Dukefan Posted July 11, 2020 Author #251 Share Posted July 11, 2020 25 minutes ago, Heidi13 said: OMG! an entire 4 month contract slow steaming to nowhere. Although it sounds like easy work, for the watchkeepers, it is extremely boring and results in the contract really dragging on. If they do remain unassigned until 11th November, they will need to dock/anchor for stores & bunkers at least once. They may also have a number of crew changes. Unfortunately, those remaining onboard probably won't get shore leave. Based on your comments the reason they may be "tooling around" in the South China Sea may be to change out or pick up crew in the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and other South Pacific spots during their four months on the "High Seas" and before they start cruises again for real. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi13 Posted July 11, 2020 #252 Share Posted July 11, 2020 14 minutes ago, Dukefan said: Based on your comments the reason they may be "tooling around" in the South China Sea may be to change out or pick up crew in the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and other South Pacific spots during their four months on the "High Seas" and before they start cruises again for real. Assuming that they disembarked many of the ratings in India, Indonesia, Singapore & HK, they may have predominantly Deck/Engineering watchkeepers onboard. On the Sun most of the Senior Officers were European, but a couple of the 2nd/3rd Officers where probably Philippines. The Deck Ratings could have been Indonesian. Therefore, they may have to find a port that will accept crew changes for the European Officers and ratings from the local countries. If she remains at sea for 4 months, it will be really interesting to see where and how often she docks, especially as the Captains are 2 months on/2 months off. Unfortunately, not sure how frequently they are being relieved the past few months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeriGail Posted July 11, 2020 #253 Share Posted July 11, 2020 I have a question for the many knowledgeable people on this thread - I am on the roll call for the Sun's December 3 - 14th 2020 cruise from Lisbon to Miami. Here's what Viking has for the Sun's itinerary: 9/5 - 9/19 - Bergen to Copenhagen - cancelled 9/19 - 10/3 - Copenhagen to Bergen - cancelled 10/3 - 10/17 - Bergen to Barcelona 10/17 - 10/24 - Barcelona to Rome 10/24 - 11/7 - Rome to Athens 11/7 - 11/21 - Athens to Rome 11/21 - 12/3 - Rome to Lisbon Since Viking cancelled through September, some of our roll call members are wondering what will happen if Viking cancels October too. Viking would then need to move the Sun from England to Athens - is that too far? I know this is also conjecture and is also a long way off, so they would have time to move their ships to get them in the proper location. But, many thanks for your best guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chengkp75 Posted July 11, 2020 #254 Share Posted July 11, 2020 1 hour ago, JeriGail said: Since Viking cancelled through September, some of our roll call members are wondering what will happen if Viking cancels October too. Viking would then need to move the Sun from England to Athens - is that too far? I know this is also conjecture and is also a long way off, so they would have time to move their ships to get them in the proper location. But, many thanks for your best guess. Too far for what? Belfast to Piraeus is less than a week at 18 knots. It means another month without revenue, and the fuel cost to get to Greece, but they could offer a repo cruise to gain some revenue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Peregrina651 Posted July 11, 2020 #255 Share Posted July 11, 2020 Remember that on these two week cruises, the ship spends 6-12 hours in port most days. Without passengers and calls at ports to manage, they can sail a more direct route and they can sail 24/7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeriGail Posted July 11, 2020 #256 Share Posted July 11, 2020 Thanks - that's what I thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi13 Posted July 11, 2020 #257 Share Posted July 11, 2020 The distance from Liverpool to Piraeus is about 2,700 n/miles. At 20 kts it takes less than 6 days, but at a more economical 11.5 kts it is about 10 days steaming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dukefan Posted July 12, 2020 Author #258 Share Posted July 12, 2020 Viking next scheduled cruises as of 7/11/2020 Viking Jupiter 10/4/2020 Mediterranean Odyssey Barcelona to Venus 13 Days Viking Orion 11/11/2020 Australia & New Zealand Sydney to Auckland 15 Days Viking Sea 10/9/2020 Mediterranean Odyssey Venice to Barcelona 13 Days Viking Sky 10/6/2020 Mediterranean & Atlantic Crossing Rome to Miami 27 Days Viking Star 10/16/2020 New York, Bermuda & the West Indies New York to San Juan 15 Days Viking Sun 10/3/2020 Trade Routes of the Middle Ages Bergen to Barcelona 15 Days Viking Venus 1/26/2021 Iberian Explorer Barcelona to London 8 Days 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz Masterson Posted July 13, 2020 #259 Share Posted July 13, 2020 Interesting am article on the various options for cruise ships at this time. https://apple.news/AIjLPe9-1SjCUJtrtWyfJoA 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi13 Posted July 13, 2020 #260 Share Posted July 13, 2020 2 hours ago, Liz Masterson said: Interesting am article on the various options for cruise ships at this time. https://apple.news/AIjLPe9-1SjCUJtrtWyfJoA Unfortunately, I consider this your typical sensational article that is full of half truths. I found the comparison to aircraft storage very interesting, since ships operate in a challenging environment regardless of whether operational or laid up. Not many ships can be laid up in a dry desert. Yes, they can go to the desert in the Persian Gulf, but the humidity is around 100%. Not many ships can reach the Mojave, where they store aircraft. Also laughed at the dropping anchor at sea comment. They must have added considerably more anchor cable, as ships can only anchor in fairly shallow water. The scope of chain (ratio of chain to water depth) depends on the holding properties of the bottom, with at least 4 shackles (360 feet) being required for 90 feet water depth. If the bottom is poor holding, the scope of chain increases to 6 or more shackles (540+ feet) for same depth of water (90 feet). Ships carry only 10 to 12 shackles on each anchor. The bureaucratic inspections and drydocks are regulatory requirements, regardless of whether the vessel is operational or laid up. The author quoted a few people, but none of them were knowledgeable passenger ship deck or engineering officers, or even ship repair/maintenance experts. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chengkp75 Posted July 13, 2020 #261 Share Posted July 13, 2020 5 hours ago, Heidi13 said: The author quoted a few people, but none of them were knowledgeable passenger ship deck or engineering officers, or even ship repair/maintenance experts. Yeah, Andy, a "cruise historian" is quoted as the prime "expert" on marine maintenance. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi13 Posted July 13, 2020 #262 Share Posted July 13, 2020 Although the Sun is still docked in Liverpool, she has a voyage back to Belfast entered into the AIS, with an ETA of 08:00 tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi13 Posted July 13, 2020 #263 Share Posted July 13, 2020 3 hours ago, chengkp75 said: Yeah, Andy, a "cruise historian" is quoted as the prime "expert" on marine maintenance. So true. When reading this type of article, I always look for the resources used during the research. This one was a spectacular fail.🙁 If the article was discussing the old steam driven liners, I can see enlisting a historian, but few of those ships remain in operation. Most of the older tonnage will be scrapped and only the newer ships will be laid up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sugarside Posted July 13, 2020 #264 Share Posted July 13, 2020 Definitely seems to be on the move now as of a few minutes ago. Heading out of Liverpool up the Mersey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeriGail Posted July 13, 2020 #265 Share Posted July 13, 2020 They've updated the Belfast arrival time to 17:00. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi13 Posted July 13, 2020 #266 Share Posted July 13, 2020 Underway and steaming at a sedate 9 kts. Interesting to see where she docks in Belfast tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karyllynne Posted July 13, 2020 #267 Share Posted July 13, 2020 I know absolutely nothing about maintenance and operation of ships, but I just wanted to say how much I enjoy following this thread. Thank you all so much for sharing your knowledge! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeriGail Posted July 14, 2020 #268 Share Posted July 14, 2020 Weird - now the Sun has changed heading to 222 degrees and looks like it's going to Dublin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeriGail Posted July 14, 2020 #269 Share Posted July 14, 2020 Now it's 167 degrees. Is it just cruising in circles to kill time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi13 Posted July 14, 2020 #270 Share Posted July 14, 2020 Steaming time from Liverpool to Belfast is about 22 hrs and they have almost 25 hrs for the transit at 9 kts. I suspect they are scenic cruising, in the dark, in the open waters south of IoM, rather than doing donuts in the busier waters between Belfast & Portpatrick. At present they are about 120 miles from Belfast, with just under 14 hrs to make the ETA, which requires 8.7 kts. If still heading to Belfast, maintaining the same speed, they should turn around and head North shortly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi13 Posted July 14, 2020 #271 Share Posted July 14, 2020 Based on the track she altered shortly after my post last night, but then steamed East for a couple hours. Still a few miles south of Belfast and at current speed isn't going to make the pilot station by 17:00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi13 Posted July 14, 2020 #272 Share Posted July 14, 2020 Pilot has boarded, so we should know within the hour where she is berthing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeriGail Posted July 14, 2020 #273 Share Posted July 14, 2020 It looks like the Sun is backing into a very narrow channel - drydock? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigAl94 Posted July 14, 2020 #274 Share Posted July 14, 2020 She's entering the dry dock now. They were doing repairs to the dock which must have caused the recent movements until completed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigAl94 Posted July 15, 2020 #275 Share Posted July 15, 2020 It seems possible that the dry dock is being used as a wet dock for now, image of all three together in Belfast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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