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“The postings on this site are my own and don't represent Maersk Group's position, strategies or opinions. All views are my own”
No longer any need to use the Internet Explorer or run the Internet Explorer rendering engine. I gave up IE after the introduction of Internet Explorer 11
  Page is tested in Fire Fox, Chrome and Safari. Looks like it works OK in all browsers, except the sounds in Safari. Of course, browsing www.aladdin.st in Safari on an iPad is a different story, nothing looks as it should   Monday 12th of August 2013 and we were still anchored when I came on the bridge at 8 o'clock. I turned on the kettle and I discovered a few things while waiting for the water. Seems like a big  town/ city next to Aliaga refinery.
And there is a scrapping yard and I remembered that this was the reason for us to come here with Rainbow Warrior back in 2006. So I reviewed my notes from back in 2006 and we were in Aliaga surrounded by the coast guard. Red alert, Greenpeace had managed to close down a factory a few years before our visit and now Greenpeace had a look at the scrapping yard. The Coast Guard was there to take pictures of us but according to my notes it was no problem and I was allowed ashore later on in the afternoon. So could I upload my web page and I bought a lot of socks. But this was back in 2006 so let's see if I find the time to come ashore to upload my U-TUBE videos this time.  Looks like Alang in India
 Looks like Alang in India
I took a few pictures of the scrapping yard before I continued with my tea. Our Agent came on board 20 minutes before 11 with no news. Maybe before midnight or maybe not. I hope we take  Pilot at 09:00 tomorrow morning and then I might have a chance to go ashore in the afternoon.
We got news that we were supposed to go inside in the evening and it was already evening. I expected us to come in before midnight but still no news when I went to bed at midnight.  Hopefully not before 9 o'clock tomorrow morning and I can have a good night sleep.
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Tuesday 13th of August 2013 and we were still anchored when I came on the bridge at 8 o'clock in the morning. No berthing prospects or news. So I made a jug of tea with the last of our honey from Novorossiysk and quarter to 11 Aliaga Pilot station called me on VHF CH 13. They asked us to start our engine.
 - What time do you want me to be at the Pilot station?
 - Can you be there in 5 minutes?
Well, show how much planning and knowledge about ships they have, nothing. We had all fast at Tüpras terminal just after 2 o'clock and everything was running very smooth.  We discharge our slop and we started to load 30 minutes later @ 17:00. Actually everything went so smooth so I decided to go ashore trying to find a  internet cafe to up-load my U-TUBE videos.
And the Tüpras terminal has a coach service going to town every hour. So I would make it to the 6 o'clock service and I went to look for our 2nd  Officer. He was on the treadmill and we agreed to meet in the CCR quarter to 6.
He told me that he was exercising to look good when our Lloyd's Register Trainee would join the ship, and yes, it is a female Trainee according to e-mail from the previous Lloyd's Register Trainee.  - Ah, I thought you had prepared the barbell for her!
- NO, it's me using the barbell - So why aren’t there any weights on the barbell? We left the ship a wee bit late but we managed to get to the coach in time and it took about 10   minutes to get us to town including a stop for security check leaving Tüpras terminal. We walked up to the main street and we passed a coffee shop with Turkish sweets and we decided to check it out later on.
We found an internet cafe and I took a computer while our 2nd officer went for shopping. A black out and my up loading was interrupted. Well, it was a very slow internet and I would most likely never have been able to finish my up loads. The compass error video should take 280 minutes something to up-load and I decided to wait until I was back home again. We crossed the street to a restaurant, they were out of Dolmas and we ordered Kebab. We were  really hungry by now. Our 2nd Officer ordered 2 meals, I only ordered 1 as I was full of expectations for the  upcoming visit to the coffee shop.
We had seen some very tasty looking cakes when we passed the coffee shop and as soon as we had paid for our meal we walked towards the coffee shop. We wanted to buy some of the Turkish cookies/ sweets but they were only sold by the kilo. So we ordered a cake with some very tasty looking walnuts on the  top. Our 2nd Officer hesitated
- They only have the whole cakes - Never mind, look at that, we might even have to ask for a second cake, I said. I asked if they had big cups of tea, but they only had normal size and we asked for 2 cups and we  took a seat on the balcony. The Waiter appeared a few minute later with a tray. 1 cake and 2 cups of tea
- Do you have milk?  - Ugh??!!
I did the international recognised sign for cow while sounding like a cow. The international recognised sign for cow was followed by the international recognised sign for milking a cow  - AH! And he said something in Turkish
I automatically assumed that the Turkish was the word for milk and I said yes. He dashed off and he was soon back with powder milk. Right there and then I decided never to go ashore in Aliaga again. Slow internet and no milk so I would have been better off staying on board. We had actually been pondering the idea to go back on board with the 20:15 coach but we could see the bus leaving from the balcony and we had to spend another hour in Aliaga. We threw ourselves over the cake as soon as the Waiter put the plates on the table. I took a piece,  maybe a fifth of the cake and our 2nd Officer took an equal sized piece and we dug in. Instant disappointment.
The cake looked very delicious but there were some strange taste. The walnuts looked to be covered in toffee but it turned out to be something less tasty than toffee. I could not finish my walnuts and most of the cake was remaining on my plate when we left. And we never took any second piece of the cake. Our 2nd Officer was not displeased with the nuts, but the rest of the cake was  untouched. Or well, almost untouched.
We paid our bill and 2nd Officer bought a kilo of the Turkish sweets/ cookies and we walked back to the bus stop. Of course, the coach service was long gone and we spent time walking around town looking at the sights. We ran in to our Mess Man and Cook but otherwise there wasn't much to see. Well, we saw a restaurant that look nice, but by then we  had already had enough to eat. We bought 2 ice creams and we were soon back at the bus stop waiting for the coach to come pick us up.
There was a convenient store across the street and as I had 7 and a half Scooby Doo dollars remaining in my pocket I went to look for Diet MAX. No Diet MAX but 2 bottles of Coke ZERO and an ice cream and my money was finished. The last Scooby Doo dollar was given back to me as change in the convenient store but I told the girl that I didn't needed the money. We bought 2 ice creams here when we got off the coach service and there was a guy waiting at the bus stop and he followed us. He was one of the local Guides and he was praying for customers at the bus stop. Obviously well know coach service from the Tüpras terminal. Yeah, a bus load of strangers arriving to the bus stop every hour, imagine what kind of people this  attract to the “AREA”.
I did what I could to leave this guy behind us so I wasn’t impressed by the “Shipchandler” when I left the convenient store with my 2 bottles of Coke ZERO. - Ship chandler, he said as soon as he saw me - Foock off - My friend wants to speak with you, he said handing me his mobile phone - Foock off He insisted and I took the phone, and it really turned out to be the Ship chandler. He told me that he had arranged 2 cases of Diet MAX and his brother had them in the car. OK, so I followed the guy to his car outside the  convenient store, He was playing soccer on the other side of the street and he had parked his car there while playing soccer.
I don't know how this worked out, we got provision delivered to the ship at arrival. And the ship chandler told me he had 2 cases of Diet MAX for me, free of charge. So I was very disappointed when these 2 cases turned out to be nothing but talk. He promised to come back tomorrow with the cases - Yeah-yeah Blah-blah by then we have left So I really don't know how they managed. The ship chandler’s brother is playing soccer across the road. He caught sight of me from across the street (He have never seen me in his whole life) and  he dash off the soccer field and now he came rushing over to the convenient store.
We go cross the street to his car and he open up the door and some orange soda falls out on the street and I'm thinking “OH NO!! YET AGAIN THEY PROMISE DIET MAX AND THEY DELIVER SOME SCOOBY DRINKS” No worries, he had 2 cases of the real thing in a plastic box and he gave them to me - But... That means that I will have to carry them back! I never said anything, I was happy to get the Diet MAX. Well, not, but I was amazed over the service. And this is not the first time I have been the a** hole in Turkey. Istanbul and I was  telling people to BUGGER OFF thinking they were beggars or con men. But they are really very friendly here in Turkey and I'm always proved wrong when I suspect people for no good here in Turkey.
And I have our 2nd Officer to assist me getting the Diet MAX on board Richard Maersk. He is sitting watching soccer unaware of the Diet MAX drama taking place just a few meters away from him. And of course, unaware of the assistance required to get the box of Diet MAX back on board. The bus arrived 10 minutes past 9 and we loaded our stuff and we took off at 21:15 together with  5 other people going to the same jetty.
We carried the box of Diet MAX and our 2nd Officer's box with Turkish sweets/ cookies and we were back on board just before 10 o'clock. Loading with 2900m³/h and it looks like we will be ready around 3 o'clock in the morning. Of course, slowing down in the end, but I had no time to lose. I will most  likely be called for in the middle of the night.
I went to bed trying to fall asleep and I was lucky +++++++++++++++
Wednesday 14th of August 2013 and they called me 5 minutes before 4 o'clock in the morning. Lucky that I managed to fall asleep when we came back on board yesterday and I was full of vim. I had a can of Diet MAX and a shower before I went to the CCR.
We had a draft of 10.06 m at 4 thirty and we stopped loading. Paper work and calculations and when we were ready we had to wait for the Custom to stamp all the cargo documents before we could leave. But we could finally leave Aliaga and it was almost 10 o'clock when I could go for my second shower for today.  Leaving Aliaga scrapping yard behind
And yes, finally, I managed to finish “almost” all my Thai books and the Learn Thai with Mod and Alif Silpachai videos. So if it wasn't because I had too much to eat for dinner I would have felt like a million when I came on the bridge at 8 o'clock in the night. +++++++++++++++
Thursday 15th of August 2013 and we were leaving the last Greek island behind us when I came on the watch at 8 o'clock in the morning. It was a beautiful morning and we steamed on a course 157° straight to Alexandria, Egypt. I enjoyed my jug of tea and honey and it is much better than the Diet MAX. I did not even start my day with any Diet MAX, maybe because of the taste of the  Turkish Diet MAX.
I bought Diet MAX in Malaysia and it tasted real bad, and the Turkish isn't so much better. And well, anyway, I'm better off to start my day with Omega-3 and the magnesium fizz drink with lemon flavour. The crew are busy on deck chipping the flanges on the cargo pipes. I had my lunch, a very quick lunch and I went down the pump room with our Chief Engineer and Pump man. And when we were ready I started with the discharge plan and a cubic ton of other important work in the CCR. We will arrive to Alexandria tomorrow, but no news or berthing prospects, but I'm better off being prepared.  One of our Painters
I was back in my cabin at 4 o'clock and I discovered that my rest hours had turned red, thanks to the safety round after midnight. I was red until I realised that we had retarded ships time by 1 hour during the night so that was 1 hour extra sleep and I turned from red to white when I adjusted the time. Well, as long as there is work to do.... I had a shower and I watched my Learn Thai with Mod and Alif Silpachai videos before I went for dinner. I had almost finished all my Thai book as well so I was in a pretty good mood going for my dinner. 5 seasons of crap and this was what made it worth wasting the time
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Friday 16th of August 2013 and we were approaching Alexandria when I came on the bridge at 8 o'clock in the morning. We had no news or any Agent so we just steamed towards Alexandria while trying to get in contact with Alexandria port control. I tried channel 11, a3 and 67 and it took quite some time before they answered on Ch 11. They told me to call back 30 minutes before arrival to the Pilot station.
It was actually quite quiet (sorry, I could have used the word silent, but I just could not help myself. I always wanted to use the words quite quiet in one sentence) on the VHF, and what a  pleasant difference from the night time when the radio is full of people screaming banana monkey, playing music and annoying people in general.
Scary, this is the people we have to compete with. The ship owners never look for better people, just cheaper people and never mind having them screaming obscenities on the radio as long as they are cheap. I was working with one Cadet and I asked him what he thought about his future. A natural question to ask when we see what's going on in the world around us regarding manufacturing, origin of labour and quality. He told me that he was going to compete with his knowledge, not the price tag. - You are in for a surprise - What do you mean? No one gives a rat's ar*e about your knowledge. They only look at the price. Well, anyway, sometimes you can hear funny stuff on the VHF. The other evening we heard a French war ship calling a ship - The ship in position blah-blah This is the French warship He went on and on and someone obviously grew tired of this - This is the motor vessel SECRET - Motor vessel Secret change to CH 11 Of course no answer and I heard the French guy calling the “Motor vessel SECRET” and he didn't give up is try to get in contact with Secret. We dropped our anchor at 11:03 and M/T Salami arrived to the anchorage at the same time. She  had been loading at the jetty behind us in Aliaga.
So we might have to wait for some time here at the anchorage. And the news is full of news from Cairo. Marshall Law, Mayhem and riots and the latest figures was 585 dead yesterday. But I hope we can get alongside very soon so we can leave this place behind us, there are new adventures waiting for us in the horizon. Well, the guys will have time to chip and paint while we're  waiting. Our extra painters are busy with the chipping machines and paint brushes from early morning to late evening.
It was almost 12 when I was back on the bridge and I went to bed after lunch. I had a new plan, no sleep during the days and I was hoping that this would make it easier to fall asleep in the night. Of course it didn't help and I was tired after lunch and one hour of POWER NAP will do me good
 Never any time to relax for our extra Painters
 Never any time to relax for our extra Painters
 Never any time to relax for our extra Painters
 Never any time to relax for our extra Painters
 Never any time to relax for our extra Painters
I managed to fall asleep and I had my alarm set to go off after about 1 hour, or,  hmm, was it two? Never mind, I could easily have slept a few more hours but I forced myself out of bed and in to the shower. Then I went for the latest news, maybe tomorrow, the same as we don't know.
And they have something going on in Limasol, Cyprus for us after this voyage. Defenitely something I hope will be cancelled. I hope for a viyage so I can sign off in Isatanbull, direct flight to FUNKY  TOWN and I even might stay for a day or two in Istanbul to check out the night life. I remember Istanbul as a very FUNKY city from when we were there partying with Rainbow Warrior back in 2006.
And flying home from there will be a nice flight, about half way between  Northern Europe and FUNKY TOWN so I don't expect many hours onboard the plane. So the chance for any mishaps on board are much less than if I would have had to spend a full 12 hours onboard.
I still remember my flight to Florida, and there were 4  Police Officers waiting for me at the gate arriving in Miami in the evening.
- HEY GUYS! WHERE CAN I BUY BATTERIES FOR MY BOOM BOX?  Yes, the batteries in my “entertainment center” had run flat during the flight. The Police showed (Well, it was more like escorting me) me to a convenient store and then I was off to discover Miami's nightlife, with the music on full blast. Well, as you can understand this was many years ago. And I have been back to Miami and the night life is actually pretty poor. Miami Beach and they only had plastic cups for the beer and that is not very tasty
 2nd Officers, no worries in the world
We had 2 Abs on watch during the dark hours on patrol for thieves, stowaway cover over the anchor chain and hawser cleaning running And it was a pretty tedious evening, and slow, but it was finally midnight and now it is about time to cut the month of August 2013 in the a fourth part. Just click the link for more adventures AND HANG ON!
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To www.aladdin.st since December 2005
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