MMO rotation offshore Egypt and transit to Cadiz, Spain
It is definitely nice when we get MMO contracts with more than one rotation; you get to return to the same country, the same ship, the same crew, the same routine and the same animals (or lack thereof!). After spending a lovely white Christmas with my family in New Brunswick (see previous post) I went back to the west coast for a few days and then I was soon on a plane back to Egypt to finish the job on the Ramform Valiant.
Thousands of demonstrators in Tahrir Square shortly after we passed through Cairo to go the ship
Although it was considered unsafe by most to stay in the country we remained because we were self-contained and working many miles offshore, well away from protest activity. We were only slightly impacted when we lost internet communication; shortly after rioting began (which was coordinated using social networking internet websites like Facebook and Twitter) the government shut down all internet services in the country. Additionally, when our chase vessel attempted to go to Port Said for supplies and to bring data ashore for the client, they could not enter the port because the official port buildings had been burned and the military had taken over. See video of tanks rolling through Port Said here. Although most foreigners were fleeing Egypt at this time, for some reason, our project manager stayed in Cairo and while we were sending daily reports of our activities offshore he was sending us emails about tanks rolling down the street past his office!
When we completed the survey mid February the situation in Egypt was still unstable and, although the client reps and I were not needed anymore, it was decided we would stay for the transit through the Mediterranean to Cadiz, Spain. I wasn't entirely disappointed though because it meant I would get to travel through the entire Mediterranean from east to west and I was definitely planning to watch for marine mammals en route. In the end it was interesting how the sea life changed during the transit.
As suspected, our sightings of dolphins picked up the further west we got; the productivity increased as we entered waters with increased mixing from the Atlantic Ocean to the west. As a special treat at sunrise on Valentine's day we were passing just north of Tunisia (we could see the shoreline) with flat calm sees and had a lovely sighting of bowriding Short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinis delphis). Throughout the rest of the day we saw more groups of common and striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) and five sightings of Loggerhead turtles (Carretta carretta). I was happy to have these couple days of good sightings because, as was somewhat expected, when working offshore of Egypt the other MMO and I had only four dolphin and no turtle sightings in 3.5 months!
Testing the fire hoses on the helideck for upcoming helicopter operations
Following three photos: still not sick of the offshore sunrises and sunsets!
Workboat operations: some of the seismic crew like to give us MMOs something to look at especially when there are few marine mammals :)
My office - gotta hate my job, the worst office space ever!
...and that's even an old office chair :D
The helideck and pool - the pool had been emptied due to high seas
More drills - testing smoke flares and the helideck fire suppression system
Unlike those of us from colder climates the Phillipino crew prefer to cover up as much as possible when working in the sun!
Yikes! Now that was not a nice entanglement of fishing gear the crew recovered with our gear!
There can be a surprising number of bugs offshore: houseflies, grasshoppers, moths and even occasionally mosquitoes -I really enjoy morning watches with the call of grasshoppers from around the decks of the ship
View from the helideck, astern of the Ramform, to the bridge - the bridge wings on the Ramform Valiant are awesome!
Workboat heading in after another long day working on the cables...
...and the boat drives straight into the sling off the stern and is lifted back onboard
Short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinis delphis) bowriding
Taking the lifeboat for a test drive - all safety equipment must be regularly tested and inspected so we know it's functioning properly when we need it!
Striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba)
The captain taking a break on the comfy couches of the bridge
Yep, we have to watch how much we pack which can be difficult if you want to bring ID guides, cameras, binoculars and GPS's
Upon arrival to Cadiz we were joined by the Ramform Viking, the Valiant's sister ship
Views around the port in Cadiz, Spain
One of our fenders being lifted by crane to be placed between us and the dock
Tugs bringing the Viking alongside
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