During the 13th, as we made our way south-west, towards the Malacca Straits, the shipping traffic began to increase. The ships that were sailing in the same direction as us were funneling in towards the same waypoint, the westbound traffic lane of the Straits.  Others, have transited the Straits, were now ‘scattering’, heading for their destinations in Asia.  At 3 a.m. in the morning of the 14th, we entered the Traffic lane system, or VTS.  It is overseen by centres ashore and is divided into sectors, vessels being passed on from sector to sector as they enter or leave them. At its busiest, over 2,000 ships a day will be in, or using, this narrow Strait; the world’s busiest waterway.

Hundreds of ships are anchored in the small spaces between the shore and the edge of the lanes, we have to monitor not only the vessels in the lanes but keep a watchful eye on any that are leaving the anchorage to join the system.  Eventually, after 4 hours of weaving and dodging, we slow down for our pilot; ahead of us is a Container ship, bound for the berths to the west of the cruise terminal; we slow down, unsure as to whether it will go in before us, or we go first.  Questions are asked and eventually we are told that we will go in before her, I quietly breathe a sigh of relief, a 30-minute delay, on top of the rigid Immigration requirements would delay our guests even more.  A swing off the berth and we back in, a successful first part of the transit completed.

Waiting on the pier is Karen, returning after a long flight from Rochester.  The interior of the terminal is more akin to a rabbit-warren and, with the rigid immigration system, I have to ‘enter’, passport and ID in hand, much stamping and questions..”who are you”? Well, I’d like to say ‘I’m the bloody captain, I am wearing my uniform after all’.  I refrain, I don’t fancy a Singapore jail.  Down to the baggage hall, full of the “Sapphire’s” passengers, up another escalator, find Karen amongst the throng and then 5 minutes later, through Immigration again.  Same questions, they can’t understand that I’ve just got off to help my wife…..Bite your tongue Jonathan….Eventually a very jet-lagged Karen and a very annoyed Captain make it back on board. 

A quiet day, I have been up for some time and Karen doesn’t know what day it is…..  She has a rest while I deal with ship’s business, trying to clear enough so that we can go ashore the next day and I don’t come back to a full mailbox. 

There is a ‘Skyline’ event being held on our aft deck that evening, so we sit in the warm (hot?) evening, a stunning skyline in front of us and enjoy some ‘tab nabs’ (as we used to call them during my cargo ship days), hors d’oeuvres nowadays. 🙂 

Day 2 and mid-morning we head ashore, 3 of us, myself, Karen and Hazel.  They are on a mission, (aren’t they always)?  A new ‘fit watch’ and trinkets.  We take the shuttle bus into town and then, after looking in a mall for the watch, onto the MTR, (subway/underground).  Easy to use, spotlessly clean and the Singapore populace almost regimented in their behaviour, all walking the same side in each direction, a steady flow with no jostling.

Alighting at Chinatown station, we make our way through the streets and stalls, the heat is oppressive.  The ladies browse while I wile away the time, camera in hand.

 Eventually we make our way back, retracing our steps of earlier in the day.  We have a late sailing, 11 p.m. although guests have to back by 9:30 p.m, those immigration procedures for departure will take 1½ hours….

We manage an on time sailing, out into the busy shipping lanes.  It is crucial we have a plot on anything that’s moving out there, going out ‘blind’ would be a disaster, so plotting begins 30 minutes before we even leave the berth.  By the time we leave, the Bridge team know who is doing what and where.  We creep out, giving us more time to assimilate the traffic.  A huge container ship, is coming down the lanes; the pilot, before he left, told me he is going to slow down for a pilot; we adjust to let her and several smaller vessels pass  ahead.  We see our ‘gap’ between ships and go for it, (it’s like pushing a cart across a motorway……), we slip into a slot and build speed, the eastbound ships in the other lane only 10th’s of a mile away, the Straits are that narrow just here.  A night of heavy traffic and daylight finds us heading north-west, in the final section of the Straits; by midday we’ll be out of it.  Around us are ships of every size and description, tankers in ballast, heading for the Persian gulf; container ships on their way to Europe, Gas carriers, cargo ships.  Have you ever wondered how your refrigerators, TVs, Christmas trees and electrical goods reach your local store?  here’s how….

Tomorrow we arrive in Phuket, Thailand and then onto Colombo, Sri Lanka before crossing the Indian Ocean, time seems to be flying past.