Day 28

Another quiet watch this morning, although a flash of inspiration has led me explore a completly new topic for my dissertation.

The second engineer showed myself and the other cadet around the engine room this afternoon, pics and explanations below.

More painting this afternoon.

  

As with most merchant vessels, there is no starter motor for the engines because the capacity is too large to crank over. Instead they are started with compressed air being forced into the cylinders to kick it over. These are the tanks containing that compressed air.

  

We produce our own fresh water from seawater.  Seawater is sucked into these evaporation units, that are heated using the hot cooling water from the main engines, to allow this to boil the seawater, the pressure is lowered within the EVAP to decrease the boiling point of the water. Each unit can produce approximately 14t a day of fresh water.

  

The ship, unlike a lot of other merchant ships burns marine diesel, it is much cleaner than normal heavy fuel but it still requires pre filtering. This is one of the centrifuges for the diesel, the clean diesel is then pumped into the service tanks ready to be used in the engines.

  

Gearbox. There are two main engines on board, they are coupled via a single gear box and drive one propeller shaft.  We have a controllable pitch propeller which is good for manoeuvrability. The engines spin the shaft at a constant 158rpm, if more speed is required; the central computer alters the pitch of the propeller to generate it.

  

One of two diesel generators on board, there is also a shaft generator, this meets all the day to day power requirements but if more power is needed for the thrusters etc then the computer will bring these generators online.

  

One of two main engines, you can see the turbo charger on the left of the pic. Output is 2200Kw @720 rpm. Daily consumption is approximately 7t of diesel or 5mpg.

  

This is the main switch board, where all the electrical power is distributed for the ship.

  

Finally,  the steering gear. The rudder stock is the central stainless steel structure. There is a small needle on the front with a scale for angle indication, if the linkage up to the bridge is lost, the ship can be steered locally from within the steering gear room.

Day 27

Quiet watch this morning, wind is a steady F5 on the nose, temperature is comfortable. I was learning the art of chart corrections this afternoon.

Every chart on board has to be update by law, chart corrections come out weekly and we download them then print them off and apply them to the charts that are needed. There are two different types that you physically put on the chart, blocks and traces. Blocks are replacement parts of chart that are stuck on top to replace a section of chart and traces are printed out onto tracing paper, these can be additions eg new lights, depths, etc or removal of lights, etc or replacing features.

This evening we had doctor school, the doc showed us how to put in a drip, take blood and test our blood groups. I took my own blood, which was a strange feeling and found out my blood type to be O+.

Clocks are going to GMT +1 tonight, each watch it 20mins less. Instead of starting at midnight tonight I start at 2320, then we put the clocks forward an hour.

Day 26

Body clock a bit of a mess today due to changing watches, swell increased over night which also ddnt help the no sleep front.  Tried to shoot the sun at local noon but missed it, back to the books tonight and re try again tomorrow.

 I was helping the third mate pressure test all the fire hoses and nozzles on board (over 40 of them) then we had another drill/safety brief on immersion suits, foam systems and liferafts.

Current location 02° S    008° W. Temperature has decreased to mid 20s and the sky has been overcast for the past couple of days

Day 25

Scrubbing the decks this morning. Swell has increased, its now on the nose, we have got wind, swell and equatorial currents against us.

Crossed the equator tonight, now its summer!

I missed the only exciting thing of the day, the third mate saw a raft float passed. There wasn’t anybody on it or near it, looked like it had been out at here a long time.

Watch changes today, moving onto the 12-4 for a week.

Myth busted; water ran down sink clockwise in N hemisphere, runs down clockwise in S hemisphere.

Day 24

On deck painting this morning then a fairly chilled out afternoon BBQ for crossing the line. Weather has been overcast all day with a bit of rain to spoil my painting, cant complain though, it has caused the temperature to drop to a comfortable mid 20s

Day 23

A nice morning of undercoating then had a fire and first aid drill, I got strapped into a stretcher.

This afternoon has been fairly quiet, usual stuff, gym, a bit of laundry and some uni work. 

Current location is 250nM off the coast of Sierra Leone.

Tonight, the ship was heading straight for a large lightning storm, the forecast was for gusts of severe wind but it must have always just been ahead of us as the ship never met the wind forecasted.

Day 22

First job this morning was to pay out and flake the aft mooring line onto the poop deck. Once this was complete, the pressure washer was rigged and I drove to winch to put the line back on, whilst the boatswain washed the line. Bridge watch tonight was hot and not a lot happening, usual met forecast sent to the met office and a compass correction by star (Achenar). The last waypoint and turn before Cape Town has just been done, this leg is over 3000nM.

Air and Sea temp at midnight 28°C

day 21

On deck this morning stowing scaffolding away and making some lines to go around the deck hatches when opened. Good splicing practise. After lunch the 3^rd mate and I were checking the CO₂ fixed installations, the emergency escape breathing device (a small air tank with approx 10 mins). These are used to escape from locations of high risk of fire and also areas that are more difficult to escape from, the galley, engine room etc.

Wind has increased again, F7/8 although it is behind us so the ship isn’t rolling or pitching too much.

In my ‘down time’ im learning COLREGS for weekly test on Sunday, starting off with only rule 5/6 and lights/shapes.

We also had our first BBQ this evening, although I still had to be on the bridge at 2000 for navigational watch*

Current location is almost at the coast of Senegal

*There are three watches in the day covered by the three deck officers (mates), chief does 0400-0800 and 1600-2000, 3^rd mate 0800-1200 and 2000-0000, 2^nd does 0000-0400 and 1200-1600. During these times, the officer is on the bridge, maintaining a lookout, recording positions, ensuring the passage plan is being followed, etc. So I’m up there also, learning how to effectively ‘drive’ the ship.

Day 19

Another good morning on deck, grinding the deck of the monkey island (the ‘roof’ of the bridge) in preparation for paint. I had a meeting with the chief engineer and 4^th engineer to make questions for the auditing of the bridge procedures.

The wind had picked up again to a F7, it has lifted the sea but its blowing from the east, off the Sahara, so its warm.

Last night on watch, we had a ship on a collision course. Its amazing how we are in the middle of nowhere, 150nM offshore and we meet another ship and have to take avoiding action.

Monday is ‘cossing the line’ day, shenanigans for all of us newbies, kissing fish, drinking sea water etc.

Currently off the coast off Mauritania, no pirates out here thankfully. ETA Cape Town is evening of 10/12/11

Day 18

  Fire fighting equipment

  BA sets

I spent this morning on deck. First job was to check all the lashings on the cargo, tightening any that needed it.  Next came pressure washing the deck to remove the salt in preparation for paint. At 1030, we had a fire drill. The alarm sounded and I mustered on the bridge with the rest of Bravo fire team. I donned the fire suit and breathing apparatus and made my way to the chain locker where smoke had been seen. It turned out not to be a fire but the motorman had been welding and collapsed due to lack of oxygen, so the job was to extract him safely using the stretcher and block and tackle.

As I’m now on watch with the 3^rd officer, his other job on board is safety officer. As part of his monthly planned maintenance we checked the breathing apparatus/fire fighting equipment, tank rescue equipment for defects and recharge the air bottles.

Current Posn approx. 23° 40' N 019° 30' W

Day 17

Swell has dissipated trade winds now behind us. I’m changing watch today, so I’ve got a full 12 hours off before the 8-12.

The morning was spent doing navigation calculations and sorting the cabin out. The afternoon, a few of the crew and me were sunbathing on the helideck. Tomorrow, I’ll be working on deck, ‘learning the ropes’ in the morning then back into the bridge at night.

I'm on an auditing team for the annual ISM audit. Each department studies another departments paperwork and procedures, trying to highlight any discrepancies.

Day 16

Swells building, currently approximately 7m. Winds gale F8, rough seas, no traffic. 500nM West of Gibraltar Straits, sea temp steadily increasing, now 21°C.

Not much out of the ordinary to report, Captain has kept us on both engines, ‘due to the weather’ really its so we can get to barbeque climates more quickly. We have almost reached our most westerly position for this leg, 019° W. Then its due south for 1400nM then finally east towards Cape Town.

I  ‘shot’ Jupiter this morning to obtain compass error, then later this evening I shot Venus.

Saw the light house of Madeira, 30nM away.

Day 16

Morning watch was quiet, with only one ship appearing at the end of the watch. Wind has been building from a F3 to a F6-7. Two days steaming and we will be off the Canary Islands.  An interesting Navigation warning came through this morning, ‘Submarine Volcanic Activity in the vicinity of the Canary isles.’

The evening watch was equally as quiet with easing weather.

Day 15

Not much sleep last night due to the large swell that has continued all night and into the morning. The forward ‘flopper stoppers*’ were filled this morning, which has taken most of the roll off the ship.

A French navy spotter helicopter circled the ship this morning, followed by the warship it came from. They were just coming to check us out and give a wave. Also this morning I saw my first whale of the trip, fairly sure it was a minke.

A new job has been added to my list to do on watch; sending a meteorological report to the met office, fairly straight forward, take the measurements, fill in a form and email it to them. It has to be done every 6 hours.

No ships or land in any direction for at least 96nM (maximum range of radar). A beautiful evening, although the swell is still present.

Ship life is going well, the crew are all helpful and very welcoming. I’m enjoying my time at work, definitely in the right career.

 

Half way down the coast of Portugal.  

*This is a large tank (100m³) just below the bridge, it is filled to 75% capacity. As the ship rolls, the water sloshes to the low side, as the roll returns the water is slowed by baffles within the tank. This has the effect of dampening the roll.

Day 14

The watch this morning started with great visibility and moderate sea. Now in the bay of Biscay, Gale force 8, the sea is a bit lumpy but nice to be heading south. We will be across the bay by tomorrow morning.

We crossed over the shelf and the scientific echo sounder was picking up the depth above.

Evening watch, wind had dropped to a force 3 and no traffic in close proximity. I spent the watch maintaining our heading against the set of tide and leeway and took hourly positions. At the end of the watch, we were filling up a ballast tank and at the same time the ship had a synchronous roll*, this was magnified by the free surface effect** of the half filled ballast tank. No damage done, just anything that could slide, ended up on the deck. In my cabin, the contents of my desk and shelves was on the deck.

*Occurs when the roll period of the ship, matches the wave period

**this effect is best seen when trying to carry a tray of water, as the water sloshes the forces build up causing a bigger slosh, etc.

Day 13

Heading to Falmouth, arrived at trials location this morning. Trials commenced at 0745. First watch was quiet, a few fishing boats, passed a couple of miles south of the Eddystone. 

Ship in DP mode, head to wind, making the ship pitch quite a bit.  After the trials, steamed towards Falmouth and launched the FRC to take the surveyors back to shore

Left Falmouth this afternoon, now heading south. ETA Cape Town 12/12/11. Hoping for fair weather to get across the Bay of Biscay

  A pirccy of the bridge this morning (apologies for the blurryness)

Day 12

On watch again at 0400, good visibility and low traffic density. Pilot boarded at 0800 and I went down aft to help with mooring. Alongside in Portsmouth at 0930 with bunker barge alongside to load Avcat (a less volatile form of aviation fuel that we carry in bulk).

The second watch of the day saw us leaving Portsmouth and steaming towards Falmouth to perform DP* trials before heading south.

  Bunker Barge alongside in Portsmouth

DP* Dynamic Positioning is a system used on board used mainly for survey work. It links the 4 thrusters (2 forward and 2 aft), the azipod, main propeller and rudder to a central system that can hold the ship on a location using a reference system, for the trials we will just be using 2 GPSs and 3 Gyro compasses. The trials are to test the redundancy of the system.

Day 11

Day started at 0400 for my first watch on the bridge. Quite a bit of traffic about, learning about the different pieces of equipment on the bridge and procedures for maintaining a safe look out. 

  At night, rounds have to be done every 2 hours; the accommodation is checked, social areas, laundry rooms, holds, workshops and engine room control room. This is done to check for any potential fire hazards (blocked dryer filters, cigarette butts not properly extinguished, etc) as well as making sure items are stowed properly and cannot cause damage in rough seas, the lashings on the cargo is checked and the refrigerated containers (reefers) temperatures are checked locally.

Between watches; gym, uni work, lunch, read and sleep.

1600-2000 watch; arrived on the bridge with visibility at 100m and about to enter the Dover Straits. Not too much traffic about and no erroneous activities from the other ships. Also beginning to fill out the log and putting positions on the chart, filling out the weather information and using the radars.

ETA @ Portsmouth 0800. Departing @ 1500

Day 10

First job of the day was with the Chief mate to do a dock water test. This involves taking a sample of dock water and testing its density.  A ship can only be loaded to a certain level, called the plimsole line, so when a ship is ‘down to her marks’ she is fully loaded. Dock water has a density less than seawater, so it can be loaded down beyond her marks in the dock and once out in the sea, she will be above her marks again due to the higher water density.  The density testing was done so this value can be put into the stability programme to check it will in fact rise up to her marks.

 Tula was lifted on board and final lashings were done in the holds. The ship had to move across the dock to load explosives, and then we had a fire and boat drill. These were to get everybody to the correct muster stations/lifeboats and familiarise everybody with the kit.

Lines were dropped at 1900, I was in the aft party, stowing lines and driving the winches. First bridge watch is at 0400 tomorrow.

Portsmouth bound.

Day 9

All the loading is complete, we have to move across the docks to load explosives tomorrow then finally setting sail approximately 1800.

  The yellow Room (crew only)

  Red Room, half of the bar area

  Green room, big tv, lots of dvds

  Lower Hold, full of fuel drums

I’ve been splicing lines for the RIBs lifting rigs, eye and back splices. Quite a slow day today, the stevedores have left, leaving only the riggers and ourselves to do the last bits. The boatswain also gave me a crane driving lesson, I was only picking up strops from the quay but it was enough for the first time.

Day 8

Helped the 3^rd mate check the FRC (fast rescue Craft) and Tula (landing craft) for the MCA inspections tomorrow, it seems Tula has sprung a leak, 4 inches of water in one of the bilges. Supervising the continuing loading of Hold No. 2, stowing dunnage (timber used to pack around cargo to prevent shifting during voyage) and stowing paint. More stores loaded and the vital beer and spirits.

The afternoon was spent, sorting out orders and stowing gear. I had to check off the new lifting gear and record the unique serial number for each one, then green tag it to show it can be used this season.

Life onboard is great. I’m learning my way around the ship and getting back into the swing of working on board. All the crew are looking forward to setting sail on Saturday, things will then settle into routine. I’ll be doing 4 hours on deck (maintenance), 8 hours off, then 4 hours in the bridge doing navigation etc.

  Hold No.2 half full

  Top of Hold No.2

  'Tula' Landing Craft

  Lifeboat

  Humber RIBs

  Fast Rescue Craft (FRC)

  Boatswain Store

  Engineers Workshop

  Snow Machines

  Fire Hydrant for Helicopter fire

Day 7

Well after a lie in this morning (work starting at 0700!) I was overseeing the loading of cargo into the aft hold, making sure the stevedores were doing things safely. I was helping to stow some steel on top of all the drums that I counted on yesturday, the count was bang on! more luck than judgement. After the 'tween deck was closed, I was working with the boatswain to tidy up in there in preparation for cargo loading tomorrow..
    There was the main ships crane loading No.2 hold, a shore based crane loading the helideck and our own stores crane loading miscellaneous office equipment, tools, ropes, etc.

My kit bag also arrived today

3 x pairs of socks
1 x thermal work boots
2 x work trousers
1 x duvet salopets
1 x duvet jacket
1x thermal boiler suit
2 x glove liners
1 x thermal work gloves
1 x cold weather work gloves (suitable for conditions down to -25° C)
1 x thermal high vis jacket
2 x fleeces
3 x thermal base layers
1 x buff
1 x knife
1 x sunglasses
1 x waterbottle
1 x belt
1 x warm hat
1 x thermal hard hat

Day 6

Early start this morning. The drums of aviation fuel had to be tallied on, that was my job for most of the day (I was the tallisman), apart from when the 2 lorries full of frozen food arrived and had to be man handled into the freezer. The lower hold is now full, with 1200 barrels of fuel, the rest to finish tomorrow then beginning to load containers and all the break bulk cargo into the various spaces. The landing craft was brought from Grimsby today and will be loaded this week.

pop quiz, can you guess what this is?



















Answer- A rat guard, stops rats leaving or entering the ship via the mooring lines

day 5

Early start this morning. First job was to help with the loading of drums of aviation fuel. Some needed to be marked to remain on board to take to another stop. We got 7 lorry loads on today, with about 5 more to go tomorrow. I had to take a trip to Grimsby to launch the landing craft and also do some load test on the crane. Unfortunately, the part of the crane wasn't working so it will be fitted and tested tomorrow before taking it round to the ship in Immingham (approx 7 nM). This week will all be loadiing of cargo, it is interesting work because they're aren't many general cargo ships left in the world so it is good to have some experience in it.

Day 4

  Tween deck foreward hold

  Lower deck forward hold

  Aft hold

  Locker/changing room

  "Gym"

  Sauna

  Main Laundry Room

  A water tight door

  Mess

  Dishes room

  Galley

  Galley

  Laundry room No. 2

  My heads

Today was spent finishing unloading all the N. Sea gear and preparing the holds for loading to commence tomorrow.
  This afternoon, we replaced the wire on the main crane. I was part of the greasing team, greasing the new cable as it was wound onto the drum, all 300m of it!

day 3

Bit of a later start this morning, body clock is slowly adjusting. Continuing de Mobbing N. Sea equipment. A lot of up and downing ladders, painting, rigging various items onto and off cranes.

Loading will be commencing on Monday, we've got RIBs, landing craft, diggers, bulldozers, a lot of fuel, as well as 40 TONNES of alcohol.

The Captain has announced we will be having 2 BBQ nights a week (Wed and Sun), there is some perks of the job :)

It is a comfortable ship, in the evenings we dander over to the 'mission' and have a pint or 2 before turning in. I'm looking forward to getting underway and getting into full watches. ETD from Immingham is 12/11/11 and heading towards Portsmouth for a quick fuel stop before heading South.

some fotos, more to follow

  Bridge

  DP Operators Chair

  Main Deck

  My cabin (the cell)