Home » United Arab Emirates » Atlantic Express – Red Sea, 01/09 – 06/09

After 2 days and nights of sailing down the Red Sea from the Canal, we reach our destination, about 25 nautical miles outside Port Sudan.
<br/><br/>
Due to a supposed holiday, which has taken everyone by surprise, and the renowned levels of inefficiency from the part of the officials and authorities of Port Sudan, a long queue has developed: about 35 other ships are drifting outside the harbour, waiting to be given a berth to unload the cargo. The agent has warned us that we could be drifting for 6 to 7 days before the Port Authorities finally sort themselves out and allow us to enter the harbour. The captain, in a bid to reassure me, tells me the story of one of their ship who was stuck outside this very same port waiting to be allowed to enter for 600 days, that is nearly two years of waiting outside a port, drifting at sea. The captain thought it was great: there was a crew change every 5 months, they got on board and for five months read books, used the swimming pool, had BBQ’s and generally enjoyed life before going home for a well deserved holiday. It took the company that long to realise that it was better business to bribe the officials rather than wait for the Port Authorities to do something.
<br/><br/>

Atlantic Express – Red Sea, 01/09 – 06/09

Degrubenc
2005-12-09 16:43:44

Displayed times (last time: )

English, they are all big lads with beards and tattoos but I find them to be truly welcoming and helpful. Whenever I walk around the ship, I always find a few in the shade drinking a few beers after their hard work. Without fail, I am always offered a beer and a seat with them, which is of course difficult to refuse, and we crack jokes to each other in our own language, not really understanding each other but laughing all the same.

Since we have started drifting, the sea is starting to make itself noticed. The waves are getting higher and higher, reaching well above 2 meters in height and rocking the ship from side to side.

To briefly go over the statistics, the ship is 193 meters long and 22.5 meters wide, it was built to navigate the great lakes (which lakes I am not sure), this means that the waves have a greater effect on the ship than would normally be the case for a large cargo ship of this size. We can carry up to 22,000 tonnes of cargo. At the moment, we have about 19,000 tonnes, which tends to reduce the effect of the waves on the ship. I went on the bridge earlier and was told we rolled about 10 degrees to either side. As I write this in the ship’s office, my coffee mug is sliding from side to side across the table as if haunted. I have a special mat nearby to place it, so that it may stop its pointless journey, but I enjoy its movement as it reminds me constantly that I am at sea.

Over time, I learn all the little things that make it easier to live on a constantly moving object. For the first few nights, things in my cabin kept moving: books crashing on the floor, coffee mugs and plates sliding off the shelves, my desk chair fell on its back, my papers got thrown about the room etc… I soon learned to tie everything down, every single object which is not in active use is either locked in a drawer or attached to the wall and floor. I spend most first few days stuffing folded little bits of paper in wardrobes and draws to stop them opening constantly at night. Last night, my fridge opened and all 20 bottles of beer, 2 milk cartons, 3 juice cartons and everything else in the fridge started exploring my cabin, crashing into everything they could find. The trick to avoid that is to leave the door of the fridge empty and to tie it to the main body of the fridge with an elastic rope. One of the other great problems of a rolling ship such as ours is that I have a tendency to roll off my bed and eventually land, rather painfully, on the floor. The trick to avoid such misfortune is to either use the sofa which is perpendicular to the rolling motion to sleep, or to lift the mattress of the bed on the side which is open, so that it is tilted and one can sleep against the wall with no risk of rolling off. As time goes by, I am starting to anticipate the rolling and walk accordingly. A thoroughly enjoyable experience: I feel as if I was drunk, without the headache in the morning (unless I fall out of the bed of course).

The Chief Officer has kindly informed me over supper that the stretch of water between Somalia and the Lepers Island (the Somalian Government shipped to a deserted island all the lepers in the country, so that they could be safely ignored) is the most dangerous in the world. Not due to navigational problems but because it is infested with Pirates. The government does little to stop them, as they are themselves paying or part of the government. The tactics, so he informs me, should we be attacked, is to keep going at full speed and throw at them whatever we have on board: tins would make a good weapon. The water hoses also make an unsuspectingly effective weapon. Captain Oh-la-la was attacked once, the pirates fired three rockets at the ship before giving up the chase and attacking another boat.