Paul’s Update
September 2004
-
Mercy Ships / Marine
Operations:
Well, the arrival in Dundee
brings my projects to an end on the Anastasis. I have to say that I
have seen some pretty amazing things come into place. My first project
was the codelocks, and while we have seen lots of problems with
durability, we have recognized the weakness and the company is willing
to work with us to replace whatever is needed. During dry-dock I
managed to get all the new security lights in place and I was blessed to
have an excellent helper ( Josh Hensman ) who was able to grasp the
technical side of the job and help me bring it all to a close without
complications. We managed to get all the overboard lighting so that it
is controlled from the bridge, and in one panel as well. Arriving in
Dundee at 11pm, we had the perfect opportunity to try out the new deck
lighting and switching so that no lights were shining at the bridge, but
the bow could see what they were doing. I was at the bow as a line
handler at this time and I heard lots of praises for the lights there.
During dry-dock, I had some
slow times while we were waiting on some other locks to come in, so we
took the time to help the electrician change some light bulbs. I
ordered the compact fluorescent Long life bubs and managed to get most
of the emergency lighting converted over to these as well as
replacing numerous burned out lights in the engine room.
Once the locks came in it
was back to work. One of the things that was my desire to see happen,
for safety and security, was to have the ship on a master key system.
In speaking with Captain Jay, we had some money available to work on
this, but when I worked up the numbers it was way above what we thought
about spending. I had one locksmith over to ask about quotes and how to
set things up on a plan, well, he said 'let me get back to you' and when
he did it included about half the lock we needed being donated. This
got us pretty far but not complete, however, when the ship arrived in
Dundee the other half of the donation was on the dock waiting for me.
This locksmith had donated over 120 lock cylinders and a new key
machine, and I am happy to say that as of today, all the doors to the
cabins, offices, and storage closets are on a master key system and the
key lockers have been sorted out.
As you may know, my plans to
go to the Africa Mercy have been delayed while the immigration offices
in the UK review the status of what is going on there and what the scope
of work is. Until they come up with some answers they are not letting
anyone else go there to work. This affects several crewmembers besides
myself, so I hope it is resolved soon. With that said, I will be
sailing next week to Germany with the ship and disembarking either for
the Africa Mercy or Home! Meanwhile, I plan to help the deck department
and enjoy a little bit of Scotland.
-Paul
in
Dundee, Scotland
