Since 13th Dec this has been the view out of my "office" windows

Looking North over Kukup port


To the South West across the Malacca Str to The Brothers on the Indonesian


Looking North East out over Tanjung Pelepas, Malaysia


Looking out over the Tanjung Piai peninsular



Looking South East over the ships anchored off Singapore - look at the early morning smog - over Tanjung Pelepas it was FOG


More Smog


Looking North West up the East side of the Malacca Strait


This little 161ft long beauty came passed on Christmas Eve

Click image to enlarge

looking out onto a building site isn't very nice tim....


































...seriously , you lucky bu er..  ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
.

Could be worse...................... we could be laid up at anchor off Felixstowe, Southampton, Hamburg, Rotterdam or any other cold wet and miserable place in the winter - gossip onboard has it that we will be off on our way to the Pacific Islands in 2 weeks time...................... but our sister ship that was also at anchor with us has just picked up a run from Asia to South Africa and Mauritius.................. 2018 Mini Countryman Cooper S E All4 PHEV in Melting Silver - it’s whisper quiet in EV and polluter modes

Can you get to shore occasionally?

i think if tim is 'anchored' then he cant get off but if he's docked then he can..... ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
.

Gaz, I investigated that, $2100 for an hour's trip each way is a bit expensive and then the crew could not get outside the dock gates because of immigration problems. The ship was going to have to pay out of our own cash, the owners won't pay so we decide that a good party on Christmas Eve and tonight was probably a better way for all 21 on board to let their hair down and relax and it costs a lot less at Duty Free prices than a launch ashore!
I can hear out the back mof my cabin as I type this that the Karaoke machine is working overtime, the beers have loosened a few of my Filipino crew out of their shyness (even though it sounds worse than a whole lot of cats being strangled!) at least they are enjoying themselves and we have mobile phone coverage for them to call home cheaply rather than at $5 a minute over the satellitte phone system we have onboard. Even better is we have a grandstand view of the evening's entertainment in both Malaysia and Singapore where we are anchored and it is a very clear night with superb visiblity to see both nations fireworks going off at midnight. 2018 Mini Countryman Cooper S E All4 PHEV in Melting Silver - it’s whisper quiet in EV and polluter modes

where are the containers ?? 2002 td6 vogue, 06 supercharged facelift

Darren due to the seasonal downturn/ quiet-time coz you lot in Europe and those in the USA have spent all their dosh at Christmas and aren't buying Chinese tat at the moment, there aren't any containers to ship, so like most shipowners at this time of the year part of the fleet gets a lay-up as it's cheaper per day (about $60,000 a day) to stop the ship completely than it is to run it with hardly any cargo in it and still have to burn lots of fuel (just the fuel is $300,000 a day whether you are full or empty but still running around the ocean!) so we were told to find a corner in the sunshine and throw the pick out and have some downtime..................... unfortunaetley the Charterers told us where to anchor and it is in a place where the Owners cannot get spares/crew changes done easily. Mid February things will pick up again when the likes of Walmart and B&Q etc start to order their spring/summer stock from the factories in China - then there won't be enough ships to carry all the cargo (at least that is Maersk Line's wish!!) Our sistership was here with us but she got the call-up to go back into service on the 30 Dec when another Maersk vessel has had to go out of service for drydock/maintenance so she is now on the way to China to load for Mauritius and South Africa.

Darren you might have seen this ship in Antwerp a few times, she used to be called the Nedlloyd Hong Kong - part of a class of 7 ships that in 1996 were called the Ultimate Container Carrier - they have no hatchcovers and cellguides on deck.............................. UCC they might have been but nobody else copied the design and then they were big ships, now 4082TEU's is a coastal feeder ship and 13000TEUs is the size to be! There are loads of photos online if you google Nedlloyd Hong Kong or Maersk Miami - you will also find there are posts about the disaster that befell this ship in March last year.

BTW these ships are also called the Toothbrush Class............................... the view out of the wheelhouse windows is what you see looking along the brushes of a toothbrush!

 2018 Mini Countryman Cooper S E All4 PHEV in Melting Silver - it’s whisper quiet in EV and polluter modes

i'm stuck at the msc terminal in antwerp for the next 6 months due to an outragous amount of work there  2002 td6 vogue, 06 supercharged facelift

Tim,
Shame you aren't quayside, I'd have liked to pop in for a coffee

There is a phenomenal amount of fabrication on the go in this neck of the woods...

those ships are a pita to load and unload, when i am unloading i go up and return to quayside at the same time, with these type of ships you cant do that, plus you cant load as many as the ships with hatch covers as containers can only be stacked 8 high 2002 td6 vogue, 06 supercharged facelift

Lol, you paid on productivity then darren? From the owner's point of view they are brilliant - no lashing gear, no hatchcovers to maintain...................................... but they forgot all the downsides - major major corrosion where normally there is none and now they are aging corroded oil pipes everywhere = $$$$$$$$$$$ 2018 Mini Countryman Cooper S E All4 PHEV in Melting Silver - it’s whisper quiet in EV and polluter modes

Tim,
I'm probably less than 5 miles away from you at the moment....

I'm just 1.4 miles west of Tanjung Piai - Tanjung Pelepas approaches, anchored right on the edge of the inshore traffic zone Delta. Which rig are you on as there are quite a few sitting in the Johor Anchorages over by Singapore.
We are listening on VHF 73 and 83 and 16 if you want to give me a shout.

FFRR.com Mini meet in Singapore end of January? 2018 Mini Countryman Cooper S E All4 PHEV in Melting Silver - it’s whisper quiet in EV and polluter modes

Last edited by Tim in Scotland on 9th Jan 2011 8:48am. Edited 1 time in total

Tim,
I've been on the Al Qahar 1 for a few days, it's moving out into deeper water tomorrow evening to get loaded onto a heavy lift boat for transport to the Nile delta. I won't be on it though - I'll be heading home via Paris on the 23:30.