Wednesday, October 16, 2013

A major issue with our oceans

Yesterday the Sorlandet anchored just outside Lisbon, Portugal. We had an issue with our propeller. A fishing line that was floating about got jammed and the engineer was not able to remove it. Because of this, a tug boat came to meet us and we got towed into dry dock. 

They are going to see what they can do in dry dock but chances are the rudder, which is massive, will need to be removed for them to reach the propeller. This is not too difficult of a task, however, it is time consuming. If the Sorlandet cannot be repaired before our scheduled departure day then we will be taking a bus to Cadiz, Spain and get on the ship there. 

The real shame in all this is that had a fishing vessel been more careful than we could have continued on with our scheduled plans. It was a same in the Azores as well when the boat down the dock from us had a caught a sea turtle in it's net because it wasn't using proper equipment. 

Being out on the ocean has made me realize how often these things do happen it's a shame. It's made me realize that the ocean like the ship is vulnerable and we should try to take care of it because what one does affects many others. I believe it's called the issue of the commons. 

However, on the plus side it is an opportunity to see the Sorlandet out of the water which is really interesting and quite exciting.

1 comment:

  1. Isn't one of the crew supposed to dive down with a knife and cut that line free??.........D

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