On Board M/V Manitoulin

Discussion board focusing on Great Lakes Shipping Question & Answer. From beginner to expert all posts are welcome.
Guest

Re: On Board M/V Manitoulin

Unread post by Guest »

Odysseus wrote:Thank you regarding the fuel issue. I always thought lakers only took on enough fuel to get them from port to port with the idea less fuel meant more cargo they could carry. I just wondered if the fuel tanks could handle a venture across the Pacific with little or no refueling and how a "laker" crossing the Pacific Ocean might be able to manage that.

Might it also be more fuel efficient crossing an ocean without the need to navigate the many connecting channels of the Great Lakes. I would assume the ship would operate at a fuel efficient cruise speed during this part of the voyage. I would also assume that some studies had been done in this case to determine the fuel consumption for the vessel in its now altered state.
Odysseus
Posts: 76
Joined: December 7, 2014, 8:11 am

Re: On Board M/V Manitoulin

Unread post by Odysseus »

Thank you regarding the fuel issue. I always thought lakers only took on enough fuel to get them from port to port with the idea less fuel meant more cargo they could carry. I just wondered if the fuel tanks could handle a venture across the Pacific with little or no refueling and how a "laker" crossing the Pacific Ocean might be able to manage that.
Larry64

Re: On Board M/V Manitoulin

Unread post by Larry64 »

Praising the cook. A true seafaring/military man.
Lakercapt
Posts: 554
Joined: July 19, 2010, 4:51 pm

Re: On Board M/V Manitoulin

Unread post by Lakercapt »

Guest wrote: 9,000 nautical miles from Panama and it is finally sinking in just how BIG THIS OCEAN IS!
Having transited it on many occasions I know what you mean but then there was no GPS and the only way to communicate was by Morse code with the "Sparky" keeping a listening watch.
No ships seen for days if at all until nearing Panama.
Interesting as still lots of man made junk floating about
George

Re: On Board M/V Manitoulin

Unread post by George »

Watching your trip progress with great interest. Can you post any pictures of the ship?
Guest

Re: On Board M/V Manitoulin

Unread post by Guest »

8 PM China time. 8 AM Eastern.

Position: 16.5 degrees North, 126.5 degrees East.

Course 178, speed 12.6 kts

Wind SE 15. Temp 28 C.

A few clouds. Haven't been able to see Venus yet this evening.

Today was a great day on board. With the help of the people in Port Dover we were able to get both WiFi and the Crew's internet computer working. Even though the bandwidth is severely limited this boosts morale tremendously. Especially considering we are still over 9,000 nautical miles from Panama and it is finally sinking in just how BIG THIS OCEAN IS!

It was interesting to see the many crew wandering about with their cell phones just as though they were ashore in Ontario or going through the Welland Canal.

Between the bunch of us we have a year's worth of videos and tv series. The Officer's Mess is finally empty enough of various consumables to be able to set up the couch and watch a movie. Today's choice? Braveheart. I watched an episode of the BBC drama MI-5 instead.

The cook outdid himself for supper, offering us cheesecake for desert. I don't know how he does it as the Galley is absolutely the hottest place on the ship and does not cool off overnight despite the AC.

Until later.
Paul
hayhugh3

Re: On Board M/V Manitoulin

Unread post by hayhugh3 »

The Chief Engineer is required to maintain a certain percentage (20% ?) over and above expected usage of fuel/voyage.
Guest6

Re: On Board M/V Manitoulin

Unread post by Guest6 »

Most lakers have large fuel tank capacity, but carry amounts for their intended trips. Extra fuel means less cargo...so instead of carrying around 800 tonnes of fuel, ships will carry 250 - 400 tonnes, and increase their cargo carrying capability (revenue) by the 400 tonnes of fuel they are not carrying.
Odysseus
Posts: 76
Joined: December 7, 2014, 8:11 am

Re: On Board M/V Manitoulin

Unread post by Odysseus »

Mr Link wrote:I suspect his access to the internet is rather limited on board the ship.
Editing the previous quote, but just to do so as deference to Paul and his limited time to communicate with us...

I do have a question about fuel, and if you can respond Paul, I would be glad to hear you thoughts.

I wonder how a future laker like the Manitoulin can cross the Pacific with so limited fuel resources. I mean this in the sense that so many of our lakers here seemingly get fuel at every port they are at, or on return trips to upper lakes harbors where they intend to reload.

How is it that a "laker" which is built/rebuilt in China can find enough fuel to cross the Pacific Ocean without refueling, but our "lakers" here seemingly need to stop at Detroit/Windsor/Sarnia on virtually every trip they make in the lakes, or get refueled while loading?

Again, thank you Paul if you can find the time to answer this question. Many thanks for the updates you are sharing with all of us on your journey home.
Mr Link
Posts: 1198
Joined: December 6, 2014, 3:43 pm

Re: On Board M/V Manitoulin

Unread post by Mr Link »

I suspect his access to the internet is rather limited on board the ship. But the first post mentioned this:
There will be lots of pictures and more details on his blog when he gets back: http://shiphotos.blogspot.ca/
Guest

Re: On Board M/V Manitoulin

Unread post by Guest »

Paul, any photos of the full ship? There hasn't been many pictures that give us an idea of what the Manitoulin looks like.
Guest

Re: On Board M/V Manitoulin

Unread post by Guest »

8 PM China Time

Position 20.9 N 126.2 E

Course 167 degrees, speed 10 knots.

Temp 28C, partly cloudy.

Wind easterly 5.

Humid, humid, humid.

Water depth - over 6,000 meters.

We will be on this course for the next 90 hours!

Checked out the night sky, many stars unfamiliar to me,
and so darn many of them too. Space station will not
pass over us for some time yet so we have to wait
to see that.

We are trying to find the most economical speed to
consume the minimum of fuel without taking forever
to get to Panama. The first few days we ran with
a ship-service generator on line to provide electricity.
Of course, it consumes fuel. Today we switched to
the shaft generator. It does not consume fuel but
it takes HP from the shaft so we lose a bit of power.
A fine balancing act.

The radios are silent and the ocean is mostly empty,
but a lovely blue. The odd ship passed by today but nothing
close enough to identify.

I have just finished my watch and am using the bridge computer,
the only one with internet access. The 2nd Mate is now on
watch and he has his country music playing. Various crewmembers
come up at the end of the day to see where we are and to
send/receive email.

Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.

Paul
PaulBeesley

Re: On Board M/V Manitoulin

Unread post by PaulBeesley »

If you can't find us on the various shipping sites as the Manitoulin, enter the Lalandia Swan.
northshorerie

Re: On Board M/V Manitoulin

Unread post by northshorerie »

Denny if you go to vesselfinder, most of your questions are answered there.
Denny

Re: On Board M/V Manitoulin

Unread post by Denny »

I would also like to second that and thank Paul as well for posting and keeping all of us informed on their trip from China to Canada. Just a few questions though first, when did you have the Sea Trials for the Manitoulin and second have you guys officially departed yet from the shipyard in China to begin your voyage? I ask because I am not sure if I can find anything on the Manitoulin on the website for marinetraffic.com and not sure what other websites to go to in order to look it up? A few more questions I have and sorry for so many of them, what is the call sign and IMO for the Manitoulin and what is the size of the vessel as far as in length and feet along with meters? I am trying to add this into my list of vessels for LLT/GRN and their respective fleets. Thanks for any and all information and hope you guys have a good and safe voyage. Hope to see you in 2016 sometime along the St. Clair River and looking forward to it!
MattJ

Re: On Board M/V Manitoulin

Unread post by MattJ »

Thanks Paul for posting, very informative, appreciated by all boatnerds. Have a safe trip!
Guest

Re: On Board M/V Manitoulin

Unread post by Guest »

Sun 10/4/2015
8 PM China time, 8 AM Eastern. Same day.

Position 25.7 N, 126 E.

Course 162, speed 12 kts.

Wind about 20 knots from the east.
Temperature about 25 C.

We are heading south to avoid a Tropical Revolving Storm.

Basic plan is to hit 5 degrees north latitude then head east.
As we all know, plans are made to be changed.

Yesterday I mentioned Great Circles and how they save
time and distance. When we flew from Toronto to Shanghai
we followed a Great Circle but, much to my surprise, it took us
to about 180 miles from the North Pole. I was fascinated to
watch the flight map to see how we made this trip.

As it turned out, one of my compatriots was on a ship in
Milne Inlet, on the east coast of Baffin Island. We flew right over
that spot.

Everytime I tried to look out the window the cabin crew would
hustle back and tell me to close the window blind because
it was "Too Bright" and people could not sleep. Sheesh!

Yesterday we had a real treat at supper. Apple pie, homemade.
After days of trying to store food as it came on board, plus cooking for 37, the Cook found enough time to make a pie. Our first desert
since coming on board. Except for the Chinese Moon Cakes, and
some of them have meat.

We now only have 17 on board.

Today was spent navigating and wrapping various pipes and fittings
with Petro-tape to prevent rusting from all this salt water. The
Engineers were also busy trying to troubleshoot the back end of the ship
which is 20 years old and has many issues to deal with.

We dodged a few fishing boats, and two oil rigs but otherwise
both radar and radio are quiet.

Most of us have not yet had a chance to properly move into
our cabins and glue, screw, tie stuff down. Plus the cabins are filthy
from sitting in a shipyard for over a year. We are getting there
but it takes time, and we all are developing such soft hands!

We did, however, get a coffee machine into the wheelhouse
so at least we have access to freshly ground coffee on demand.

Until next time.
Paul
Guest

Re: On Board M/V Manitoulin

Unread post by Guest »

Sat 10/3/2015

8 PM China Time October 3rd. 8 AM Eastern October 3rd.

Position 30.1N 123.2E
Course 137 degrees true
Speed 13.9
Wind SE 5-10.
Cloudless night, Many stars.

While most of you are watching the trees adapt their fall colours
and are yourselves adapting to cooler temperatures we here
on this side of the planet are running around in shorts, tees
and safety footwear. It will get warmer for many, many days.

Today we remained at anchor until mid-afternoon. Our electronics
technician was required by Customs to go ashore yesterday to
meet the bureaucratic needs of his government (China). He will come
with us to Panama as we have much need of his expertise.

The Chinese govt also took all our passports yesterday to stamp them
and ensure we left their country in the proper manner.

All governments, and large businesses, have their needs that must be met.

Our route tonight took us past another anchorage with so many ships
it appeared to be a large community along the shore.

No doubt our course just north of the equator will mean little or no ships
for weeks on end.

Normally, ships take a "Great Circle" route across the Pacific ocean and
this cuts many miles off the trip. Lloyds, the people who certify the ship,
added conditions to our voyage that require us to stay in the tropics to
avoid most bad weather and to carry about 7,000 tons of cargo/ballast.
Both of these requirements are a result of laker designs that are not
made to withstand harsh ocean weather.

We have a sextant on board and were looking forward to using it to
make sun/star/moon/planet sights. We oldsters would feel good
about still being able to do this and the youngsters, including two deck cadets, would learn something other than GPS. Alas, someone removed the telescope and took it away so we have no way to sight the heavenly bodies other than with our naked eyes.
Even a John Wayne sextant has a telescope!

Good Night.
Paul
Guest

On Board M/V Manitoulin

Unread post by Guest »

Paul has been sharing these posts by e-mail and allowed us to share them here. Paul is 1st Mate on the delivery trip of LLT's new Manitoulin. There will be lots of pictures and more details on his blog when he gets back: http://shiphotos.blogspot.ca/


Fri 10/2/2015
On board Lower Lakes' Manitoulin about 60 miles East-South-East of Shanghai, China.

We departed from the shipyard yesterday morning, came down the Yangtzee River
and out to sea for trials, which lasted all night.

We are anchored in position 30.8 north and 122.6 East.
Put these co-ordinates into this site, http://www.latlong.net/
to see where we are.

The most amazing thing in the last 36 hours has been the amount of
ship traffic. Unless you can see it you can't understand it. There is a junction at the end of the
river where ships cross east-west and north-south. CPA's (closest point of approach)
of other ships is frequently 600 to 1200 feet at full speed! When taught in school to give
a 3 mile cushion between your ship and others, well that rule goes out the window.
Add in a bunch of fishing boats. And the fact that we were doing sea-trials amidst all this stuff...

Our AIS, which is an electronic device we use to identify ships, can show 50 ships at once. There were easily 200
within range throughout our sea-trials. Boy, they don't teach this in school!

VHF 16 is a constant blather. Quite annoying. The VTS radio channel (Vessel Traffic Services)
is also constant blather.

Tomorrow at 1200 China Time, which is 12 hours ahead of Eastern Time, we leave the
anchorage and head South-east until about 7 degrees North latitude,
then we head east for Panama. It will take about a month to get to Panama.

As for the small city of Jiangyin where the shipyard is located...I didn't stray much
into town so can only comment on the shipyard and the atmosphere. Busy and smoggy.
Dirty and humid.

The river is a handy dump for all sorts of things. Jiangyin has 2 million people.
Shanghai, just upriver, has about 30 million I believe.

A couple days back we got some wind as a typhoon passed offshore. This kicked up the river
and caused some rather large waves. There are a lot of small ships that carry sand, stone, coal
etc but they have no hatch covers and no Load-Lines so they load real deep. If the waves get up
the ship is in danger of swamping and sinking. This happened to one right beside us in the river,
and the thing filled up with water and sank within about a minute. Everyone got off.
Good to be reminded about your vulnerability in this profession because sometimes
we don't realize how dangerous this can be.

More tomorrow I hope.

Paul

Paul Beesley
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