Category: Freighters
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Freighter frustration again!
Read more: Freighter frustration again!It seems that just after we finish jumping through one hoop with the freighter, they put another one in place. We have “booked” a freighter from Shanghai to Seattle, through NSB Reiseburo, on or about June 1st. First booking, we were told that even though we are Canadians, we require a Visa for the USA.…
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A slow boat to China
Read more: A slow boat to ChinaOver the last few weeks, when people have asked Becky’s mom about where we were, she replied with “On a slow boat to China”. Well, Singapore is not exactly China, but our boat was headed to China after it dropped us off. Our “Slow boat to China” was an enjoyable experience that was quite different…
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Piracy on the high seas
Read more: Piracy on the high seasIf you think piracy was a thing of the past, think again. The movies portray pirates with romance and intrigue, but the real thing isn’t that pretty. Today, ships are boarded by pirates wielding automatic weapons and Rocket Propelled Grenades. Often in the attempt to take the ships, bullets fly. If your ship is taken…
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The Suez Canal
Read more: The Suez CanalWhen we envision transiting a canal, we visualize going through locks, like the Rideau Canal at home; however, the Suez Canal does not have any locks. It is a long narrow channel connecting the Mediterranean to a couple of small lakes and then the Red Sea. A connection between the Nile and the Red Sea…
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The waiting game
Read more: The waiting gameWe are adrift outside the port of Gioia Tauro in Southern Italy. The ship arrived at 1 pm, and we were looking forward to the scheduled docking at 3:00 pm. Once we arrived near Gioia Tauro, we were informed that the pilot was rescheduled to arrive at 6 pm. We are now being told that…
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Food, Email, and other random sea notes
Read more: Food, Email, and other random sea notesNothing much has happened today. The ship remains at anchor, so we spent the day relaxing. Our current estimated time of arrival in Freeport is some time tomorrow morning. With the engine shut down and a lack of moment on the ship, the crew are busier than ever performing tasks that can only be done…
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Crew changes and the waiting game
Read more: Crew changes and the waiting gameOn Friday night we headed out of Port Everglades destined for Freeport, Bahamas. Freeport is only 80 miles from Florida, so the trip over did not take long. The MSC Alessia reported in to Freeport at 2330 (11:30 pm) on Friday but we did not actually go to Freeport. We entered the port limit and…
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Freighter Update
Read more: Freighter UpdateThis update is coming a little late. We have successfully reserved a spot on a freighter from Naples Italy to Port Kelang (Kuala Lumpur), Malaysia on or about February 1st, 2009. The itinerary currently takes us through La Spezia Italy and Barcelona Spain. We are hoping that we end up in Barcelona at a time…