Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Update from the Gulf of Thailand

Ryan left port on Monday for his off-shore job in Thailand. I got an email from him today. He said I could post it as a blog post, so here it is:

"Today is our second day off shore.  It took about 12 hours to transit out here from port.  Where we are working there are central processing platforms (CPPs) and drill head platforms.  The drill sites are all connected to the CPPs by a spider network of underwater pipelines.  Most of our work will take place centered around the CPPs.  There is a lot of infustructer out here.  Just about every directing you look you can see a platform or a large ship. 

We took our first samples about 24 hours after leaving port.  We are starting by taking surface gabs of the sediment.  There are five of us on shift for this operation plus another person to operate the winch.  My job is very easy. All I do is scoop the surface sediments out of the sampler and put it in a bag with a label.  It’s a whole lot of standing around, but I just keep reminding myself that if that is the way they want to operate, it’s fine with me!

My accommodations about the Miclyn Energy are quite good.  I have a cabin to myself. The room is fairly nice with lots of space as it was designed for two people.  Meals are served every 6 hours and have been good so far.  There is always rice and some veggies and then a few dishes to choose from.  The dishes are clearly labeled as to the type of meat in them or if they are veggie.  This is important as there are many Muslims on board that do not eat pork, in fact there are separate plates and utensils for the Muslims.  Some of the Thai scientists are Muslim but for the most part I think it is the crews which are mostly from Indonesia.  It really don’t matter what shift you work when it comes to eating, as there is no such thing as a breakfast themed meal.

Another beautiful thing about this boat is what Rich and I call “The Laundry Fairy”.  Just place your dirty clothes outside your room in a canvas bag with your room number and when you wake up your clothes are clean and neatly folded where you left them.  It’s amazing!"

-Ryan

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