As I mentioned in my previous post, we ‘registered’ for our Canal transit on Friday afternoon. On reporting in, we are assigned an anchorage, in our case E10, 6 shackles of anchor and chain (540 feet) in the water.
A French carrier and her battle group have just finished a transit
The southbound convoy is leaving, massive Container ships
While a large bulk-carrier anchors near us.
We settled down for the night after inspectors had boarded and checked the necessary ‘paperwork’. Some ‘bum boats’ came to us, one asking for scrap (metal) to buy and another trying to see rugs to guests, both left empty-handed.
The boats
One is never quite sure when we are to begin our transit, although the authorities must know the order of the convoy, they never bother to tell us, so it is always an (annoying) unknown factor. The anchorage slowly filled with other vessels who were waiting for the day’s convoy, among them 2 other cruise ships, the “Mein Schiff 4” and the “AIDAVita”.
I left in my night orders to be called an hour before Suez Port Control called us to be ready, expecting a call around 5 a.m. for a 6 a.m. start, I was woken by my bedside phone ringing, “sorry Captain, it’s 2:45 a.m.and they want us to heave anchor and be ready to move at 4”, heaven’s above, this is going to be a long day……. The inevitable coffee in hand, onto the Bridge and a briefing by the officer of the watch, ‘heave’ short’ to 2 shackles in the water and be ready to go. Around us, other vessels were also preparing.
As is the norm in Egypt, although we were set to go, our diesels and thrusters at the ready, there was no sign of the pilot at the appointed time. 40 minutes later than suggested, the pilot boat appeared, dropping off pilots to us and the 2 other cruise ships. We take 3 compulsory pilots; the first takes us from the anchorage to the entrance of the Canal at Suez, the 2nd takes us from Suez to the halfway point, Ismailia and the last takes us from there to Port Said and the end of the Canal. Our 1st pilot, an elderly, wizened old man got on the Bridge and immediately ordered ‘hard to port’, O boy, this was going to be a good one, we hadn’t even finished heaving the anchor, so much for Bridge Team Management, this man hadn’t even heard of it. He then changed his assigned radar to ‘ship’s head up’, turned off the chart overlays and told me that the Electronic Charts were “totally inaccurate” and he didn’t need them….this was going from bad to worse. Off we set, making for the buoyed channel that leads us to Suez, matters going reasonably well until I pointed out that many of the buoys were out of position, he dismissed my comment, however he was navigating using those buoys!
Sure enough, nearing the shallower section, with banks either side of the channel, he was still making a course to pass a buoy that was severely out of position!…That was when I took over, got us back on track while he muttered under his breath.
Approaching Suez
The sun rising as we did so
A mosque on the west bank
Suez astern of us
Our next pilot boarded, a young man, resplendent in full uniform and cap. We actually managed a briefing with him and it was obvious that he was going to be an excellent companion for our passage.
We set off at 10 knots (11 mph) and we were to maintain that speed all the way through, more or less.
Heavily militarised, there are barracks, emplacements and soldiers on both sides of the banks
Sections of ‘Bailey bridge’ at the ready, for crossing if necessary.
On then, until we reach the ‘Bitter Lakes’, this is where, before the new section of the canal was dredged, that north and southbound convoys would pass. During the 6-day war (1967), several ships were trapped here, (for years), they became known as the ‘Yellow Fleet’, so named because so much sand had built up on their decks.
It takes approximately 1½ hours to cross the Lakes and then one enters the ‘new’ section, a dredged channel, parallel to the old Canal, no need for north and south convoys to meet!
Approaching the new dredged Canal, we go right, while the southbound will come down the left channel.
Our convoy astern, we are #1, there are 25 ships in total
Constructing a new pipeline and pump station, taking water from the Nile to Sinai
Ferries cross the canal
While, when no convoy, this ‘swing’ bridge is used, it is powered at one end.
Passing a mosque near Ismailia, the ‘overflow’ town is on the east bank, while old Ismailia is on the west bank
It is on the ‘2-Canal’ stretch that north and south convoys pass each other. The last ship of the northbound convoy must be out of the Bitter Lakes before the first of the southbound ships gets there.
Over the central ‘berm’ the “Maersk Munich” can be seen going south. She is one of the largest Container ships in the World
At Ismailia we changed our pilot for an older gentleman, he took us to the northern end of the Canal. It was 10 hours after passing Suez that we, at last reached Port Said and disembarked him.
We were on our own as we made our way north in the channel, thus entering the Mediterranean, it’s good to be back. I write as we make our way towards a waypoint in the Straits of Messina, on our way towards Naples. I’m excited, Liz, her husband and 2 of the grandchildren will join us for a few days!
Port Said in the background, a waterside mosque, foreground
A late edit, I have finally managed to download a video!
