Back again, again... !

Well that was that, I will be going home in less than twenty four hours! I feel that what I was called to do here has been accomplished, most of the sprinkler system that had to be installed is now in place, I can safely say that the work done exceeded expectations! Easily done when you have ten hours of work per day... and you do a job that you thoroughly enjoy.

I still got to appreciate the Sri Lankan culture and style of life, the three wheeled tuk tuks, the wonderful pineapple and the comical head nodding to indicate "yes". People here are very curious yet respectful at the same time, I do wish I could have spent more time within the community, but that was not my duty for this visit.


In general, work has gone relatively well, but there have been some delays, yet the ship is already afloat once again and we should be out of this drydock berth tonight. The work will continue and may still take a few weeks before the engine is ready and reequiped to go on towards India!

(some of the engine crew involved in the ships' Dry Dock in Colombo, Sri Lanka)

The ship is ready for dry dock! No worries, it has a flat bottom and cannot fall over...

Sri Lankan dock workers starting work on the underside tanks.

Work in progress.

Sri Lankan "Astronauts" sand blasting the ship.

Lets get it up and running!

Well I safely landed in Colombo, Sri Lanka after an approximate 12 hours of flight...! Walking out into the striking sunlight I was immediately rewarded with a heavy, muggy sensation… The heat combined with the dampness of this country have made is into a giant steam kettle! (Yet this is the “cool” season) Being onboard the ship as a "project worker" is in itself an entirely different experience. I am a stranger to the fifty new recruits yet everyone else on the ship knows me, making them the strangers! Dry-dock is special as well, in the sense that yes, you mostly work: you shake your self awake to eat at 6:30 am, sort of stumble into your job at 7 am and then regret having to stop around 6 pm. (with the breaks that makes it ten hours of work a day) Once we get into our dry dock berth (we're sailing there now) we'll learn to work alongside the dock workers of ill reputation (it is said that they steal everything from under your nose, even your moustache!). We’ll still be living testimonies for them through the way we work and interact alongside each other. We are about 180 people whom have stayed behind on the ship, (the 220 other having abandoned ship to rest, minister and serve in various other ways) the most left behind being from engine or deck department. Strangely enough I get to work in a fresh and clean environment; I've been given the job of modifying specific branches of our Hi-Fog system (fire prevention sprinkler system) to make them more effective. I love what I am doing (it IS different from working with loads of… well… other stuff.) and am soon done with the first big project; I'm looking forward to be able to work on some other Hi Fog areas around the ship!