DURBAN,SOUTH AFRICA
DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA- AUGUST 19, 2006
In the morning of August 19th, Captain ordered to prepare necessary equipments for helicopter pilot as boarding time was at noon of the same day. When arrangements were done, we laid out again mooring ropes for berthing and remained on standby after the lunch break. Then, the harbor pilot came and descended from the helicopter lowered with a safety harness fastened. At forward, we set our eyes to white sandy beaches and high rise buildings along the coast of Durban.
Durban, a city in eastern South Africa, in KwaZulu-Natal Province, on the Indian Ocean near Pietermaritzburg. Durban is the largest city in KwaZulu-Natal and is well served by rail links and has an international airport. Port Natal, as the city was first known, was only accessible to small craft until the late 19th century, when a protective sea wall and pier were built to form a channel entrance with an average depth of 11 to 12 m (35 to 40 ft). It is now the biggest port on the African continent. Among the industrial establishments are oil refineries, machine works, and railway repair shops. There is also a whaling station, and soap, paint, and fertilizer factories. Principal exports are coal, manganese; chromite, grain, wool, and sugar.The city is South Africa’s leading beach resort with all-year bathing and is also noted for its gardens.
Durban was founded as a township on the site of Port Natal by British settlers in 1835, and was named after Sir Benjamin D’Urban, then governor of Cape Colony. It grew rapidly in the 1890s following the completion of the railway link to the Witwatersrand goldfields. Many of the inhabitants are of South Asian background. Like many cities in South Africa, Durban has been the site of ethnic and political violence during that country’s transition to majority rule.
The ship slowly made her way to the harbor. We gave mooring lines to the line men on boat. The headline rope I was assigned to let go suddenly slipped away from the Panama lead and I was helpless to control because of too heavy enough as it submerged into the water. To stop the continuous flow of rope, I knelt over it with my body weight and grabbed the remaining. It was too late. The rope end already below the water. The Chief Mate rage in anger coz the line men couldn’t find the submerged rope. With the help of Bosun and OS buddies, we slowly pulled the not-just-an-ordinary-heavy ropes until its end appeared and hanged 1 meter above the water. They blamed me on that day for the said failure. I just said to myself ‘charge to experience’. The lines have been picked up by line men one by one and secured into the wharf.
At 2 pm, the ship was on its position. We secured all restricted areas on board coz Durban, South Africa has a high incident of stowaway cases according to reports. We remained on standby until port authorities cleared the ship. After clearing, trucks of ships provisions arrived composed of meat, fishes, veggies, fruits, dry stores, and bonded stores which composed of cases of sofdrinks and beer and cartoons of cigar. Then at 4 pm, start of my duty again. Half past four, bunkering equipments arrived. The engine department has been notified and they prepared the necessary arrangements for this critical shipboard operation called bunkering, also known as refueling. We the deck crew on duty also remained vigilant especially on the implementation of shipboard oil pollution emergency plans to avoid environmental pollution and the heavy fines it would incur. It was 5 in the afternoon when pumping in of oil started. We patrolled around deck, ensuring all mooring lines are not slack make the ship immovable. We also plugged scuppers into deck drainage to prevent escape of oil overboard in case of accidental spillage. Ten in the evening, the bunkering was completed. The ship was scheduled to sail by midnight. Before departure, all crew members conducted stowaway search in every ship’s compartment and void space, the accommodation deck and engine room as well. No stowaways had been discovered. Durban port authority strictly implemented the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code.
The harbor pilot boarded at midnight. He ordered to single up the lines then finally let go all lines from the pier. All lines were cast off, however our Chief Mate raced against time, up three lines simultaneously at full speed. I was assigned to arrange the ropes however one of the ropes entangled due to fast rotation of the mooring drum. The Chief Mate got mad at me again. I only laugh at myself, another lesson. He wanted us to secure everything forward coz outside the Durban harbor, strong winds began to blow and the sea suddenly became rough. It was already 1 in the early morning when we retreated from forward station. We spent an hour for early breakfast and slept.
When we left Durban, South Africa, ship’s speed increased gradually from 12.8 to 15 nautical miles per hour. A favorable current called Agulhas current which flows southwest off African continent helped to gain additional speed. However, sea disturbances began battering our ship due to merging waters of the Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean south of the African land mass. Course has been adjusted to remain on track up to our next port of destination in Lome, Republic of Togo, and Western Africa.
In the morning of August 19th, Captain ordered to prepare necessary equipments for helicopter pilot as boarding time was at noon of the same day. When arrangements were done, we laid out again mooring ropes for berthing and remained on standby after the lunch break. Then, the harbor pilot came and descended from the helicopter lowered with a safety harness fastened. At forward, we set our eyes to white sandy beaches and high rise buildings along the coast of Durban.
Durban, a city in eastern South Africa, in KwaZulu-Natal Province, on the Indian Ocean near Pietermaritzburg. Durban is the largest city in KwaZulu-Natal and is well served by rail links and has an international airport. Port Natal, as the city was first known, was only accessible to small craft until the late 19th century, when a protective sea wall and pier were built to form a channel entrance with an average depth of 11 to 12 m (35 to 40 ft). It is now the biggest port on the African continent. Among the industrial establishments are oil refineries, machine works, and railway repair shops. There is also a whaling station, and soap, paint, and fertilizer factories. Principal exports are coal, manganese; chromite, grain, wool, and sugar.The city is South Africa’s leading beach resort with all-year bathing and is also noted for its gardens.
Durban was founded as a township on the site of Port Natal by British settlers in 1835, and was named after Sir Benjamin D’Urban, then governor of Cape Colony. It grew rapidly in the 1890s following the completion of the railway link to the Witwatersrand goldfields. Many of the inhabitants are of South Asian background. Like many cities in South Africa, Durban has been the site of ethnic and political violence during that country’s transition to majority rule.
The ship slowly made her way to the harbor. We gave mooring lines to the line men on boat. The headline rope I was assigned to let go suddenly slipped away from the Panama lead and I was helpless to control because of too heavy enough as it submerged into the water. To stop the continuous flow of rope, I knelt over it with my body weight and grabbed the remaining. It was too late. The rope end already below the water. The Chief Mate rage in anger coz the line men couldn’t find the submerged rope. With the help of Bosun and OS buddies, we slowly pulled the not-just-an-ordinary-heavy ropes until its end appeared and hanged 1 meter above the water. They blamed me on that day for the said failure. I just said to myself ‘charge to experience’. The lines have been picked up by line men one by one and secured into the wharf.
At 2 pm, the ship was on its position. We secured all restricted areas on board coz Durban, South Africa has a high incident of stowaway cases according to reports. We remained on standby until port authorities cleared the ship. After clearing, trucks of ships provisions arrived composed of meat, fishes, veggies, fruits, dry stores, and bonded stores which composed of cases of sofdrinks and beer and cartoons of cigar. Then at 4 pm, start of my duty again. Half past four, bunkering equipments arrived. The engine department has been notified and they prepared the necessary arrangements for this critical shipboard operation called bunkering, also known as refueling. We the deck crew on duty also remained vigilant especially on the implementation of shipboard oil pollution emergency plans to avoid environmental pollution and the heavy fines it would incur. It was 5 in the afternoon when pumping in of oil started. We patrolled around deck, ensuring all mooring lines are not slack make the ship immovable. We also plugged scuppers into deck drainage to prevent escape of oil overboard in case of accidental spillage. Ten in the evening, the bunkering was completed. The ship was scheduled to sail by midnight. Before departure, all crew members conducted stowaway search in every ship’s compartment and void space, the accommodation deck and engine room as well. No stowaways had been discovered. Durban port authority strictly implemented the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code.
The harbor pilot boarded at midnight. He ordered to single up the lines then finally let go all lines from the pier. All lines were cast off, however our Chief Mate raced against time, up three lines simultaneously at full speed. I was assigned to arrange the ropes however one of the ropes entangled due to fast rotation of the mooring drum. The Chief Mate got mad at me again. I only laugh at myself, another lesson. He wanted us to secure everything forward coz outside the Durban harbor, strong winds began to blow and the sea suddenly became rough. It was already 1 in the early morning when we retreated from forward station. We spent an hour for early breakfast and slept.
When we left Durban, South Africa, ship’s speed increased gradually from 12.8 to 15 nautical miles per hour. A favorable current called Agulhas current which flows southwest off African continent helped to gain additional speed. However, sea disturbances began battering our ship due to merging waters of the Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean south of the African land mass. Course has been adjusted to remain on track up to our next port of destination in Lome, Republic of Togo, and Western Africa.
posted by Arez at 8:39 PM
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