Aboard the motor vessel Mahi Mahi in March of 2001, engineer Ken Moliver was faced with a situation endangering the ship and crew.

“After a series of brutal North Pacific storms that broke welds on deck and swept away 16 containers, it was noted that when the ship rolled a hatch cover was shifting approximately six inches, where one to two inches is normal,” explained Newtown resident and Merchant Marine Ken Moliver.

“The senior officers were concerned that the next storm we were heading into could wash away that hatch cover, with all the containers on it, leaving an open cargo hold exposed to the elements,” he said. Attempts to stop the gap with steel wedges failed and the engineers were pressed to come up with a viable solution before the next storm, estimated to be just hours away.

“I got to thinking about the various materials we had onboard and their properties. Wood? Rope?” he recalled. Tying up a 22-ton hatch cover did not seem a likely solution, but another use for the nylon rope came to mind. If the gaps could be stuffed with three-inch rope, even countless tons of pressure would only compress it slightly before it expanded back as the ship rolled.

At each roll of the ship, Mr Moliver fed the gap more line and pounded it into place until the hatch was secured.

“We weathered that storm and the next,” said Mr Moliver, “limping into port with containers dangling over the side, but with our hatch cover in place and secure.”

It is challenges like that of the incident aboard the Mahi Mahi that make the job rewarding for Mr Moliver.