ONAHAMA,JAPAN
ONAHAMA, JAPAN- 25TH DECEMBER 2006
Ohayo gozaimasu.
Winter, extreme cold, thin air, sub zero degrees Celsius. We heaved up the anchor at five in the morning. No harbor pilot boarded. Only Captain maneuvered the ship to berth at Onahama harbor. While the Christendom celebrates the Christmas day, our ship had been called to berth for unloading operation because December 25 is not holiday in Japan.
Upon docking, I noticed the cleanliness of the water at the pier without any floating garbage. The pier and its port facilities are well-maintained. Thereafter, cargo hold was opened and unloading operations started. This was my very first time to visit the “Land of the Rising Sun” but I haven’t had gone to shore because of too much work and we had visitors on board, the marine superintendent and the technical managers.
On the same day I had my laptop computer from Ms. Saito, a businesswoman representative from Sanyo. I bought a computer in to familiarize myself on making reports, paperwork, and documents prepared by Third Mate. Thereon, I started to keep myself busy typing documents as well as editing the entries of “El Viajero- Accounts of a Navigator”.
At Onahama, unloading operation is only from 8 am until 5 in the afternoon.During nighttime, the surrounding is very peaceful and tranquil. However on our watch duties, we found discomfort due to the biting cold of steadily blowing wind which goes through deep into the bones, entering the four layer inner garments. We kept sheltered from cold near the gangway and still fulfill our duties.
The next day, 26th of December at three in the afternoon, the skies darkened, strong winds prevailed, and rain showers poured. Our agent arrived and brought the notice from the harbormaster that all vessels must pull out of the harbor due to approaching low pressure on the east coast of Japan. Although the harbor has a breakwater, ocean swells have an impact on the safety of ships at berth. The advisory stated that ships must sail away 20 nautical miles from the coastline and remain adrift.
On board, the crews have been alerted. We stationed forward and aft for undocking. We secured every movable equipment on deck and headed out of Onahama harbor. We navigated approximately 25 nautical miles after 3 hours and remain floating. At the bridge, we closely monitored the ship movement and position through nautical chart plotting as well as radar observations. Three huge ships manned by Filipinos at nearby pier have also pulled out of the harbor. We heard their Captain communicating in Tagalog to the Master of the other ship. The sea became very rough in the evening. Huge waves slammed against the ship’s iron hull. Thick rain showers overwhelmed the surrounding. Strong winds continuously sounded its roaring blow. We were sleepless again on that night because of the ship’s rolling motion. Due to bad weather, the smart link telephone lost its signal.
At day break; still remain afloat on the Pacific Ocean, east coast of Japan, the state of the sea is still the same. Overcast skies dominated the heavens. White caps and sea sprays are visible on the water surface. The gigantic ocean swells looked like a series of mountain slopes. Captain said the situation is normal in Japan during winter season. On the afternoon, the sun appeared and the sea became moderate. The low pressure has dissipated. We sailed toward Onahama anchorage and dropped anchor again. Shifting to berth was scheduled on the next day, 28th of December.
We docked at Onahama for the second time. Unloading operation resumed immediately. My shipmates gone for shore leave, ate in Japanese fish port restaurant while others bought Filipino foodstuffs at a Pinoy store owned by a Filipina. They also had a DVD of Pacquiao-Morales bout which the crew did not witnessed the grand finale fight.
The unloading at Onahama was completed on the evening of December 29th. The next day, we sailed heading south along Japan’s east coast to our next unloading port in Saganoseki, Japan. Navigation on the Japan eastern coast was greatly affected by headstrong current called Kuroshio also known as Japan Current. It flows from the northern equator near Luzon mainland, northeasterly direction along Japan’s east coast to the Aleutian Islands in the north Pacific reaching Alaska. The ship’s speed was reduced to 10 nautical miles per hour.
Underway to Saganoseki, we washed the decks with sea water to remove the cargoes on the surface. The ship owner was set to visit the ship at Saganoseki. We shivered in cold. Our hands became numb while we mopped and scrubbed the ship’s deck. The unforgiving chilly wind penetrates in depth even though we had sweaters, winter jackets, winter pants, and raincoats.
Captain cancelled the New Year celebration on the 31st evening because we were still at sea. The celebration was set upon arrival at Saganoseki anchorage in accordance with our ETA or estimated time of arrival on the morning of January 1st, 2007.
Ohayo gozaimasu.
Winter, extreme cold, thin air, sub zero degrees Celsius. We heaved up the anchor at five in the morning. No harbor pilot boarded. Only Captain maneuvered the ship to berth at Onahama harbor. While the Christendom celebrates the Christmas day, our ship had been called to berth for unloading operation because December 25 is not holiday in Japan.
Upon docking, I noticed the cleanliness of the water at the pier without any floating garbage. The pier and its port facilities are well-maintained. Thereafter, cargo hold was opened and unloading operations started. This was my very first time to visit the “Land of the Rising Sun” but I haven’t had gone to shore because of too much work and we had visitors on board, the marine superintendent and the technical managers.
On the same day I had my laptop computer from Ms. Saito, a businesswoman representative from Sanyo. I bought a computer in to familiarize myself on making reports, paperwork, and documents prepared by Third Mate. Thereon, I started to keep myself busy typing documents as well as editing the entries of “El Viajero- Accounts of a Navigator”.
At Onahama, unloading operation is only from 8 am until 5 in the afternoon.During nighttime, the surrounding is very peaceful and tranquil. However on our watch duties, we found discomfort due to the biting cold of steadily blowing wind which goes through deep into the bones, entering the four layer inner garments. We kept sheltered from cold near the gangway and still fulfill our duties.
The next day, 26th of December at three in the afternoon, the skies darkened, strong winds prevailed, and rain showers poured. Our agent arrived and brought the notice from the harbormaster that all vessels must pull out of the harbor due to approaching low pressure on the east coast of Japan. Although the harbor has a breakwater, ocean swells have an impact on the safety of ships at berth. The advisory stated that ships must sail away 20 nautical miles from the coastline and remain adrift.
On board, the crews have been alerted. We stationed forward and aft for undocking. We secured every movable equipment on deck and headed out of Onahama harbor. We navigated approximately 25 nautical miles after 3 hours and remain floating. At the bridge, we closely monitored the ship movement and position through nautical chart plotting as well as radar observations. Three huge ships manned by Filipinos at nearby pier have also pulled out of the harbor. We heard their Captain communicating in Tagalog to the Master of the other ship. The sea became very rough in the evening. Huge waves slammed against the ship’s iron hull. Thick rain showers overwhelmed the surrounding. Strong winds continuously sounded its roaring blow. We were sleepless again on that night because of the ship’s rolling motion. Due to bad weather, the smart link telephone lost its signal.
At day break; still remain afloat on the Pacific Ocean, east coast of Japan, the state of the sea is still the same. Overcast skies dominated the heavens. White caps and sea sprays are visible on the water surface. The gigantic ocean swells looked like a series of mountain slopes. Captain said the situation is normal in Japan during winter season. On the afternoon, the sun appeared and the sea became moderate. The low pressure has dissipated. We sailed toward Onahama anchorage and dropped anchor again. Shifting to berth was scheduled on the next day, 28th of December.
We docked at Onahama for the second time. Unloading operation resumed immediately. My shipmates gone for shore leave, ate in Japanese fish port restaurant while others bought Filipino foodstuffs at a Pinoy store owned by a Filipina. They also had a DVD of Pacquiao-Morales bout which the crew did not witnessed the grand finale fight.
The unloading at Onahama was completed on the evening of December 29th. The next day, we sailed heading south along Japan’s east coast to our next unloading port in Saganoseki, Japan. Navigation on the Japan eastern coast was greatly affected by headstrong current called Kuroshio also known as Japan Current. It flows from the northern equator near Luzon mainland, northeasterly direction along Japan’s east coast to the Aleutian Islands in the north Pacific reaching Alaska. The ship’s speed was reduced to 10 nautical miles per hour.
Underway to Saganoseki, we washed the decks with sea water to remove the cargoes on the surface. The ship owner was set to visit the ship at Saganoseki. We shivered in cold. Our hands became numb while we mopped and scrubbed the ship’s deck. The unforgiving chilly wind penetrates in depth even though we had sweaters, winter jackets, winter pants, and raincoats.
Captain cancelled the New Year celebration on the 31st evening because we were still at sea. The celebration was set upon arrival at Saganoseki anchorage in accordance with our ETA or estimated time of arrival on the morning of January 1st, 2007.
posted by Arez at 9:06 PM
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