Anyone Interested in Ships

[MarkC]

Interesting news via a Dutch media source - as relayed to me and others on board a few minutes ago  by the Master of my ship, so no link available as yet:-

 

...apparently the Seychelles have declared that no cruise ships will be permitted to call at their ports until 2022 - but visitors by air will still be welcome, once air travel restrictions are eased, hopefully later this year.

 

Mark

[jjb1970]

We now have the rather odd situation (it'd be amusing if the circumstances weren't so dreadful) of certain governments kicking the cruise sector at the same time as offering soft loans and aid to prevent contracts with yards being cancelled because they're panicking about the effects on local industry if the cruise segment folds. Basically wanting to play the populist card two ways at the same time.

[The Stationmaster]

21 hours ago, MarkC said:

Interesting news via a Dutch media source - as relayed to me and others on board a few minutes ago  by the Master of my ship, so no link available as yet:-

 

...apparently the Seychelles have declared that no cruise ships will be permitted to call at their ports until 2022 - but visitors by air will still be welcome, once air travel restrictions are eased, hopefully later this year.

 

Mark

Now being reported by a number of sources including UK newspapers and here -

 

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/05/14/856417335/seychelles-bans-cruise-ships-until-2022-out-of-coronavirus-fears?t=1589807288079

[MarkC]

*sighs* - yesterday, we were told that several doors out here were opening, as it were, for arranging crew changes. Today, 3 out of 4 doors have been slammed shut again, and the custodian of door #4 is ignoring further enquiries at present...

 

...so the wait continues. C'est la vie...

 

Mark

[62613]

47 minutes ago, MarkC said:

*sighs* - yesterday, we were told that several doors out here were opening, as it were, for arranging crew changes. Today, 3 out of 4 doors have been slammed shut again, and the custodian of door #4 is ignoring further enquiries at present...

 

...so the wait continues. C'est la vie...

 

Mark

Sounds like you are almost getting a taste of old-school seafaring, when a trip lasted for any time between 8 months and two years

[MarkC]

5 minutes ago, 62613 said:

Sounds like you are almost getting a taste of old-school seafaring, when a trip lasted for any time between 8 months and two years

Oh, very much so - the difference being that back then it was accepted as being the case that it might happen...

 

It's the younger ones who are feeling it most - us old sea dogs haven't forgotten those times. $h1t happens, and all that...

 

And people also seem to forget the families ashore - they're hurting too, of course. In many ways it's worse for them than us - and it makes for more potential issues.

 

Anyway, said 4th door is still ajar - we will see how the next few days go, if things can be done. One problem is, it's about 2 days' steaming each way from our trading area, so we would have to hope that an agreement can be made with our charterers too, because we and the other 2 ships working with the same charterer are operating pretty much on the 'just in time' system in the supply chain.

 

Fingers crossed.

 

Mark

 

 

[Lee6700]

Good evening all,

 

In reply to the thread 'Anyone interested in Ships...' the answer is very much so.

Here's a few images I've taken over the past couple of years:

 

 

 

 

Silver Fern MT99, Maryport Trawler Race, 2019

 

 

 

 

Probably one of the most ostentatious vessels seen at Whitehaven, the Lady M beats them all. Valued at a cool £40m, she's owned by the Russian Billionaire Alexei Mordashov, the main shareholder and chairman of the mining and steel conglomerate Severstal. May 8th 2017

 

 

 

Friendly Shore CT20 heading out from Elizabeth Dock, Maryport. January 16th 2017

 

 

 

Isla S DS1 & Glenugie PD347 berthed at Peterhead.
 

Isla S is ex Goedereede registered Vrouw Grietje GO-14 & Urk registered Andries De Vries UK-143.

Peterhead, May 21st 2016.

Wishing you all a fabulous night, stay safe.
 

Edited May 19, 2020 by Lee6700

[New Haven Neil]

CT20 - one of ours!  Manxie, that is.

 

Came across this ER photo of one of the LPG tankers I sailed on, the Staffordshire - 7RND90M for the engine types on here - Mark!

 

 

 

[MarkC]

3 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

CT20 - one of ours!  Manxie, that is.

 

Came across this ER photo of one of the LPG tankers I sailed on, the Staffordshire - 7RND90M for the engine types on here - Mark!

 

 

 

Not bad pieces of kit, those RND90Ms - I sailed on the "Speedster Universal" that had one. The ultimate Sulzer loop scavenge engine. The older RND90s were pretty good too.

 

The ones before - the RDs, with the rotary exhaust valves though...

 

The Sulzer Fuel Pumps, however - not the easiest of arrangements to understand at first...

 

Thanks for posting the photos, Neil

 

Mark

 

 

[jjb1970]

The crew change situation does appear to be slowly improving, but it's still very difficult. The framework of protocols for crew changing issued by IMO is being adopted by more governments and crew changes are now happening in more ports (including Singapore). 

 

The more serious matter now is seafarer access to medical care which is a major concern. And unfortunately it's not just a matter of government. There was a case this week in which the port authority with the consent of the maritime administration provided a list of ten medical practices and issued landing permission but none of the health centres would agree to treat the seafarer concerned.

 

And there is another case of a ship with a body in the freezer which has not only been denied access to enter multiple ports but has had problems bunkering. The port of final destination has agreed to let them land the body but that is a trans-oceanic voyage away and no intermediate port of call agreed to let them repatriate the deceased even where the ship was allowed to enter.

[MarkC]

34 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

The crew change situation does appear to be slowly improving, but it's still very difficult. The framework of protocols for crew changing issued by IMO is being adopted by more governments and crew changes are now happening in more ports (including Singapore). 

 

The more serious matter now is seafarer access to medical care which is a major concern. And unfortunately it's not just a matter of government. There was a case this week in which the port authority with the consent of the maritime administration provided a list of ten medical practices and issued landing permission but none of the health centres would agree to treat the seafarer concerned.

 

And there is another case of a ship with a body in the freezer which has not only been denied access to enter multiple ports but has had problems bunkering. The port of final destination has agreed to let them land the body but that is a trans-oceanic voyage away and no intermediate port of call agreed to let them repatriate the deceased even where the ship was allowed to enter.

Nothing in the media about such things either - shameful, but not surprising

 

Update here - the door that was still ajar appears to have opened a tiny bit more - there is progress of sorts. With luck, getting to Amsterdam is possible - but I see that the Newcastle flights from there are now seemingly suspended. Fly to Manchester & then a train might be the next option...  Just getting across the Atlantic is the big one; after that it should be possible to find one route home.

 

Still a way to go before agreement is reached, including a 'yes' from charterers, which isn't a given, but things are now definitely more hopeful. The authorities in the port concerned - some 2 days' sailing away - are said to be prepared to accept us as a 'trial horse', as it were, for crew changes. It would have to be done offshore, via service boat, so it's weather dependent to some extent too. Fingers crossed.

 

Mark

[eastwestdivide]

2 hours ago, MarkC said:

With luck, getting to Amsterdam is possible

Trains/ferries might be possible, a good updated roundup of the situation at:

https://railguideeurope.com/coronavirus-corona-trains-western-europe/

and Hoek-Harwich is still running:

https://www.stenaline.co.uk/coronavirus-information

 

Bon voyage and good luck!

[MarkC]

32 minutes ago, eastwestdivide said:

Trains/ferries might be possible, a good updated roundup of the situation at:

https://railguideeurope.com/coronavirus-corona-trains-western-europe/

and Hoek-Harwich is still running:

https://www.stenaline.co.uk/coronavirus-information

 

Bon voyage and good luck!

Thanks - my wife suggested DFDS Ijmuiden to Newcastle - but that's not running until 17th June at the earliest.

 

Harwich to Durham by train - probably easier to go via London...

 

One step at a time, I think. If charterers say no, it's all been in vain anyway. We'll see how it goes.

 

Cheers

Mark

 

 

[drmditch]

11 hours ago, MarkC said:

Thanks - my wife suggested DFDS Ijmuiden to Newcastle - but that's not running until 17th June at the earliest.

 

Harwich to Durham by train - probably easier to go via London...

 

One step at a time, I think. If charterers say no, it's all been in vain anyway. We'll see how it goes.

 

Cheers

Mark

 

 

 

Hope you get back soon - and are able to enjoy a railway journey!

[jjb1970]

20 hours ago, MarkC said:

Nothing in the media about such things either - shameful, but not surprising

 

Indeed, very disappointing. In fairness some blame is with industry (and even unions) as there is a sensitivity to certain things and worry about angering port states to the point they'll find reasons to make life difficult later (it's why there are so few complaints about bent PSC officers - are you really going to risk a world of muck pulling PSC up if there is a chance you'll every sail to that port state again?).

 

However it goes deeper than that. I am constantly being sent articles in which the actual articles are not that bad and in some cases pretty good but the headlines and intro are utterly divorced from anything in the article. And to me that is outright dishonesty as if a media outlet can research and prepare a reasonably accurate and informative story they can also write an honest headline and intro. At the risk of sounding judgemental I consider that practice to be a form of lying.

[jjb1970]

https://www.itfglobal.org/en/news/un-must-persuade-governments-adopt-crew-change-protocols-or-risk-humanitarian-disaster

[MarkC]

All very true. You don't want to upset PSC - unfortunately that means they continue to muck folk up. The hotspots of corruption are well known, of course

 

Oh,  our proposed crew change is off - a 'paperwork' issue regarding the cargo on the ship which would replace us for one voyage, allowing us to go elsewhere for the crew change, cannot be resolved in time...

 

...make of that what you will - especially in light of my first paragraph above...

 

Mark

[Schooner]

A useful source of information this thread, thanks all and particularly @MarkC and @jjb1970. A professional interest in ships this end - I'm with those who've spent the past couple of months self-isolating at work, with no clear steer on when it will be possible to return to friends and family... As has been pointed out, this has long been part of the gig but it is interesting to see how our little bubble, often so independant from the outside world, has been affected and how this has been taken by mariners young and old.

 

Keep safe, keep sane, and keep the information moving. There's a distinct lack off official clarity, and these less-official channels have proven a godsend...

 

All the best,

 

Schooner

 

 

[MarkC]

Thanks, Schooner. Much appreciated.

 

I see from the latest missive issued from guvvinment that seafarers are to be exempt from the latest self-isolation plan. I do hope that this is passed on to those tasked with enforcing such things, because the cynic in me suggests that we would be regarded as easy targets for a £1k 'fine'...

 

Very damp and overcast here, north of Montego Bay, this morning. No sign, as yet, of the cloud cover burning off. I suspect it's in for the day.

 

Mark

[jjb1970]

The unions are giving governments until the middle of June to sort their crew change policies. The ITF agreed a further one month contract extension last month but have said that is their limit and after this one expires they want crews off. There is talk of industrial action and there will be legal issues if crews are over their contract limits and article limits and decline to agree extensions. And interestingly the unions are not having a go at employers, they are still working together closely, it's governments they've lost patience with. 

[New Haven Neil]

Crikey, glad I'm not at sea any more!

 

Mark, that RND-M was a cracker, no issues at all (bar cleaning scavenges - goes with the Sulzer territory) but the Crepelle alternator engines were awful.  Absolute disasters, eventually got taken out entirely, after my time.  Oddly the Chief when that job was done was a lad who was at the same primary school as me, a year ahead of me - didn't know him then, but we are 'friends' now on meeja.

 

PS - My Dad said to me when I started my Cadetship than when I could describe how the Sulzer fuel pump worked, I could call myself an engineer - he got to hear me do that!

Edited May 24, 2020 by New Haven Neil
PS

[MarkC]

2 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

Crikey, glad I'm not at sea any more!

 

Mark, that RND-M was a cracker, no issues at all (bar cleaning scavenges - goes with the Sulzer territory) but the Crepelle alternator engines were awful.  Absolute disasters, eventually got taken out entirely, after my time.  Oddly the Chief when that job was done was a lad who was at the same primary school as me, a year ahead of me - didn't know him then, but we are 'friends' now on meeja.

 

PS - My Dad said to me when I started my Cadetship than when I could describe how the Sulzer fuel pump worked, I could call myself an engineer - he got to hear me do that!

Aaaarrrggghhhh - Crepelle gensets! I sailed with them on the Eildon - a French built job with 3 of them and Crepelle cargo compressors too. The main engine was a Japanese built B&W - the manuals were in finest Jinglish...

 

Those gensets  4 cylinders, 150kW/cylinder, bedplates bolted directly to the frames on the tanktops (Vetting inspectors LOVED that location - not...) . Thank goodness we had a shaft generator - I went into port a few times on the shaft, with no genset ready for use!

 

Ironically, my present company has the sister ship - and many of the woes were shared... Those 2 ships were indeed proof that there are 3 ways of doing a job - the right way, the wrong way and the French way

 

As for the Sulzer fuel pump - your Dad was spot on. How some of today's <engineers> would manage, I'm not sure.

 

Cheers

Mark

 

 

[MarkC]

3 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

The unions are giving governments until the middle of June to sort their crew change policies. The ITF agreed a further one month contract extension last month but have said that is their limit and after this one expires they want crews off. There is talk of industrial action and there will be legal issues if crews are over their contract limits and article limits and decline to agree extensions. And interestingly the unions are not having a go at employers, they are still working together closely, it's governments they've lost patience with. 

Hopefully things will be moving better by then - but trying to get certain countries to allow repatriations may still prove tricky. Their argument will be that they are protecting their own people, of course.

 

Mark

[jjb1970]

I always liked Sulzer engines, apart from the scavenge spaces of RND engines. Whoever had the idea of the scavenge access doors opening downwards with access from below had a great sense of humour. The RTA was an excellent engine. The fuel pumps were one of those things that appeared intimidating in drawings, not helped by college lecturers and Sulzer's own video but they were an extremely clever design and very reliable.  Once you had set a couple up it was pretty straightforward.

The slow speed engines I hated were MAN, not the modern ones which evolved from B&W but the true MAN slow speeds from Augsburg.  P&OCL had a lot of MAN KSZ engines and with the exception of the cross head design they were utter carp, Hitler's revenge.

I always found it interesting how different engines from different licensees were. MSE MAN-B&W engines always seemed a cut above others. Even in LR it was a pleasure to work with the MSE and DU (the big Sulzer license builder in Japan) people.

[The Stationmaster]

Sorry to hear of further delay Mark but fingers remain crossed for something for you and your shipmates.  I read that one US cruise company is sending one of its ships across the Pacific from the US to drop off crew members at their various home countries as it goes.  Quite how reliefs would be arranged for the seafarers and engineers was not spelt out but clearly the 'hotel' crew are relatively easy to deal with and generally won't need reliefs - provided their home country accepts them.