Thursday, 27 August 2009

Short Sea Ferry route Dover to Dunkirk

Leaving P&O 21/09/2000 I joined Norfolkline's M/V Midnight Merchant who had just come from the shipbuilders yard at Cadiz she was having a cowcatcher fitted to the bow. Once moored securely alongside the bow doors are open and ships ramp lowered onto cowcatcher, this ramp also acts as the collision bulkhead, the shoreside link span ramp is then lowered for dicharge and loading of freight. I was put on nightwatchman duties and used this time to get familiar with the ship and worked out the route to use when doing passage fire rounds the quickest and most effective way, plus a fair bit of painting lane markings under the direction of the bosun.Six months after entering into service I was promoted to PO Assistant Bosun and six months Later to Bosun CPO on M/V Dawn Merchant . The Bosun's job being hands on I was not adverse to painting and sugying. I returned to Midnight for nearly two years before I came ashore for at that time a more lucrative carpenters job. I am now seeking a new challenge of sea going employment drawing on my sea going and carpentry experience. During my last 5yrs at sea I have been onboard for four major dry dockings. Responsible for the running and maintenence of ship  and training of new crew members assisting the Cheif Officer  Always having good relations with other departments especially the Chief Engineer and Chief Steward, Captain and Mates alike keeping a well maintained, clean, tidy and safe ship. I am Keen to return to sea as SG/1A and too build on my new ship experiences and environment with all the relevant certification covered by STCW 95.
M/V Midnight Merchant dept Dover showing cowcatcher.
Midnight going astern onto Num 1 Berth looking through the anchors on The Eastern Arm

P&O Cruiseship Coxswain

After a vigourous nearly six month trip I returned home to Swansea Sept 98 but was to return after three weeks to Join Arcadia as Coxswain CPO until Sept 2000, with a four month trip on Victoria for a cicumnavigation of Africa Decked out with Union Castle Funnel and stewards in the livery, this cruise was to celebrate their centenary voyage. Another great experience working on a ship 36yrs old so gained valuable experience in the earlier types of traditional ships equipment and an awesome itinary with Madagascar and The Comores Islands being two of my favourite ports of call and being on the wheel navigating The Straits of Tiran the narrow sea passages between The Siani and Arabian Peninsulas inbound and outbound to Aqaba Jordan.And my first taste of traditional ships telegraphs.

Arcadia Funchal Maderia New Year 1999
Victoria with Union Castle Funnel
Arcadia at Valleta in a Maltese sunset 

Princess Cruise's M/V Grand Princess

While at home the phone rang and h/r dept asked if I would like to fly to Monfalcone in Northern Italy for the the final commissiong stages of M/V Grand Princess GRT 109,000 tons at her time of launch the largest cruise liner in the world able to safety carry 2600 passengers and a compliment of 1200 crew. I flew out on 13/03/98 to assist the bosun in indenting stores for deck and safety, flying home for 4 days to attend a P&O 2 day firefighting and familiarisation course with the 5 other safety PO'S ie the main deck fire party with the Safety officer 1st engineer and 2nd vetilation officer ie the assesment party. Returning to the Fincanteri ship yard we set about getting our areas of responsibility ready for the shake down cruise and mca certification. We dry docked at Trieste after shake down then returned to Monfalcone ship yard for more drills and fine tuning all the training and familirisation had paid off and we sailed for Barcelona for maiden voyage. Again like P&0 our work revolved around safety of ship, passengers and planned maintenance of GDM , BOATS, and FIRE GEAR. also rig and derig gangways rig the pilot ladder and drive tenders at boat ports with the rigging of ships tender platforms . A very responsible job.
Grand Princess at anchor first port of call Monaco for boating ops. Photo shows the sheer scale of an opulant 330million pound state of the art cruise ship. Also the starboard tender platforms turned out and three ships tenders

Star Princess to Arcadia

Star Princess Belfast Nov 97
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Being called to the Staff Captain's Office I was asked if I would like to pay off and fly to Fort Lauderdale Port Everglades to sail Princess Cruise's Star Princess to Belfasts Harland & Wolf Shipyard for an extensive multi million ppund refit and dry docking to emerge as P&O Arcadia and join the expanding fleet of buff coloured funnels and exciting oppertunity not to be missed. Joining on 11/11/97 and set sail for Northern Ireland, two weeks later docking at Belfast after some pretty horendous weasther but two weeks on shipboard familirisation that put me in good stead for the six week dry dock. I spent the first two weeks in the ops room assisting Safety Officer with hot work and permits to work carrying out extensive rounds ensuring all the safety procedures where in place and that a proper fire watch was being maintain by the ship yard also answering the many fire alarms that where going off. All the ships lifeboats wher taken ashore to a large magazine for overhaul in the third week as i ahd good wood work and fibreglass knowledge I was sent to assist the Boat Coxswain affect repairs and renew signage call sign retro reflective tape after yard workers had polished top sides Painted the white hulls after yard cleanig and bring up to date all small gear and freshwater.Sailing just befor new year to southampton we were well drilled in Lifeboats Liferafts and MOB carrying out a full MOB once of Belfast Loch.I paid off Southampton 05/01/98 off after Inaugral Cruise AT Mayflower Terminal Berth 106 Southampton for a spot of well earned leave.
Arcadia lifting of the blocks new anti fouling and anodes. When fully afloat the lifeboats where reconnected and davits and boats put through load test all passed with flying colours by now I had complete hands on knowledge of the working of these including the hydrostatic release gear.

Wednesday, 26 August 2009

P&O Cruises UK Ltd

P&O Oriana at anchor Zackinthos Greece
The next three years where spent with P&O and Princess Cruises, joining The Oriana at Gdansk Poland as SG/1A. This was a whole new experience adapting my seamanship skills to suit very large passenger ships as able seaman I was to assist the Coxswains in their daily duties and monthly planned maintenance with all kinds of induction there was new methods and equipment to learn. Building my ships knowledge I was soon recomended for promotion when the next position arose. Again this was exciting work with new ports every few days either alongside or at anchor with tendering operations driving ships tenders for up to 90 pax. The main three areas of work consisted of General Daily Maintenance which involved the up keep of all shell doors side openings baggage platforms gangways cranes watertight doors sliding splash doors and fire doors. Boats involved the maintenance of lifeboat and liferaft davits boats and liferafts which where serviced in an endless cycle ashore for certification the changing of wires, pilot ladders, signage and lifejackets from passenger to self inflating work jackets. Fire Gear servicing all ships firefighting equipment ad keeping fire stations ready for immediate use. Tank rescue equipment etc.Also watch keeping and swimming pool samples. All equipment keep up to speed for regular MCGA zone Surveys. We where directly responsible to the Safety Officer. With a well equipped work shop and always plenty of stores a lot of good work was achieved on these ships.
P&O Oriana Focslehead Anchor arangement. Showing port anchor cleared away. parting drum or seperater winch. You can also see the hawse wash valve and metal hawse pipe cover no cement boxes needed as focsle is totally enclosed. Anchor was let go from a mooring platform by remote pack being walked back first although shot from pipe in an emergency.

Air Range Dive Support Vessel Sea Oyster

Photograph DSV Sea Oyster at Grimsby
Having had enough of my own cooking I got an able seamans job on a dive support vessel the first in North Sea to have mini bell to increase bottom time operating out of Grimsby. Again interesting work with four pont mooring over well heads and use of early DP equipment that was brought onboard for certain contracts mainly we would drop the two forad anchors and back onto gas platform in The Rough Field and put mooring ropes through giant hard eye snotters that we made onboard and rigged with the help of the divers, seemed to have to splice multiplait every day and with new materials being used such as nylon it kept it interesting, the ship also had a 25 tonne crane that we drove and a cherry picker to launch the rib no wave compensated winch here I was to come accross those a few years later did a wet dock at Brooke Marine in Lowestoft and sometimes sailed out of Great Yarmouth. Wire slicing came into its own here when I had to splice eyes to stream some very expensive British Gas survey equiment over the stern, just over a year of this and I returned home looking for a new challenge. Ended up retraining as carpenter and joiner and doing access course in tourism and leisure, spent three months back packing in Australia then stumbled apon the PandO Princess new build program and sent my CV off straight away to Richmond House.Although Managed to keep my hand in by temping with Howard Smith Towage on thier harbour tugs in Swansea Docks.
Photograph of Dingo at Lake McKenzie Frazer Island Australia stood on the nearly pure Silica Sand reminding me the cargos carried on Gardner's Coasters
Photograph of SS Maheno at her final resting place on the 75 mile beach at Frazer Island. She drifted ashore after parting her tow in a cyclone in 1935 enroute to Japan for Scrap

A Return to Coasters

Enjoying my deep sea experiences I had  call from old shipmate who said Gardners where looking for A/B's and having just got my ticket I shipped back out on coasters. Joining the M/V Saint Brandan, M/V Edgar Dorman, M/V David Dorman, M/V Craigallian and M/V Peacock Venture, the familarity of these vessel was reasuring and using my deep sea experience enjoyed my time back on these ships but the cooking was not for me so went home to explore other avenues and signed back on the Swansea Pool but with defederation and flagging out the jobs were getting harder to come by and this started the birth of the agencies.
M/V Peacock Venture laden with pot ash from Gdansk to Dublin seen here leaving the Baltic sailing North about to seek shelter from the gale forcast in English Channel. A seven day trip either way you sailed, fortunately the temperature rose before we had to manuelly remove the ice.
M/V Craigallian off St David's Head South Wales with an impromtu visit from an RAF Seaking SAR Helicopter delivering the old man his daily newspapers.It was quite common  for them to practice winching on and off passing vessels.