Random Ships 30

Here was 29.

The photo below is used with permission from “secret salt.”  What appears strange about the photo or the ship?

The photo below shows three tugs and one ship.  The green line track of the ship gives a clear hint of the problem in the photo below.    One of those tugs is Orcus, as shown here.  If anyone got a photo of Orcus towing Darya Moti to get a new rudder, I’d love to see it.  Oh . . . and the repair facility might be in the Bahamas.

Compare this photo of Medi Osaka with the previous one here.  In a day of unloading salt, the ship is almost 20 feet LESS deep in the water.  The vessel leaves today after an additional three days of unloading, and I wish I could be there to photograph it empty for comparison, but .  .  . inland works interferes.

Alpine Stealth . . . there’s irony in naming a bright orange vessel anything stealth.  Here was a previous one.  And here . .  . scroll through, check out the stack design on V8 Stealth II.

For scale, see the crewman on the whaleback of this MSC–not Military Sealift Command–container vessel.

MSC Lorena carries a whole block of reefers just aft of the house.

As MSC Martina heads out to sea past Minerva Julie, notice the wings

along either side of her stack.

All photos by Will Van Dorp.

Small Craft 8

Here was 7 in the series.

ABC-1 is a harbor supply boat, restocking the larder and spare parts lockers while load shifting happens in port.  Click here to see her high and dry a few years back.

BB 163 . . . is a still used antique, up on the Canal that connects the Great Lakes with the sixth boro.  Some day, when it’s warmer, I hope to learn much more about these BBs, buoy boats.  I’ll do more on BB 163 later.   For now, I can’t look at this and NOT see the flag of Colombia or Ecuador.

Gabby has been featured here many times.

Miller Boys is a crew boat.

But really the focus here is the line boats operated by Ken’s Marine.

It might be 5 above zero or 5 below 100 F, these crews are shuttling lines from ship to shore, negotiating with crews on a vessel as well as crews on shore.

Note the ship line handler chief watching the line boat and signaling to his crew to pay out line.

Once the line boat gets to the shoreline, the shore crew takes over.  Given the ice I know is on those rocks, this is a job requiring concentration and sure-footedness as well as  strength.

Once lines are on, the line boat stands off until they get snugged.  Then there are lots more lines to get on.

“All fast” needs to be done quickly and thoroughly.  Not long after this vessel was snug, two container ships passed between Medi Osaka on this side and UACC Masafi on the other side, creating tremendous lateral pressure on all vessels, straining the lines.

But all fast is all fast.  Bravo, guys.

All Fotos by Will Van Dorp.

Salt 10

Just before 0700, Medi Osaka rounded the bend, low in the water as a galleon from the Andean mines.  Only two hours before, under darkness, Medi Osaka‘s soon-to-be berth was still occupied by Global Success, which had just completed discharging its payload of road salt, at least the part of the load gong to Atlantic Salt.

Many media reports notwithstanding, there is road salt around.  Not all suppliers have been out.

This clam shell has been steadily emptying out holds.

Granted the salt has been leaving almost as quickly as it has arrived, but

count the trucks . . .  a dozen and a half waiting  here . .  and more.

For JS and others who know the place, yes, I’m atop the salt pile looking down on Leidy’s .  .  . not far from Sailor’s Snug Harbor.

The trucks are there loading salt from Global Success even before Medi Osaka docks.

There’s 36 feet of water here and then some.

Note the crew watch the vessel inch up to the docking barge.

The next post will show the linemen ferrying the lines to shore crews running them up to the bollards.

Meanwhile, temperatures were almost to 50 F by the time I left here.