Free Willy 2: Dakar runs aground

To make up for lost time, the Captain speeds into a area with heavy winds & fast currents without a tug escort. When the engines fail, the ship drifts off course. It runs hard aground on Lawson's' Reef, spilling crude oil, which traps Willy and his family. It doesn't help matters the the tanker is not double hulled.

[EnterpriseXI]

That is the kind of captain that causes disasters more focused on profit than safety

[CubfanDaMann]

One of the few movies from my childhood to use "Mayday Mayday" in a serious tone.

[ultrajd]

Fun fact.

This whole subplot of the movie is actually based on a real world event.

The Exxon Valdez oil spill. Which, if I remember correctly up until the Deepwater Horizon event was one of the worst oil spills in history. At least as far as I can remember.

[JOSH-lwjv]

Fun Fact:
Dakar's Captain Nilson was played
by Steve Kahan, who is best known
as Officer Armus in *"SUPERMAN:*
*The Movie"* and Captain Ed Kelly
in *"Lethal Weapon 1-4".* His cousin
was the late director of those films:
Richard Donner (who also executive produced the original *"Free Willy"* trilogy). Kahan retired from acting in 2006.

[jonjahr]

The Captain made a terrible call. But we must not forget, it wasn't entirely his fault. In his own words "Pembroke oil does not look kindly on late deliveries" translation. There was probably a lot pressure from higher ups at company hq. That said, the final call still would have been at his discretion.

[philipmancera]

What a beautiful lit Ship, but inside it's so dim and the beeping sound in the ambiance sounds like a heart meter. Very comfortable to ride in. I also enjoy the Orcas splashing their Flukes in the Sunset.😊 and the Pod crowding a small space in the pale moonlight but too me the Orcas look bunched up together on a small shallow water space.

[Solider]

This scene frightened me as a kid. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that oil is not suppose to be spilling into ocean. It was like an wicked force was taking over the sea.

😨😨😨😨😨😨

[andrewfutterman]

The captain ultimately was the one responsible for the ship running aground. He chose to ignore the warning of the high winds and reduced visibility and insisted that they maintain a speed of 15 knots despite the crew advising him that it was unsafe to do so. All because his ships "always run on time". That captain is a jerk!

[francessweeney]

The oil company would rather have the oil get there late than have to pay for a clean up operation and litigation; corporate litigation lawyers aren't cheap.
Slowing down and requesting a tug escort would have delayed the delivery, this would have been allayed with a radio call

[vampirelord]

1:11 The ship starts to lose engine pressure

[Shipwright]

Could've tried dropping the anchors as a last resort, but at 15 knots it'd be a hail mary at best.

As with any accident, this is a combination of small events which combine into one large disaster.

Ultimately the ship's master is at fault for steaming too fast for the conditions, high winds and strong currents, and the oil company is responsible for fostering a corporate culture which emphasizes timeliness over safe operation, as well as for failing to properly maintain the ship's machinery and/or replacing it with a double-hulled tanker.

[joey_]

Has anyone else noticed the propeller was spining in reverse and not at ANY cruising speed

[ColtonRMagby]

That ship was under the command of a guy who put being on time ahead of safety. If he hadn't, they wouldn't have blown a valve body apart that led to a loss of pressure that resulted in a loss of steering. His crew know when to slow down and be safe, and he does too. He just didn't give a damn. On top of that, Benbrook Oil shouldn't have chosen a single-hull tanker to sail in that area. WAY too risky. Putting profit before safety is like putting the cart before the horse; a lawsuit or criminal charges waiting to happen as well as the opposite of "common" sense.

[trevorreel]

Bad call the captain made. Perhaps if he wasn’t concerned about his ship running on precise schedule, the waters would be out of harm’s way.

Poor Willy & J Pod…

[JOSH-lwjv]

Interestingly, the Junior Novelization
of *"FREE WILLY 2"* by Todd Strasser doesn't show the single-hull oil tanker Dakar increasing speed, and in turn, crashing into Lawson Reef and spilling the crude oil.

[matthewpowell]

This incident reminded me of the Titanic because of the following factors: Sailing at high speeds, using a vessel that doesn't match full safety requirements (single hulled tanker in this case), the buoy being sighted like the iceberg, the call for "Hard Starboard", and the ship running aground similar to the iceberg collision.

[LongJumpingSurprise]

First mate: What do you think that’ll do to our delivery time?

[nahuelgamboa]

This led me to ask the question: Did the tanker spill the oil deliberately or accidentally as a result of the underwater collision

[mikeyjasoncampbell]

I wonder what happened to them in the end of Free Willy 2 after Willy Luna and Littlespot are with their mom

[dylangeltzeiler]

2:06-2:10 Oh dear, I don’t like the sound of this. 2:13 Ahh! It’s worse! J-Pod member is in crude trouble.