight of chain and so the release would accelerate with every link being let through until the chain runs away and SLAMS into the final attached links and you wouldn't even have an anchor left at that point. The explanation that the anchor slowly fed out towards the bottom on the sea on brake power alone (without help from crew) is utter tosh! Even if you have no affiliation with Russia, you are now effectively a useful idiot for Putin. So you are doubly wrong.

[@TheSwayzeTrain]

You're wrong badger.

[@oceanaxim]

I agree, the anchor dropping will definitely shake you out of your rack no matter the size of the ship!

[@matsv201]

​@@RealCaddeyea. It should either slow down to a halt. Or accelrate.faster and faster. And if the break was partly on i would expect it to be quite warm. Its not made to break for the full lenght of the chain at full speed. So it should speed up anyway Of cause when the achor hit the bottom and there is some chaim holding it down. it really would get to a standstill regardless of what the break is doing. (That is still in relationship to the ocean floor)

[@SabreKai-u8i]

agreed. As soon as it got down to water level it'd start banging on the hull big time.

[@SetTheCurve]

I’m a farmer and I have a hundred indicators for a single crop. Sensors and network equipment are cheap these days. There’s no reason a ship shouldn’t have an alarm that tells them an anchor is out, as well as god knows how many other things that would be important to know.

[@BoMagnusson-h5v]

om inte fartyget plötsligt går 4 knop

[@SetTheCurve]

@@BoMagnusson-h5v Your comment is off topic. But if I play along, the host of this show already dispelled the suggestion that a change in speed due to a dropped anchor is easy to notice, since the ship experiences significant deviations in resistance to motion (wind, currents, turbulence, etc). Although I definitely feel as though modern computers could notice an aberration over hours of propulsion and alert for an unexplained loss in efficiency.

[@SabreKai-u8i]

Not to mention that the helmsman would know instantly if the anchor were out as soon as it touched bottom, as the ship would steer differently and likely slow down.

[@allanmacauley]

Our host didn't seem too put out by the idea of them not having a sensor. An anchor sensor doesn't help directly generate revenue like a crop sensor does. Not when you're already maintaining triple manual failsafes to perform the same function.

[@theprimechuck]

@allanmacauley doesn't help directly but I'm wondering if modernization will be pushed along by the insurance companies.

[@cristianseres1353]

There is an excellent Finnish word 'meriselitys', literally 'sea explanation'. It has on official meaning in Finnish Maritime Act, but usually we use it when someone is giving highly unplausible explanation about some embarrassing screwup.

[@thomash3716]

🤣🤣🤣

[@kleinerprinz99]

Seemannsgarn in German :D

[@albinekenberg7535]

The ship has been boarded by the national task force of Sweden. As a former conscript of Swedish naval control I didnt see a single ship act as this one near Gotland during the year I served there.

[@ljubomirculibrk4097]

They are in hury to start a WW3, all went nuts in last couple of years...

[@cyberfunk3793]

New rules: whenever you lose an anchor on the Baltic sea for any reason, you also lose your ship. Might be less anchors lost after this rule.

[@peterevenhuis2663]

As a superintendent, I have seen multiple anchors stuck in the hawsepipe because of heavy weather slamming on the anchor, slipping from the anchor, no no, you are spot on , you have manual brake plus clutch on the winch.

[@edl653]

Spot on Sal. I have a good hunch that the ship owner and managers don't have a clue but some crew and possibly Captain were paid while in Russian port.

[@bapbap22]

That’s why captains are usually personally liable

[@ahoannon5711]

Well, at the very least by now it should be clear that any captain of a ship crossing the Baltic needs to make extra sure that their anchors are secure. In particular if they are hailing at Russian ports. So if a captain can't prove that they did their best to check that the anchor is secure they aren't doing their job properly.

[@konzetsu6068]

ooor... you blockade traffic to and from russia and see if the accidents stop....

[@alibali193]

Captain is employed by the owners. Employers liability. They need to blacklist these captains that cause these "accidents " to stop them getting more work or ensure they have personal liability insurance. Too many accidents leave you uninsurable

[@afre3398]

It may be true that the ship owner actually did not know anything about this. But the responsibilities ends at the owner

[@gambanteinodal1246]

Ok, so we have the right ship. The owner should pay up or their insurance company. The ship must stay until damages are paid in full. If the ship is not seaworthy it should be scrapped/chopped up and definitely not allowed to sail in the Baltic. All ships should be inspected before entering the Baltic sea.

[@seaman-vy7mz]

They say ship is only 3 years old .

[@Jax-c8l]

Subtract the cost from the cost of replacing Germanys destroyed gas pipeline that a couple drunk Ukrainian divers a some bint used the ss minnow on a 3hr tour allegedly blew up.

[@Nainara32]

The insurance companies should be fully liable to compensate for cable repairs and outage indemnity. In turn, the insurers need to adjust rates upwards for ships with a high risk of anchor "accidents".

[@JH-lo9ut]

The ship has been inspected and approved by DNV, wich is as legit as they come. The ship is brand new, and even if the anchor winch turns out to be faulty, you don't scrap the ship. You repair or replace the winch, and then you get another inspection. If the captain's story is true, then there should be visible damage on the wich. All those points of failure can be examined and compared to reference material. With such a new ship, it should be relatively easy to determine if the story checks out damage-wise The investigation will take longer than you or me care to wait, but it will be thorough. That is the Swedish way. Sweden will also avoid accusing Russia in public. It will be unsatisfying to follow this affair. The job of the department of foreign affairs, is not to entertain youtube, but to seek the best outcome in this scenario. Escalating the strained relations with Russia, to an open conflict, is going to be the last and least favorable option, as far as diplomacy goes. Russia will never bend to the will of a smaller nation. Not in public. It is simply not going to happen. Russia might agree to some concessions, but only if it can do it without losing face. -I can't stress this point enough. Swedish and Russian diplomats have played this game for decades, centuries even... Russia is constantly applying pressure to it's neighbours to maintain a sence of dominance. This game is going on below the surface (pardon the pun) all the time. This is not the first time Russia steps too far over the line and it won't be the last. A cable or two is not worth going to war over. Let Russia have it's little temper tantrum over Sweden and Finland joining Nato and giving billions' worth in weapons to Ukraine. The damage is nothing compared to what they could do, if they really wanted to hurt us

[@oceanaxim]

@@JH-lo9ut Excellent analysis!

[@j-p_t7978]

I know ecactly what happened: A hobgoblin unsecured the anchor, engaged the anchor winch, activated the anchor winch somehow without setting off the alarm, disengaged the winch, lowered the anchor. Meanwhile the bridge personell suspected 5kn currents in that part of the Baltic.

[@obtuse1291]

AND nobody noticed....

[@macmedic892]

"The anchor broke." Is that like "The front fell off."?

[@GyMntg]

What a load of ship..

[@raycatlin3554]

🎯

[@acanadianineurope814]

right up there with the dog ate my homework. hahahah

[@carlomottola3213]

Actually, his version makes it more likely they will be sued. He's talking about negligence on the company's side and his. The company for not equipping the ship for the rough seas they planned to sail in and the captain because, knowing the limitations and peculiarities of the ship, decided to sail off anyway in those rough conditions.

[@Rorschach1024]

Ok, i could see this happening once, but this is the fourth instance of a ship cutting a cable. I was born at night, but not LAST night. I'm calling bullshit too.

[@trapperjohn6089]

No doubt in my mind, Russia has been arranging these cable cutting incidents. I also have no doubt that the United States opened this particular theater of war with the severing of Nord Stream.

[@matsv201]

​@@trapperjohn6089supricingly. Its probobly by this point known who blown nordstream. More supricingly, it was not usa.

[@ngataringa1742]

Breaking off an anchor fluke requires enormous energy. If the chain had gradually paid out itself as claimed, it would have rapidly run out and snapped off at the bitter end the moment the anchor was snagged by any underwater obstacle. This did not happen, suggesting that the anchor chain was firmly and deliberately secured while the anchor was down. The operators' story doesn't hold water.

[@RaDeus87]

It wasn't just the coast guard that boarded the ship, Nationella Insatsstyrkan got involved as well. They are the Swedish equivalent of GIGN or GSG9. There might have been some helicopters involved in this, like the Finnish did, but it's hard to know since Swedish military aircraft don't fly with their transponders on whilst in our own airspace. Edit: I double checked and I was right: the police has released a video of them landing on the ship, they were given a ride by military helos, they also said that they seized control of the ship.

[@nospam3001]

Why wouldn't the chain run all the way out and drop? The brake held the chain as it dragged along the sea bed, but it couldn't hold the weight of the anchor?

[@MarkkuS]

Great point. Ridiculous lies they try to feed us. 😂

[@JH-lo9ut]

Just to play Devil's advocate... A five ton anchor hanging from the bow of a ship, heaving in choppy seas... That is an astonishing amout of force to the winch. Every time that bow dives and hits the next wave, the force is multiplied to many, many times the actual weight of the anchor. Everything on a ship needs to be strapped down super tight, because if the ship and the anchor start to move like two different bodies, you have a "hammer-and-anvil" situation. Once the anchor hits the sea bed and the chain is starting to stretch, the two bodies start to act like one unit again. -The force on the chain becomes more or less constant. There is way more to anchor&chain physics but suffice to say: dragging an anchor does not exude the same amount of force on the winch, as dropping the anchor and chain "free-fall" Go look at "fail" videos of people trying to tow a car or truck with too long of a line. You need to slowly stretch the line before you hit the gas, because If the tow truck has time to gain momentum before the line is taught, it often just tears the car in half. Hope this answers your question. Personally, I don't buy this as an accident, but the captain's explanation that the chain slipped little by little is not completely implausible. There was really rough weather that night.

[@whistlingchickenleg]

@@JH-lo9ut Fair, and good analogy, but once the mechanical brake on the anchor windlass is loose, it's loose. As you describe is exactly how fittings - like the wire stopper or guillotine - fail, but if that chain starts to run whilst the vessel is making way then it'll run to the bitter end unless someone intervenes to apply more brake pressure. Perhaps think of it like siphoning water - once you establish flow then as long as the water is running into a tank lower than its starting position (and the seabed is lower than the keel of a ship!) then it'll empty the top tank. Same with chain - once it starts to go, there is more weight outboard than inboard and gravity takes care of the rest.

[@nospam3001]

@@JH-lo9ut OK, maybe not completely implausible. But the anchor snagged the sea bed hard enough to break a fluke off. And once it dropped the brake had to hold back both the weight of the anchor and the weight of the chain. And the ship was still pitching up and down.

[@hassegullmarsvik2572]

i was fishing that day, the wind was southwest relative normal weather Saturday. Sunday even lover wind- really calm. So bs saying the weather was bad. Thats a lie so what more did he lie about? This was a big ship and i was at open water in small boat.

[@gustafschwerer]

Hi! Small correction: It was the Swedish Task Force that boarded the ship, not coastal guard. 🙏🇸🇪

[@randydewees7338]

I'm not a seafarer, but long ago I did 5 years USN sea duty. We stood watches. Boatswain Mates stood watches out on deck, the worse the weather the more they watched. Does not anybody walk around while underway on these commercial ships? Or stare at a bank of monitors? Out at sea in deep water I get it. But traversing a narrow shallow shipping lane with bunches of high value hardware on the sea floor, seems crazy to not have extra watches.

[@Matilda_the_Hun]

I believe the Russians wholeheartedly, in fact, that cable cut itself

[@steveolotu52]

😂😂😂

[@roxanacorbett]

😆😅🤣😂

[@notsonominal]

Subsea debris caused the damage.

[@kleinerprinz99]

The cable couldnt take the news cast over it any longer and performed ritual breakage.

[@user-cl1ew9ki5i]

What did we ever do before Sal launched his channel? I love seeing all this drama that I would have been oblivious to before. ❤❤❤from Brisbane Australia 🇦🇺

[@thomash3716]

We are blessed!😉😃

[@richardlawton1023]

Those are not big waves or wind for a ship that size. Poor explanation.

[@SaberToothBicycle]

"The anchor broke" [the undersea cable]. Yes. We know, Cap'n Alex Obvious. (sarcasm) Thanks for the update, Sal!

[@ThatOpalGuy]

Broke...off...on the cable😂

[@volo870]

Correction: What I found is that Capt. Aleksander Kalchev (native Bulgarian) was not acting captain of the vessel, but the CEO of the shipping company. I did not find who the genuine captain of the vessel was at the time.

[@markseaton7863]

Thanks for all you do.

[@frandeig66]

An old saying: "If a Russian is speaking, then he is lying".

[@jamesmoore9511]

How about if his lips are moving he's lying. Everything about this and the other incidents has the smell of this cargo.

[@KraliMishev]

He's not a rashist though?

[@MUUKOW3]

​@@KraliMishevSounds like something you get from not changing your underwear?

[@Merdacity]

No that is politicians and Swedes

[@01blaval]

@@MerdacityAnd you😅

[@blaydCA]

Let's PRETEND that all the machinery failed... Where is the hull damage from it slapping around as it crept down?

[@veronikayup]

In 'bad weather with waves pummeling the ship dramatically". Yeah, that story's carrying a load of fertilizer of bovine origin...

[@aritakalo8011]

​​@@veronikayupwhatever supposed weather service he has, the best weather data for Gotland waters is surprise..... Swedish national weather institute (something about it being nationally important to know this stuff around ones coasts) and they have said "there was no rough weather". Their statement matches marine traffic shows (since guess where everyone gets their data for waters around Gotland. 1-2 meter waves, which is nothing to a big ship like that. Like it wasn't flat calm, but perfectly normal weather. While this NavBulgarguy is going "there was this huge storm that rocked the ship".

[@veronikayup]

@ Exactly. That's why I called it a load of ... bullsh*t by other name. I also find it funny that this idiot thinks that his "this makes Bulgaria look bad and there was a big storm" spiel will have any bearing on the outcome of the investigation by Swedish authorities.

[@kleinerprinz99]

@@aritakalo8011 yep he should have stayed in Bulgarian waters, hands off the Baltic if you dont know how to navigate here

[@SlinkyTWF]

Put me on that jury.

[@Peter-or7wl]

Guilty…..😂😂😂

[@DinJaevel]

If this is a crew member who has been recruited, you are out of mobile coverage as you leave the Gulf of Finland. You get it back by half of Gotland and then loose it again after Gotland. So you can check your position from your cabin with a phone and make your way forward to the fore deck without anyone being alerted. Then the anchor has to be lowered either with a partly applied brake or a shackle at the time. Else you unleash a hell of a noise and a probable loss of the full anchor and chain as the weight of the ship in motion will rip the chain out of the chain box. In which case you will be busted. So, either the whole crew is in or it is a single crew member. Which is most likely to be recruited and then keep silent, is pretty much up to you to decide.

[@user-zh9kc7tw4n]

Brand new ship with a anchor just falling off it?...

[@thechancellor3715]

@@user-zh9kc7tw4n well, it was cheap, one of those blemish price reductions. It was only one fluke.

[@rlbadger1698]

read my post

[@notsonominal]

Could have been worse, at least the _front_ didnt fall off!

[@Sugarmountaincondo]

The undersea cable broken was between Gotland Is. & Latvia, not Estonia.

[@Red_Snapper]

FSB: "haul your anchor over these cables" Captain: "OK"

[@seanwelch71]

The Captain had a shit crew. That's what he's saying. He admits his own oversight of the chain needing replacement, but omits the obvious mechanics of the remaining parts.

[@bigbar4be]

Hope the swedish autotrities keeps the ship until the investigation is fully completed. As a warming for further "accident".

[@gunnarmonell7253]

It definitely seems like they're not in a hurry given that they even haven't talked to the crew... I guess that within a few weeks, they'll start asking the captain, and then after a few more weeks, they'll ask the rest of the crew, and then after yet some more weeks, they'll decide on start a technical investigation, which will take a few weeks, and after that they'll transfer the investigation to the security police, which will start the whole process all over again, and then we're probably in the middle of the summer and the investigator will have more urgent stuff to do, so the ship has to stay there for a... some weeks more and eventually the crew will celebrate christmas on the same spot...

[@davidgamble6152]

Keep these news updates coming😊

[@BikerBloke600]

warning systems on the bridge should be compulsory on all ships. that way there will be no excuses for unknown Anchor drops

[@markgivens3225]

Sal - and supporters & sources. I really appreciate your on-going news, reports, and maritime discussions.

[@Cptnbond]

The interesting aim of hybrid warfare is not the (minor) cable damage but to shock the public, expose the states' vulnerability, and deny involvement by the nefarious actor. Cheers.

[@ThatOpalGuy]

Or they want to force them to rely on starlink

[@orbiradio2465]

If one cable is damaged, we have backups. But if we don't stop this, we may run out of backup cables.

[@notsonominal]

@@orbiradio2465 i think Kremlin will run out of anchors as well!

[@ronboe6325]

I have very limited experience over 30 years living on the shores of Lake Superior; watching the shipping and experiencing her storms - from the shore. Never heard of a lost anchor and a quick internet search none are listed. Lost ships yes. The sea state that they sailed through was not that violent; should have been a non-event. Certainly for a laker and one would think an ocean going ship could handle it. Sounds more like a people problem, not an equipment problem. Something stinks.

[@veronikayup]

Fertilizer, presumably. ;)

[@RAYROTHSTEIN66]

So he's going on waves of less than 6 feet caused the anchor to fall from the ship? On a ship that is that large and long... doesn't add up. Unless he wants to admit that nothing was working or repaired to the point that it relied on the one safety left that is put on manually because everything else is broken.

[@djahman8501]

The Baltic sea is the Bermuda Triangle for anchors🤣

[@markdalbey]

No problem. Ships have insurance don't they? Hold the ship until repairs are paid for, either by the ship owner or their insurance company, it doesn't matter.

[@veronikayup]

That is likely what will happen. The whether it's intentional and criminal investigation is an entirely different matter, and Swedes are orderly people (I am married to one), they will sort it all out. Same as the Finns.

[@markdalbey]

@@veronikayup I have faith that they will. This is just what seems fair to me.

[@MatsGarage]

1. Make it law to have anchor alarms on all vessels entering the Baltic, 2 The entire crew on ships breaking a cable are charged with terrorism charges. 3 Just close the baltic to all vessels headed to Russian ports.

[@notsonominal]

Mandatory NATO pilots for all ships not destined to, or crewed and operated by NATO member states when sailing on Lake NATO... This is the maritime version of "build a wall and make them pay for it".

[@bretrudeseal4314]

He should be sued, his negligence caused this damage and he should pay for it. If he doesn't, seize and sell the ship.

[@WG55]

11:37 "This is causing a lot of issues, *raising heckles* among the Danes …" One tiny correction. The idiom is "raising hackles," with "hackles" literally being when an animal is stressed and the hairs (hackles) along their spine or the back of their neck are raised. It is a rare word, so it is often confused with "heckles."

[@Biologist19681]

Hey, stop hacking Sal.

[@LordMondegrene]

When people heckle me, it gets my hackles up. 😂😂😂

[@RealityCheck6969]

Soon we will have ships equipped with cameras pointing at the anchors. Because ship owners will not trust their employees (captain included) anymore.

[@jonmccormick8683]

Insurance companies may demand it. -Cheap to do also.

[@brylozketrzyn]

​@@jonmccormick8683you know what else is cheap? Firmware designed to loop some part of video on demand. Most Chinese CCTV cameras have large enough buffer to loop while someone "adjusts" anchor brakes to "suddenly" fail

[@rlbadger1698]

I am a marine OSM with 40+ years of experience in marine salvage and repair. This fits. A new (or newer) ship is prone to this type of accident. The crewman who dogged the chain left slack in the dog of the hasepipe run. The wave action caused a harmonic surging of anchor/chain in the hawsepipe. When the stopper failed the anchor windlass was taught with the dogged chain, maintaining the harmonic "harmonic surging" of anchor and chain. The brake never had a chance. Repeated snapping of the chain blew threw the liner. The gears and clutch had ever less chance. The reason the stopper is there is that none of the components up line can stand up to the incredible force . PS: seen this at least 3 times before.

[@Kecke56]

When this happens, don't you loose both anchor and chain never to be seen again?

[@boerje8154]

Why didn't the ship announce that they had dropped and dragged the anchor east of Gotland? They stopped, picked it up and continued as if nothing had happened.😵

[@francikoen]

My older brothers call "accidents like that: "accidentally on purpose." In other words, *plausible deniability.*

[@perjensen1962]

The countries around the Baltic Sea should send surveillance drones out to ships that suddenly slow down for no apparent reason. The speed reduction can be detected using satellite, radar and marine traffic or vessel finder (AIS). The drones can use their cameras to document any missing anchors or missing anchor parts (even at night).

[@MrOneball1]

I figure that any ship that is on the up and up sailing through the Baltic would keep a good hard look on their anchor just in case to avoid the risk of accidental drop. Bulgaria is also suffering internally, with pro-russian political parties stirring up trouble. A bunch of east-european countries have seen a rise of pro-russian disinformation, and lots of many coming in from the Kremlin. It wouldn't be hard for FSB to place one agent on board, Kremlin would love it if Bulgaria would be accused of sabotage.

[@lauchlanguddy1004]

This is the third or fourth "accident" within months with anchors within a few kilometers, over cables, in the same Baltic sea????

[@20basty]

The anchor fell out of window, just an accident comrade.

[@rainers.2080]

Whatever else happens, do not allow this ship to leave the Swedish harbour until full payment for the damages to the cable has been received.

[@7171jay]

Captain of the Vezhen is as full of fertilizer as the ship itself.

[@veronikayup]

Fuller.

[@stratfanstl]

Excellent analysis. Thank you.

[@95keat]

Isn't it funny how these anchors somehow drop in time to cut the cables, without being noticed by anyone, but they always raise the chain by the time they reach port.

[@iam5085]

Hope Latvia/Sweden decides to keep the vessel as a compensation.

[@philthrelfall5294]

I believe that for the anchor to have deployed "inadvertently", at least 3 separate things have to fail. This explanation is just bo**ocks!

[@dougkratz5269]

When is NATO going to say"enough of this BS! You shall not pass!"

[@Phantom-F4]

He might as well claim there is an alien super magnet in the Baltic. 🤣🤣🤣

[@VoltageLP]

The cable attacked my anchor!!!

[@gambanteinodal1246]

The crew should be brought ashore and be kept in isolation so they can't make up a story...

[@carbonylgroup12888]

Actually it’s plausible… maybe if it wasn’t the 4th time…

[@changeshifter4852]

There have been 11 incidents in the past 15 months. In no way is that accidental.

[@ThatOpalGuy]

Accidents happen, after all.

[@trapperjohn6089]

Definitely, Russia and or China responsible for these incidents. But to be fair, we did open this particular theater of war. It all started with the Nord stream pipeline.

[@viandengalacticspaceyards5135]

Landlubber here; I had to organise & direct crane operations for some years. Never had an accident/incident. I was working on one site (not in charge of cranes), where within 3 years they had 5 accidents/dammage incidents, plus a bunch of near misses. Each was completely different, from a tower crane falling over to a Mercedes flattened by a load from a small mobile crane. Totally different causes, but the least I can state for sure is that this is beyond chance and statistics. It is systematic. Same here.

[@1BigBen]

"NEW" ship with maintenance and operations quality of a 90s Russian factory freezer trawler

[@Mountain-Man-3000]

Doesn't matter. Your anchor, your problem.

[@mrpocock]

Are they not liable regardless of the explanation? It is just a question of if they can use their insurance cover.

[@Daniel-o6s6c]

Intentional sabotage you might get a prison term of up to four years in Sweden. The maximum sentence for gross sabotage i life time imprisonment.

[@mrpocock]

@@Daniel-o6s6c That's the people. But the corporation will only care about corporate liabilities, not whatever happens to their staff.

[@RamonPalomino85]

Good analysis, Sal. Love the updates. ⚓️🦅🇺🇸

[@rockets4kids]

Well, he wasn't lying. The photo clearly shows a broken anchor! 🤣

[@P61guy61]

Thanks for the concise information.

[@1LEgGOdt]

With everything being said by the owner vs the physical evidence of the broken Anchor, and the fact that the anchor is being held in place while it’s being held. I call absolutely BS! The Anchor was intentional dropped and dragged! And besides it being a brand new ship. And why are they not investigating the crew while the investigation on the undersea cable. I agree this is all BS! The moment it happened Once, they should all be treated as Intentionally Done

[@henrik8463]

The owner has said a lot of things. First he said, the anchor was dropped because of strong wind, which made the ship drift towards Gotland, that sounds very crazy, and not normal to me, the anchors are in front of Vezhen, so if you drop your anchor, you can not control your ship, unless it stops. I have followed Vezhen on Vesselfinder, and it does some weird sailing between Gotland and Ventspils, even reversing..

[@phwhitefly]

Intentional or not, the ship must be made as an example and given maximum punishment. Even if this was unintentional, the crew was negligent not identifying the situation. Any drop in speed by the vessel must be accounted for by the duty navigational Officer and investigated and or questioned and brought to the Master's attention.

[@navyreviewer]

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt"

[@fubar5884]

So what this guy is saying is basically... The front (chain) fell off, and it's not very typical. There's lots of ships going around the world and he doesn't want people thinking his ship isn't safe and that the front (chains) just fall off.

[@FFcossag]

It's not hard to figure out what's going on here. It only takes a few thousand dollars placed into the pocket of an unscrupulous, impoverished crew member to get them to "forget" to secure an anchor when leaving port. It's very easy to bribe poor people from far away.

[@dw-bn5ex]

Somebody has to pay to repair or replace the cable.

[@Jszar]

Always looking forward to the next one, Sal.

[@DomBarker]

"that money was just resting in my account"

[@tflashtube]

Mmmm the cable braking the anchor sounds to me like the newest Russplanation!

[@KenHartman152]

Charge that company a huge fine & the cost to fix the cable & hold their ship until they pay!

[@veronikayup]

I am very sure the Swedish authorities are not letting them go until they are paid for the repairs to the cable, by the owners, insurers, or by the sale of the (not yet) impounded ship should they refuse. Even if it was an accident (I call fertilizer on that), they are still liable for the damages.

[@lindsaydempsey5683]

I call liar, liar pants on fire on Kalchev. As a former marine engineer, I can say that these systems are incredibly stout, if the anchor was stowed properly and normal measures taken during that stowage, there is no credible way for that anchor to pay out on its own.

[@SaltpeterexitwounD]

Interesting to see how this escalates and what happens if a Russian navy ship lose an anchor..

[@AllNighterHeider]

Thats like saying "the gun just went off" Thanks Sal

[@stevenbowron1287]

🎉 Good morning from Reno Nevada Sal🎉