there's something about a shipyard

my fascination with ships and shipyards is rather ironic in view of having grown up in a little town on the vast prairie, as far from water (at least big ship type of water) as you can imagine. but there's just something special about ships, ports and shipyards. especially shipyards. it has to do with what bill mentioned in a comment on yesterday's post, that they are so busy. there's just so much activity going on. it's quite amazing. and all of that activity creates its own kind of energy and i think that's what i love about shipyards.

from the bridge of an under-construction LNG carrier - samsung heavy industries, south korea

i've been to a number of shipyards - samsung heavy industries and daewoo in korea, two newbuilding yards in ulsteinvik, norway, sembawang in singapore and yesterday a small repair yard in frederikshavn, denmark. and they are all fascinating.  the big yards in korea are overwhelming in their size and the number of ships they're churning out (or at least they were, that's slowed down quite a lot). unfortunately, i didn't get a lot of pictures when i was there (it was back in 2005 before my camera obsession set in), but one of the most striking sights was of more than 5000 white-clad workers, lined up on a field, doing jumping jacks together at the daewoo yard. i think i was more stunned by that sight than of the VLCC (very large crude carrier) hulls being welded together in the enormous dry dock. but there were other wondrous sights, like a whole section of a ship being lifted by enormous cranes.

at samsung heavy industries, south korea

inside the membrane tank of an LNG carrier - samsung, south korea

people bike around the yards as transport.

if i were this guy, i'd be getting out of the way.

last may, i went to the west coast of norway to visit several newbuilding yards. newbuilding is what they call new ships. this is as opposed to repair yards, where ships go to drydock every 5 years, for repairs and to retain their certificates to sail. they're doing some of the most innovative shipbuilding in the world. here are two x-bow vessels, both are offshore support vessels, which service offshore oil rigs. they are some of the most specialized ships in the world.

in singapore, i visited a repair yard. it was a large one and there were no less than 5 LNG carriers there. i've probably mentioned it before, but LNG carriers are my favorite, because in my previous job, i sailed on one for ten days, from barcelona through the suez canal (we were slow steaming because the ship was going to anchorage off fujirah to await its next cargo), it was heavenly. LNG are also very specialized ships, because the cargo is cryogenic - the ships are basically an enormous thermos bottle, sailing around with cargo at -160℃.

view of an LNG carrier from an LNG carrier - sembawang, singapore.

and then yesterday, i visited an anchor handler that was finishing up its stay in drydock in frederikshavn, here in denmark. an anchor handling ship is another type of offshore supply vessel, which assists when moving an oil rig. this one had also served as a standby vessel, literally standing by, waiting for when it was needed by the rig.  its drydock was nearly finished. absolutely everything had been taken out of the ship - through holes opened in the side - refitted and was in the process of being put back. all in four weeks. the amount of work that goes into such an operation is mind-boggling. the coordination of people, spare parts and hard work is a marvel to behold. so every time i see it, i'm in awe.

an anchor handler at frederikshavn, denmark

this is one of the aspects of my job that i love. the people involved in building and repairing ships are so hard-working and pragmatic. they still know how to do things, such a variety of things. how to make things work. how to connect wires and pipes and fittings. i observed a polish ship's electrician yesterday that simply astonished me with how much he knew and how well he could do and communicate his work. i think being at a shipyard reminds me about hard work and a down-to-earth way of being that i sometimes feel i lose touch with in my daily very information society-oriented job and life. plus, ships are just so cool.