2020 Tugster Calendar February

Wow!  Today is already 02/02/2020, so turn the calendar page if you have it.

Torm Hilde is featured on the February page. Here are more photos of the tanker from last year.

So in the interest of making the calendar part of a “transmedia” project, I decided to see where in the world she might be today, a year on.  I include below what I learned:  transiting the Red Sea on a voyage from Norway to Singapore. Notice on the lower left:  “armed guards onboard.”

This reminds me of a story I heard from a captain down south who delivers fast OSVs to the Gulf, Arabian or Persian, that is.  His credentials seemed bon fide, so here’s a loose paraphrase of what he said when I asked him about protection from pirates while transiting the Red Sea and around to the Gulf.  “We have armed guards onboard.  [He mentioned the type of arms but I’ve  forgotten the specifics, only that they were long-range, rapid, and lethal.]   Upon arriving in waters where pirates frequent,  we stop the boat and release a large inflatable floating target.  As it floats away from the boat, we get on the radio and invite the pirates to approach.  The armed guards then obliterate the target, as a display of lethality.  Then, after inviting the pirates to follow, we throttle up and get to top speed, leaving the pirates far behind.  So far.”

I’ve never been on the southern portion of the Red Sea, only from Jeddah to Port Suez and that was 35 years ago.  Here‘s an article from the past decade.

Happy February.