Hi from Nanhai

Hello all,

We are now drifting near to Nanhai fso awaiting the pilot some time this afternoon to take us in to begin loading. He will be arriving by helicopter. We left Hong Kong at 7pm last night by which time the visibility had improved. When we arrived it was down to just 1 mile which although it sounds a lot it looks and feels nothing when you are close to another ship. I was on the bridge for arrival and departure, I am beginning to understand how the ship handles now, it seems that it is important not to reduce speed too much because that slows down the reaction time when trying to avoid other vessels.

HK anchorage was eventful again just like last time with everyone arriving at once (lube oil barge, bunkers barge, provisions boat, garbage barge and the launch with the new joiners). So we worked all day and were there only 12 hours in the end. The barges all have Chinese crew who seem always to be in a hurry and so shout and toot horns to try and speed us along, we just ignore them and continue dealing with them one by one at a safe pace. The on signers are all aboard now and seem to be settling in. Some have sailed Chevron before but most are new to the company so will get quite a shock I'd imagine as other companies tend to be more relaxed (disinterested) in safety etc.

Just to add a little about the tank cleaning, the 5 inches of sludge I wrote of was only in one tank (the rest had 1-2cm in places). This was because the stripping valve was totally blocked with sludge. The cargoes the ship carries have high api (40 or so) and solidify towards the end of stripping as they cool down. The heating coils are mounted 5 1/2 inches above the tank bottom and so when the level falls below there it cools quickly as it is cooled by the ballast water being pumped in the u tanks beneath.

Right, off for some sleep now before the pilot arrives.