DUBAI DRY DOCK EXPERIENCE

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

DUBAI DRY DOCK EXPERIENCE

Last April we went to Dubai for Dry dock, which means they lift the ship out of the water to do maintenance. Located in one of the rapidly developing regions of the world and a busy trading route, Drydocks World – Dubai is one of the most prolific shipyards in operation. The shipyard is the largest facility in the Middle East. During this time we worked for about 2 weeks doing 10 hour shifts. The work was very intense and non-stop.

We would wire brush and chip rust all day in the heat. After awhile you felt like a machine. The nice thing is after 5 months of sailing with only the seas of middle east to far east, finally the taste of solid ground again.

At one point we had to go down inside the tank for inspection. We go into the gas freed tank on board. Two men have to be in there to make sure they take out all the slops properly, other wise they have to clean it again. I was one of those unlucky guys. The space is very cramped, dark and hot. I had to go up and down with a huge torch with me. The combination of having to use large amounts of energy to climb up and down in the ladder, the dust filled air, and the piping hot chain made this an extremely exhausting experience. No lie, at one point I was seriously wondering how much more my body could take before shutting down. Thank God nothing serious happened. I had a new understanding of what hell may be like, and it was not fun at all.

The high light of dry dock is going ashore, Dubai was a great experience. Very hot and humid, but lots to see and do. We log-out in to our ship at about 1800H. We didn't waste a second and saw a lot of Dubai.

It's a really clean and tidy place and a massive amount of construction going on. It's like a competition of who can build the biggest and most breathtaking buildings. There is no such thing as a 'plain' building in Dubai - it's really an eye opener.

We then spent the night touring around the largest mall in the world the Dubai Mall. It was a little bit tiring, I was surprise seeing our kababayan everywhere , there's a time that you will feel your in Divisoria or Shoemart, but fun all the same. The next couple of days we do shopping I bought some good stuffs a 48" Plasma TV a Home Theater and PS3 160gb. Others tried a different kind of fun. Dubai's infamous night life. I will not go into details but let's just say it's a great experience..

All in al it was a revitalizing experience, a memorable one and hope to experience it all over again.

Anyways, enough from me. Check out the photos! Off to Philippines now...