Crew tell of frantic work to save ship
Flood-hit HMS Endurance was piggy-backed home today as sailors told for the first time of the dramatic moment she filled with water.
The navy's ice patrol vessel – nicknamed the Red Plum for her distinctive colour – has been carried thousands of miles back to Portsmouth after hundreds of litres of water breached the engine room off the coast of Chile.
As the navy prepares to tow her into Portsmouth Harbour for repairs, Endurance's crew described how they rushed to man the pumps and halt the deluge of water which poured into the ship.
One sailor on the bridge of Endurance told The News how he feared the ship could sink as she listed 40 degrees.
Others, like Emma Arkless, recalled how she dived into freezing water to quickly pump out the rising flood and battled to stay alive.
Sailors also told how they were forced to wedge wood into the side of the ship to stop the water gushing in.
After the incident on December 16 last year, Endurance was towed to the Falklands, before being hitched on to a heavy-lift ship for the long journey north back to her home-berth of Portsmouth.
Endurance was due to arrive off Stokes Bay this afternoon. She will remain on the back of the ship until Friday or Saturday, when she will be lowered into the water and towed into Portsmouth Naval Base.
Endurance's commanding officer, Captain Gavin Pritchard, who was in Gosport when the flood happened, said: 'I was here in the UK and my first thought to find out if my people were okay, that should always be a commanding officer's first reaction.
'They did an amazing job that day, I'm proud of what they achieved and the professionalism they showed.
Captain Pritchard said he did not think the ship was in danger of being lost.
He said: 'HMS Endurance was never in any serious risk of sinking.'
'Endurance was due to return to Portsmouth in May for maintenance and repairs so in that sense the programme has not massively changed.'
Portsmouth city councillor Jim Patey, who oversaw Portsmouth's affiliation with Endurance, said: 'I'm so pleased that she's coming home.
'I hope they can get her shipshape as soon as possible.'
Captain David Barnicoat, a merchant navy harbour pilot, spotted Endurance yesterday as her carrier ship stopped at Falmouth in Cornwall for re-fuelling, as pictured on the front page.
He said: 'She is a very dramatic sight, sitting on the giant lift ship.
'Many ships pass us here but not many like that.'
The navy is due to hold a Board of Inquiry into the incident, but no date has yet been set.
The cost of repairing Endurance has also not been revealed, although the navy said it was less than the 39m spent on the destroyer HMS Nottingham, when she hit a rock off Australia.
A navy spokesman said: 'Navy command HQ has taken the decision to return the ship to the UK and the current intention, subject to further assessment, is to repair her and return her to service.
'The cost of her return and the cost of her repair are currently in confidence.'
'I THOUGHT, "I'M NOT DYING HERE IN MY OVERALLS".'
Engineering technician Emma Arkless was one of the heroes to run to the scene of the flood and tackle the deluge as it threatened HMS Endurance.
The 24-year-old spent five hours in the cold seawater, and was trapped in a cabin she had gone to check when a mattress flew past her head.
She said: 'I had been in the engineering control room when we heard a big bang that was out of the ordinary.
'It took about 30 seconds to get to the engine room and there was already loads of water flowing in.
'We tried to get the pumps going as soon as possible, but it was very nerve-wracking.'
The former HMS Westminster sailor said the flood conditions resembled the training facility at HMS Excellent in Portsmouth.
She said: 'It was like the unit on Whale Island but you always had the knowledge that there wasn't an off button.
'But I thought no-one else was going to stop it so we had to do our bit to slow it down.'
Despite the power cutting out after 30 or 40 minutes ET Arkless carried on helping to manually pump out water, before going to check the flow of water into cabins.
She said: 'We were forcing our way into the cabins and putting our hands down into the water to see if there was floor movement. As I did one check we listed and I jumped back as a mattress came flying past.
'It knocked into the cabin door and shut it, and I thought, "I'm not dying here in my overalls".
'So I pulled it out of the way, and luckily there was a strong guy on the other side of the door to help me force it open.
'Around the ship there were whole doors ripped off by the force of the water – it was not like anything I've been through and I'm so glad we were able to keep the ship afloat.'
DRAMA AT SEA
Andy Luker from Petersfield was working on the bridge as Endurance's flood drama unfolded.
As fellow sailors worked below to stem the flow of water, the 27-year-old leading communications and information was in charge of calling the Chilean Navy to arrange help and made contact ashore in Chile.
He said: 'It was a huge relief, because before that I had been thinking to myself that the ship could sink.'
'We were listing to up to 40 degrees and that's just not what we normally go through.'
As tugs made their 14-hour journey to Endurance from Chile, crew members tried to snatch sleep once the emergency had subsided.
Andy said: 'Because we were rolling around so much, and because we knew there had been such a massive flood, we didn't sleep that much.
'It was only when we got to Chile and I was able to call my girlfriend Holly that I could relax.
'She and my family were so relieved, and I was able to get back home for New Year's Eve.'
Petty Officer Reider Freeland was on the flight deck of Endurance when he heard the flood alert, and it brought back memories of 17 years earlier.
The 42-year-old from Kent was serving in the frigate HMS Battleaxe in 1991 when she suffered a smaller influx of water.
He said: 'It wasn't anything like Endurance but it showed you the harrowing danger water can pose in a warship.
'I had complete confidence in the guys around me, from the executive officer on the bridge right down to those who were bailing out water.'
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Weather for Portsmouth
Friday 25 May 2012
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