The Merchant Marine Express

We’re at anchor off the coast of Galveston, Texas at the ‘fairway anchorage, awaiting orders for cargo. This outer fairway anchorage is the spot where, typically, ships go to anchor for periods of time ranging from a couple of days to a few weeks. The term fairway in maritime lingo refers to the virtual highway by which mostly commercial vessels follow.

On printed navigational charts, the fairways or shipping lanes are marked by solid lines colored in magenta and are approximately three to five miles wide, at spots. Ships follow the rules of the road within these shipping lanes which are similar to automotive rules within America or European countries that are left-hand drive such that a vessel has oncoming or ‘meeting’ traffic on their portside, or namely, to their left side. Outside of this fairway, the water may be deep enough, but might pose challenges such as oil rigs or other navigational hazards so it’s wise for ships to stay within the limits of these fairways and not venture outside of them, and only if the situation need be, for emergencies or to navigate around slower traffic.

And as this particular fairway originates just south of the Jetty, it leads out from Galveston harbor, and in a southerly direction, out into the Gulf of Mexico. We are situated along the northwestern portion along with dozens of other ships awaiting orders, much like a parking lot of
automobiles at an airport or train station. Yet the only difference is for the fact, all the ships have alert Officers that stand a continuous Watch and keep track of their position by GPS and RADAR bearings within a log book. A typical ten thousand pound anchor and its connecting chain is all that keeps a ship from drifting away and with a large enough swell or high enough winds, ships have been known to drag its anchor for hundreds of feet before anyone has detected the problem.

The down side to this location is the unavailability of a launch boat to go ashore. It also isn’t as sheltered as the inner anchorage known
as ‘Bolivar Roads’ and a long southerly swell is currently causing our vessel, which has no cargo, to roll heavily from side to side. At times, the swell seems so great that crewmembers have to watch their step as they walk along the deck. The swells can cause creaks and squeaks within the ship that remind you that the vessel is in a synchronous swaying motion, yet, not the underway motion that most of us are envying.

I’ve found that my closet door was not shut, entirely, as the squeak drew my attention towards it. I’ve also stuffed folded paper in between the edge of the file cabinet door to quiet yet, another rattle. This trick I learned when I first started working on ships.

Cell phone coverage is mostly available, but we’ve had continued problems with the satellite television system as the dish which receives reception, isn’t acquiring or tracking properly. As a result, we’re getting no signal, at all. The world seems quiet with no news to digest although loved ones may send an email of current events, at home.

Have a great weekend, folks!

Tags: Chemical Explorer