Baltrum Trader from Melbourne to Singapore

THE WAY HOME TO EUROPE!!

Sunday 29th January 2006
First leg: Melbourne to Singapore

Deanne, Andrew and Gabriella had returned from Europe last night.. De and Gab both rather poorly, but all made a valiant attempt to eat my lovingly prepared curry and spicy lentils. We gathered the last of our stuff together and Andrew kindly offered to take us to the port for 9.30 when the immigration people would be waiting to stamp us with exit stamps. Should mean we can come back whenever we want!!

Andrew, De and Gab all came with us. Gabriella still not well, not helped by the extreme heat of the day. The sun was shining and Melbourne really looked at its best as were made our way out to Footscray and the P & O International Shipping Port.

The car is allowed to the main gate, but no further in the port for security reasons. We waved good bye to the McLennans and then got the port bus out to the ship, The Baltrum Trader, a large green monster which was being loaded at the wharf.

One of the crew came to help us get the luggage up the steep, and as always, a bit greasy, gangplank. We signed in and were escorted to the ship’s office where the Ozzie immigration people were waiting for us. We filled in the form and they put the correct exit stamp in our passports, unlike the US people who had failed to turn up at the port when we left Savannah causing us all sorts of problems for future visits to the USA.

The Baltrum Trader does not have a lift, and we had some help getting the bags up to the cabin which is right at the top of the ship, one floor below the bridge. We found the stairs hard work, especially Kit who had the bag of books, a necessity we later found as the ship’s library is very sparse and much of the stock is in German, Polish etc. being the languages of the officers and crew.

We have the owner’s cabin which is very comfortable. There is a separate living room with two sofas, a small table and a desk. We have a small stereo, a TV, a video player and a DVD player. We also have a separate bedroom with a large comfortable bed and a tiny but useable bathroom with shower. It’s all a lot more luxurious than the Utrillo cabin. I think it’s probably been re-furbished recently as everything seems brand new – either that or it’s never been used much before! We also have unrestricted sea views to the side and the rear which is great.

There are lots of storage cupboards, all with locks and keys. They seem to take security very seriously on this ship. We settled down in the cabin – a bit of unpacking and sitting around. Then down to the officer’s dining room for lunch. Mealtimes are very early on this ship – 7.30 – 8.30 for breakfast, 11.30 – 12.30 for lunch and 5.30 – 6.30 for supper.


The view of Melbourne from the dock is beautiful. We have had a wonderful time in this city, and we are treated to a panoramic view to remind us when we get to the UK winter chills!

The officer’s dining room and recreation room are on the first deck, so down four flights of stairs, and back up again for each meal! We went in to the recreation room to get a drink from the bar. A gin and tonic is about 50 pence! The bar is one with an ‘honesty’ book. We’ll be able to get some wine from the store once we get out of port. We met the first engineer and the captain in the bar. The captain is very young and German. He was wearing a t-shirt with ‘TAXI’ written on it. He joked that we’d just joined the taxi to Singapore and he was the driver! The bar is for the use of officers and passengers and is small, but pleasant.

The Captain – in his swish gear The chief engineer enjoying the bar

The dining room is just over the corridor, and as on the Utrillo, there are separate tables for the officers and the passengers. We have one fellow-passenger, Ken, a farmer from New South Wales. He is meeting up with his wife and three small children (2,4 and 6) at Port Kelang where they will start an epic round-the-world journey by train, boat etc. A brave family – particularly as Ken has only left New South Wales once in his 43+ years!

The food on the Baltrum Trader is less daunting than the confections we were served on the Utrillo. Much more basic, and far less of it which is a relief. We enjoyed our French chef’s concoctions on the Utrillo but both put on a stone during the voyage. Our first lunch was a hearty soup with pork in it followed by roast chicken. There was a small dish of ice-cream for desert. Wine does not form part of the offer as it did on the Utrillo, but it is very cheap to buy our own from the stores.

Monday 30th January 2006

The first day at sea. A bit stormy! Australian Bight known for rough weather. Our fellow passenger, Ken, has been looking a little green around the gills. He gamely turns up for each meal and eats what he is given, but, I think, with little relish. We reassure him that he will get his sea legs soon. The sea settles down somewhat during the end of the day, and the night is quite pleasant. It’s very comforting to have the ‘thrum’ of the engines. We also both enjoy the gentle swaying of the ship in slightly rough seas. The sea at the moment is nowhere near the sea we experienced during Hurricane Wilma!

Tuesday 31st January 2006

Quieter day. Safety drill on poop deck. As instructed [there is a German captain after all] we present ourselves on the poop deck at 15.20 precisely. As dispensation for passengers, we have to bring but don’t have to wear our life jackets [although Ken didn’t receive this message and arrived fully kitted out] and helmets were not issued to us. Most of the crew were there – but not the officers. Perhaps it is assumed they all know what to do in case of emergency? The First Officer, a Ukrainian, is very short with the crew as it seems that one person has not been informed and is not there! We are amused to see that all the crew’s helmets are properly labelled, and our new [and shy] steward is labelled ‘cook boy’.

Wednesday 1st February 2006

A generally quiet day and without the general diversions of land-lubber life we have drinks in the cabin during the afternoon. Ken joins us to enjoy the rather dubious box wine we bought from the ship’s store. The wine is recognisable as wine, but is not quite what we’ve come to expect of a basic Australian wine. The red is just about OK. The white is unlike any white wine, European or Antipodean that I’ve ever had!!

Thursday 2nd February 2006

Drinks in the officers’ bar after dinner. All measures doubles! Still cheap however with 6cl costing $1.60. Lots of aimless chat. We begin to feel a bit globetrotter-ish as we are completing a round the world by sea, and many of the crew have been on the same round for many years. Most have not ‘done’ the Panama. Passengers are keen for stories, and are agog to learn of precautions for pirates. These include keeping the outside doors locked, and if instructed, retreating to our cabins and locking the doors. We wonder what pirates would do with a ship full of containers, and are not really reassured to learn that one container is full of blank bank note paper – which would undoubtedly be interesting to the ungodly.

Friday 3rd February 2006

This was another very calm day. We spent an hour reading in the sun chairs on deck in the morning. By about 11am we need to retreat indoors as the temperature is over 30 and the sun is very hot indeed.

Spent a short time on the bridge looking at the charts and checking progress.

We borrowed two DVDs from officers’ recreation room for the evening – neither worked! More Reginald Perrin. It’s amazing how well it has stood the test of time.

Very calm and warm weather. Extremely calm night. Weather becoming more tropical as we go up the Indian Ocean

Saturday 4th February 2006

More of the same.

We have learned more about the mechanics of shipping. It seems that then entire crew is contracted from an agency in Limasol in Cyprus. The Captain is German, the First Officer is Ukrainian, the Chief Engineer and other officers are Polish and Filipino, and the crew are Filipino. None have ever visited Cyprus. The boat is registered in Antigua – as the French so charmingly put it – ‘une niche fiscal’ The boat is chartered to a Japanese line, Hanjin, but never calls in Japan, and the main Hanjin line no longer takes passengers. The boat is owned by a consortium of Germans. It seems that if a boat is built in Germany [work for German shipyards UK please note] Germans may buy shares in it which are tax deductible. As the Captain puts it, rich dentists buy a share for $100,000 and receive $250,000 over say 8 years. It seems complicated to me, but I suppose its all part of the same globalisation that gives us Argentinean UHT milk on the boat and Australian potatoes in the height of the English potato season in English supermarkets!

Sunday 5th February 2006

Weather now getting very hot. After breakfast, our session on the bridge deck for a little sunshine and reading before it gets too hot at 1015 was curtailed. We moved to the shady side [port in this case] with some difficulty as the chairs are a bit decrepit and won’t fold. So Kit had to carry them unfolded across the little passageway at the rear of the bridge. A bit vertiginous at the best of times, but when the chair got stuck it was a bit unsettling. Sat in the shade until around 1100 and then went downstairs to our cabin. As the meals are so early, we have shifted our whole day a little earlier. Dentures at 1130 and bed at 2030. Today we have duck for lunch. Much nicer than some of the other meals, which are best described as in the brochure as ‘good honest fare’ Ken has brought a bottle of wine for ‘Sunday lunch’ and we provide another. After the meal, we adjourn to the officer’s lounge where we polish off another.

Then up to the bridge deck to watch our arrival in the area of Bali and Lombok. The ship passes between the two islands which are close together. The scenery is very tropical. We also catch a glimpse of the volcano rising out of the sea. As we pass between the islands we hear the ship’s horn blowing to warn the many people on small fishing and pleasure boats to keep well out of the way. The sun was shining and it was very hot up on deck. Got close enough to the islands for mobile phone signals, so the captain could phone home. We were watching the little boats and the captain came running out from the bridge to tell us that there were dolphins just at the side of the ship. We, and our fellow-passenger, Ken, just caught a glimpse of four or five graceful dolphin tails swishing through the water, but we quickly lost sight of them.

Coffee and chat, and then its almost time for supper. A cold collation, which when eaten with lots of dark rye bread promises to be good for our insides.

Monday 6th February 2006
Another early start and another slightly odd breakfast of scrambled eggs with fried onions. Then the weather demonstrates why its called the rainy season. We might call it ‘organised rain’ but that isn’t really adequate. Its like a fire hose. The captain, who has been chatting after breakfast and giving us some useful information about Singapore remarks drily that its giving everything a good wash. That fits as the boat is always kept spick and span – painters attending to the boat like the Forth Bridge. We’re cooling our heels in the cabin, and the captain offers us some of his pictures of the boat that we wouldn’t otherwise be able to get.

We have been warned that we are now in the piracy high risk area, and we notice that searchlights have been mounted on the wing bridges and a very realistic scarecrow [stuffed crew’s oilskins] keeps watch at the stern. High pressure water hoses have been played out and lashed in place to repel unwanted visitors. If the crew are taking it seriously, so are we. We lock outside doors at every opportunity and today managed to lock the captain outside our exterior door. He was very calm, had his own key and said with some forbearance that we only needed to lock the doors at night. The Chief Engineer has been very generous and offered us his own DVD collection to while away the rainy hours. Two films I wouldn’t have watched on the TV, but the sub-titles in unrecognisable English gave us more fun than we had imagined.

We went down for lunch at 1200. Potato soup and pork schnitzel. Perfectly adequate, but our steward has obviously been told that when people have finished eating, he should clear their plates. This makes it a little like Lyons Corner House. I haven’t even put down my knife and fork and the plate is cleared away. This really is food as fuel. We’re back upstairs at 1220. After two movies, its only 1700 and we’re looking forward to supper! Even though it will only be 20 minutes. Food really punctuates the day, as it does in hospitals and other institutions.

Tuesday 7th February 2006

The day promised better weather. Another rather peculiar breakfast – pancake served with an orange, sweetish juice. Still, plenty of brown bread, cheese and cold meat available. We went for a 2km walk around the deck straight afterwards. Fortunately as it turned out as the rain began directly we had finished, confining us inside. More diary keeping and tapestry, and soon it will be lunch time! The captain asked us if we felt the bump as we passed the equator northbound at 1100. Ho Ho. Again, food as fuel and not as an event. Down for lunch at 1200 and out of the dining room at 1220 after two courses! I think we must have passed out of the high risk pirate area. We have been charging along at full[?] speed, and suddenly we have dropped to a much slower speed and everything has stopped vibrating itself loose. Perhaps we’re just a little ahead of schedule.

We spent the afternoon reading and stitching tapestry as usual. About 3pm there is sudden silence as the engines stop completely for a few seconds! Later in the evening the first engineer tells us that there was a safety exercise during the afternoon.

A further evening of films with amazing sub-titles, and then a late-ish night at 9pm! It’s very odd that the past few nights the sea has been amazingly calm. It is obvious when there is a change in direction or engine speed as the vibrations are clear through the pillow!

The lights of Singapore lit the cabin at just after 11pm. Also many more ships appear in the area. On previous nights the only light in the cabin bedroom has come from the moon and reflections from the sea.

I (Liz) reflect that I can understand now, after two voyages on freighters why some people become addicted to the sea. I can spend (literally) hours just looking out at the sea. The changes are small, and traffic out on the oceans is remarkably sparse, but the view is always interesting. I wait, in vain, for a sighting of a whale, but delight in the sight of showers of flying fish glinting in the sun, or the distant glimpse of another freighter off to who knows where.

Wednesday 8th February 2006

We woke to a sea which is slightly more full of ships than we are used to. We are in the approaches to Port Kelang, the busiest port in the area. We will approach the ‘holding area in the sea outside the port, and wait our turn to go in to port to discharge and load cargo, and also, to lose Ken who will join his family in Kuala Lumpur in a couple of days time. We wish him a fantastic world trip. What an experience for those children! We hope the parents survive!!

Kit and I spend a couple of hours up on the bridge watching the captain and his henchmen guide us to a suitable spot to stop for the day.

We could see an array of ships as we approached slowly, losing speed infinitesimally. One of the ships ahead looked like a rather splendid cruise ship. The captain told us it was in a previous life ‘The Norway’ and was now a permanent resident of these waters, a casino, gathering punters in tiny shiploads from the coast, and operating 24 hours a day. I prefer to think of it as a ‘bordello flottant’. The captain tells us that the activities on board have now stopped as asbestos has been discovered throughout the ship, and it will be difficult to clear it.

We also discovered that last night, about 1pm, there had been some small ships skulking unlit in the waters around our ship. They were treated to the full glare of our searchlights and they left without issuing threat. We understand that this is a prime area for pirates and we are very pleased that the captain and crew are vigilant in watching over us in the dead of might. The captain also showed us a telex reporting on pirate threats in the area a couple of nights ago. Clearly the smaller freighters are easier to climb onto, but all ships are at risk.

We eventually glide to a halt, and the anchor is dropped. We discovered to our surprise that the anchor is not what holds the ship in place. It is the weight of 200 metres of chain in a depth of 40 metre water that stops us from moving. It feels amazingly quiet when the engines have stopped.

The quiet engines are the chance to visit the engine rooms. Kit and Ken are given a tour of the engine rooms by the chief engineer. Even though the main engines are not on, there is residual noise (and heat) from all the generators needed to keep the ship working – the air conditioning, the lights, hot water etc!! As with The Utrillo, we find it fantastic that the ship can produce all the fresh water it needs by using its own plant to treat sea water. Certainly the water on ship tastes better than the chlorine-filled water in Oxford. The scale of the engines is amazing – filling five floors below the deck with complex machinery that keeps us afloat and on time.

Shortly after putting down the anchor there is a safety exercise setting one of the life boats out on the sea and bringing it back on board. The exercise does not go quite as smoothly as one would hope in a real emergency. There is some messing about with the ’strings’, and a struggle to re-load the boat on board with the outboard motor still in situ. However, we get the impression this will all ‘ be all right on the night’ as they say.

A leisurely lunch followed by a few drinks in the bar with Ken. It seems we have completely wiped out the ship’s stock of bottled red wine – OOPS!! Spent a bit more time reading and sewing and then down to dinner. The last one on the ship for Ken. Think he’s beginning to get a little nervous about this big adventure he’s started. After dinner we repair to the officers recreation room for a couple of drinks. Decided to try the drink favoured by some of the officers – gin, Campari and soda. It is somewhat lethal, but slips down very easily!

Off to bed by 9.30. Kit got up to watch the departure from anchorage and arrival at Port Kelang around midnight. Apparently the performance of the pilot left something to be desired!! Nevertheless, we are safely berthed in Port Kelang, the busiest shipping port in this area.

Thursday 9th February 2006

KIT’S BIRTHDAY!!

We had a quiet breakfast before Ken left the ship to take his taxi into Kuala Lumpur. His wife, Pamela, and children Belinda, Daniel and Ben, plus Ken’s sister and her 19 year old daughter will arrive to meet him on Saturday. Ken’s information from Julie at OTC was that he would arrive in Port Kelang on Saturday, and he is somewhat surprised to have to find accommodation for the next two nights!

The weather, even at 7.30 am, is hot and sultry and no doubt gives me a clue as to what to expect in Singapore. The wharf is very busy with lots of ship movements in and out. I saw several ships arriving and turning round in the channel before gliding gently alongside, helped by the small tug boats. The early mist and golden sunshine mean a rather romantic look to the arrivals.

After the various formalities Ken left the ship just before 9am. We spent the morning watching the loading, and the arrivals and departures around us. The workings of the cranes are constantly entertaining. Spent a little time sitting in the shade to avoid the amazing heat. A last bit of washing before we get off at Singapore tomorrow – hope it dries in time.

Lunch of spicy roast chicken – rather nice! We then watched about twenty minutes of a ‘Shogun’ type of drama on TV – in Malay – but hearing the words wouldn’t have helped us to understand the plot any more effectively! We spent a quiet afternoon making sure the diary is up-to-date and starting to pack. The captain visited us to give us our bar bill – a modest amount for two weeks on board. We should be able to leave the ship by about 11am tomorrow morning after the necessary immigration procedures.

Friday 10th February 2006

One of the delights of freighter travel is the lack of urgency. Today, we got up as normal, went down for breakfast, and were then able to spend a couple of hours on the bridge as we entered Singapore. There are hundreds of ships in ‘the roads’ from tiny fishing boats [how is it they don’t get squashed?] and container barges being towed to much larger vessels – larger than the Baltrum Trader. The captain has told us that as Singapore kept putting its port prices up, many companies such as Maersk have moved their operations to new built ports and Singapore has lost a lot of trade. Our boat under charter to Hanjin has become a welcome customer, and so we get what seems to us to be a very favourable berth.


The docks are enormous. The steward and a deck hand carry our bags down the gangplank, and we wait in a patch of shade next to a yellow box that says ‘bus stop’ The bus drivers however are very literal and unless you are standing in the box, they won’t stop. One goes past, and as the next approaches we are scooped up by a local who tells us how to get the bus, and loads one of our bags whilst we scramble on. Good thing we caught the bus as it has just started a tropical downpour, so we were happy to have a 20 minute tour of the docks until we got to the gate. Taxis won’t stop in the street, so across the road to an MRT station where there is a taxi rank. Straight to the hotel – happily air-conditioned. Its very hot. 32C and 80% humidity, but there is a roof top pool so all is well.

In the unlikely event you want to read more, you can follow our journey from Singapore to Barcelona at www.rialtobridge.blogspot.com