#  >  > Non Asia Travel Forums >  >  > Travel the World Travellers Tales Forum >  >  A couple of days offshore Malta

## slimboyfat

Sorry for starting a new thread, but my previous thread title didnt fit for these pics.

So the day after my dash around Valletta, I had to goto work offshore. The job was a Ship to Ship transfer.These operations have to take place at least 12 miles off the coast.

Early start, getting the fenders and gear ready to go offshore. 




With all the gear on the workboat, it was time to head out.





It was a pleasant trip out of the harbour at sunrise.

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## Mid

thank-you for the time and effort bloke  :Smile:

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## natalie8

Yes, thank you. Very good pictorial. I love these types of threads.

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## slimboyfat

So we got to the smaller of the vessels, got hoisted onboard by personnel basket and transferred the fenders from the workboat to the side of the ship. Unfortunately I dont have pics of that as they dont let you use a camera on the deck of a tanker carrying a highly explosive cargo.

The mooring master then brought the two ships alongside while both were underway. This is quite a risky operation but he has done it once or twice before!







By late afternoon the cargo transfer started and was finished by the following morning.

Here are the cargo surveyors being transferred from one vessel to the other by personnel basket. I also had to go to and from the workboat in this manner. Its not something I really enjoyed as my destiny was in the hands of a Russian crane operator.





The two ships separated and we headed back on the smaller tanker to a position closer to the shore to transfer the fenders, hoses etc to the workboat.

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## natalie8

That looks very precarious.

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## Gipsy

Damn, SBF, still can't green you! "Have to spread".... anyone in need of a green so I can get one across to SBF?

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## slimboyfat

Once the gear (and ourselves) were back on the workboat it was time once again to enjoy the views going back into Valletta harbour.





There were a couple of cruise ships in port. One was a Disney vessel.





^ The forward of the two funnels is actually a fake - to make the ship look more impressive I guess



A couple of other cruise vessels were not quite so impressive.......



And finally, back to the base to offload the gear.



Then to the hotel bar. Unfortunately there is bad weather forecast for the next few days so my Malta trip ends today. By tonight I will be in Sunderland, from where I do not think I will be doing a travel thread.

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## natalie8

> anyone in need of a green so I can get one across to SBF?


Me, me, me! How about for my av? Not being selfish, you asked.  :mid:

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## natalie8

Slimboy, that's a real shame. Well, you could stay in and add more pics to this thread or plan your next trip. I thought you were based in Singapore. what exactly is your job that you get to go out on ships?

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## slimboyfat

> I thought you were based in Singapore. what exactly is your job that you get to go out on ships?


I am based in Singapore, and the company that I recently joined is expanding to Asia soon, so I went out to see how the operation works in Malta as part of my familiarisation for the new job.

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## natalie8

Ok, good.

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## natalie8

Thanks for the greens, guys.  :Smile:

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## Loy Toy

Fantastic pics mate and Gipsy, I got him .  :Smile:

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## melvbot

Great pics Slim, interesting to see the pics of what you get up to out at sea.

 Whats being transferred from ship to ship? Oil or something?

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## slimboyfat

> Whats being transferred from ship to ship? Oil or something?


On this occasion it was a petroleum product called naphtha.

Naphtha - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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## Mid

^

keep the _Zippo_ going for a day or two  :Smile:

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## ItsRobsLife

I always enjoy your picture threads because of the different locations and it's interesting to see just what the job entails in this one. Excellent. 

As for the Disney boat, well I've never been sea sick but the thought of a Disney themed cruise is already making me feel nauseous.

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## jizzybloke

> Damn, SBF, still can't green you! "Have to spread"....


you can share mine until then!

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## larvidchr

> Unfortunately I dont have pics of that as they dont let you use a camera on the deck of a tanker carrying a highly explosive cargo.


Great thread and photos SBF.

Back in around 1980 we where doing something similar outside Mobile, transferring heavy crude at sea from a Maersk supertanker 300.000 tons, to a smaller US tanker 70.000 tons. Still got some old photos from that operation.

An new engineer coming from back home in Denmark joined the ship that day, the US tanker people had a bar and invited people over for a drink if we wanted, the new guy walked from the accommodation aft about 150 yards to midships where the manifold where located and the gangway connecting our two ships, then across and halfway down towards the crew quarters on the raised centre gangway located amidships and running all the way down the deck on the old US tanker.

Suddenly we saw him being assaulted by a sailor on the gangway on the US boat, it turned out he had walked all the way down our ship across and halfway down their ship smoking a cigarette  :Yikes:  :Scared:  :Pat: 

I can still get nervous twitches thinking about what could have happened, unbelievable as it was, it was his first Oil tanker, but that excuse was rightly so not accepted, and he was on the way home that same day, an expensive lesson for him since he had to, according to the rules back then, pay his own way home and pay the ticket for his replacement, but no way near as disastrous as it could have turned out for him and all of us + the environment in the Gulf. 

Still alive to tell the tale  :Smile:

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## kingwilly

great thread mate, appreciate the efforts. nice to see how other people work.

interesting story lard.

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## FarangRed

some nice photo's there of the harbour in Valletta I have to say brought back some nice memories because it was 39 years ago when I was last there, I stayed in a hotel over looking that area it doesnt look like it's changed.

I used to go to Gozo a lot then always stay in Valletta for a couple of nights.

Hey did you go down Strait Street? "the gut"

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## slimboyfat

> .
> 
> Hey did you go down Strait Street? "the gut"


Unfortunately I didn't get to see much more than what I have posted here. Just a flying visit and now back in superior Sunderland. Shame the ash cloud didn't keep me there longer.

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## shiva1961

Hey...im maltese and its first time i ve seen malta mentioned...hope you enjoyed it...cheers

claude

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## FarangRed

say hello to my ex she lives in Xlendi bay

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## kingwilly

> Hey...im maltese and its first time i ve seen malta mentioned...hope you enjoyed it...cheers
> 
> claude



Well welcome to Teakdoor, I'm still exploring, but perhaps you can tell us some more about Malta.

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## Heinz

Thanks for the photo's and filling in on what you do for a living, looking forward to the next lot.
Heinz

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## FarangRed



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## FarangRed

^I stayed in this hotel all them years ago right on the waters edge

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## FarangRed



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## ossierob

Wonderful thread slim....reminds me of my earlier RAN days when I served on HMAS Supply and we did refuelling at sea. In those instances we would shoot across Jackstays on a rope with the hose ends attached which were winched over to the ships to be fuelled with either Aviation gas or Diesel.  We never got as close as in your pics though mate....Well done....thanks for the memories

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## Mousepad

I spent touching 20 years at sea working on all kinds of ships. Been around the world a few times and still remember those years as some of the best in my life. I'm jealous Slim! Brings back memories this thread does.

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