(Precedent story: raisins and blueberries in Inukjuak)
The wheelhouse of a cargo ship near Inukjuak in 1982
A radio operator on board a ship anchored near Inukjuak around 1982
Several ships naviguate along the Hudson Bay and Ungava Bay up in Northern Quebec, in the Nunavik, during summer. Sometimes, as flight service specialists (FSS) working for Transport Canada, we are allowed to get on board to take few pictures, like it was the case for the two photos above.
When a ship makes a long journey towards the small villages along the Hudson Bay and Ungava bay, it regularly strikes small pieces of ice. The crew has to determine if the boat’s hull will be resistant enough to stay on the desired path.
Unfortunately, it is not always possible to evaluate the situation correctly and the hull sometimes breaks under the impact with the ice. The photo below shows the ship Kanguk, off Inukjuak in autumn 1982, its hull damaged during its journey towards one of the small villages along the coast.
Kanguk broken hull in Inukjuak
(Next story: enroute for the second posting: Rouyn-Noranda FSS)
The Quebec Harbor is an excellent site to find interesting ideas when it comes to photography. Fog, ice, tugboats and other ships constantly provide new opportunities. In March 2015, during a beautiful day, I was able to capture this scene with the Coriolis II in the Bassin Louise. The use of a Canon 14mm 2.8L fixed lens was necessary to avoid any alterations in the quality of the picture of this wide angle shot. The camera used was a Canon 5D MKII.
You must decide the ideal combination between the following: aperture, speed and ISO. All three are interrelated and choosing one has a direct influence on the other two.
You are facing a beautiful landscape in which you want everything to be in focus: you decide that the aperture is what matters the most. Choosing aperture as the priority is a very popular choice. Let’s consider that you choose F16, which should give you a very interesting depth-of-field but will demand a lot of light. You have to compensate somewhere. If there is not much movement in the scene, and you have access to a tripod, you might decide to choose a slow speed, which allows more time for the light to enter the camera. Doing so, you won’t need to crank the ISO and you will avoid adding useless noise to your picture.
In the picture below, aperture is set at F16. The vegetation in the left corner draws the viewer’s eye toward the pedestrians, and then progressively to the quai des Cageux. We finally see the Quebec bridge, the longest cantilever bridge in the world.
Quai des Cageux, Québec 2012.
If you decide that speed is a priority, you will have to compromise ISO or aperture. ISO will have to be increased to improve light sensibility, but doing so will increase the size of the grain in the picture. Depth-of-field will have to be adjusted as well since a higher speed does not let much light enter the camera. You won’t be able to pick F16 this time. So you will eventually find that there are some out of focus areas in your picture. With a bit of practice, you can be less demanding on the speed, providing you can follow the subject with your camera (it is like if you were slowing down the subject, so less speed is required).
The picture below was a bit particular: it was taken when I was on a boat rocked by waves. The eagle was far away and was traveling in the opposite direction, thus increasing the relative speed of the subject. The Canon 5D MKII was hand held and 400mm focal was necessary. Speed was crancked at 1/1600 and the ISO required was set at 5000. Naturally, the grain in the picture being larger, slightly diminishes the quality. This was a necessary compromise if the eagle was to be taken in flight.
Eagle observed in the Campbell River region. Summer 2012.
It is getting dark and you want a photo with absolutely no noise and you decide that the aperture is what matters the most. You make no compromise and choose ISO 50. This setting requires a lot of light, because the lower the ISO, the higher the demand for light. In order to make sure that your picture will not be blurred, a tripod will be necessary, since there will be an extended exposition time. In the picture below, the shutter has been opened for ten seconds, with a 9.0 aperture, 200mm focal and 50 ISO. Only the small branches in the foreground are blurred.
Note: in general, it is better to use a tripod as often as possible, even in daylight, in order to optimize quality. Choose a heavy enough tripod to prevent vibrations under windy conditions. A light tripod is easy to carry but does not allow for acceptable pictures in adverse weather. It’s obvious that this Queen Mary II photo would not have been as precise if a light tripod had been used. In this case, it would have meant that continual vibrations would have been recorded during 10 seconds. The boat would have been totally blurred.
The book “Ninety Percent of Everything” from author Rose George
If there was only a book to be read to learn about the unknown aspects of the maritime business, it would be “Ninety percent of everything” from Rose George. The New York Times says of this book that “it is consistently absorbing, timely as well as deft and that it cracks open a vast, treacherous, and largely ignored world“.
This book holds real surprises. The author was authorized to come aboard the container ship Maersk Kendal to make the journey from Rotterdam towards Singapore, via the Suez Canal. The reader thus learns about the daily operations on these immense ships. But there is more: because the book is extremely well documented, links are established between significant facts of the maritime history and today’s events.
Maersk is Denmark’s biggest company and its sales are equivalent to 20 % of the gross national product of the country. Maersk’s fleet counts more than 600 ships. Its 2011 income was established at 60 billion dollars, which places it just under Microsoft.
Trade carried by sea increased by 400% since 1970. A majority of ships (68 %) navigate under flags of convenience, such as those of Panama or Liberia. It allows for tax reductions and the hiring of low wage immigrant workers. The seafarers are also less protected because the laws of a specific country differ from those in effect once the ships are in international water. The statistics show that 2000 sailors die at sea annually. On the flags of convenience black list: North Korea, Libya, Sierra Leone and Montenegro.
According to International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) ” the maritime and fishing industries “ continue to allow astonishing abuses of human rights of those working in the sector…Seafarers and fishers are routinely made to work in conditions that would not be acceptable in civilized society””. A striking example: a Manila company requires that seafarers looking for a job work for free for several months before they can be hired officially. It is worth reading this book, if only to acquaint of the MV Philipp seafarers story. The owners of this vessel, Vega Reederei in Germany, paid their Philippine sailors only a third of the agreed salary.
Given that a container ship can unload and reload thousands of containers within 24 hours, the crew does not have time any more to leave the vessel to profit from stop overs in the various countries like that was done in the past. A seafarer is confined on the boat for months.
There is no efficient way to know what is in all the containers. The United States receive annually 17 million containers and can inspect physically only 5 % of them. In Europe, the percentage is lower, between 1 and 3 %. This means of transportation is thus favored for weapons, drugs and human trafficking. Illegal weapons are regularly sent in separate parts, through several containers, and then reassembled once at the destination.
When a container ship goes through the Suez or Panama Canal, there is no rest authorized for the staff. The captain can be on watch for up to 36 hours in a row. The Suez Canal is nicknamed Marlboro Canal because of the packages of cigarettes handed to the customs officers, the police, the security guards and other official representatives in order to avoid delays that would immobilize the vessel for the most improbable reasons. The transit expenses, as for them, amounts to $300,000 for a ship the size of Maersk Kendal.
The Maersk Patras on the St-Lawrence seaway. The shot is taken from La Malbaie in 2012
The reader learns about the facts surrounding the wreckage of several ships, among which the Danny FII and the Erika. He also acquaints with obligations that bind the companies when a maritime shipping accident arises. The bodies and conventions dictating these procedures are UNCLOS, SOLAS and MARPOL.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) considers maritime transport as “a relatively small contributor to atmospheric emissions”. However, if we consider the global scale of trade carried by sea, it then becomes a top issuer of greenhouse gases. The fifteen biggest ships were the cause, in 2009, of a pollution equal to 760 million cars. It is interesting to note that “seventy percent of the pollution occurs within 250 miles of land, near coastlines linked to busy shipping lanes […]. In Los Angeles, half of all smog from sulfur dioxide comes in from ships”.
Part of the book deals with hijacking at sea. Again, Rose George offers extremely pertinent information. She explains what the easiest preys are for the Somalian and Yemenites pirates and indicates that the cargo does not present real interest for the pirates. They wish only for the ransom. The chapter covers the adventure of Maersk Alabama, the recent hijacking of MV Golden Blessing, the international recommended transit corridor (IRTC) along the Yemen coast, the protection obtained by the EU-NAVFOR, the pirate’s behavior once aboard ships and the effects on the equipage, before and during the lengthy negotiations.
She unveils surprising information as to the ways negotiations are made during situations of K&R (Kidnap and ransom). The negotiators, often working from London, know the habits and particular requests of the pirates and kidnappers of every problematic region. They know what amount of money will be demanded and how long it will take to solve a crisis. Act too quickly and the demands will increase. If an owner agrees to pay a high amount of money within a short time, the sums are going to increase. The negotiators thus respect the established scales.
There are so many interesting subjects in this book. The reader even learns about the help offered by rare volunteers to needy sailors, during certain stopovers. It is also possible to learn about the increasing noise pollution at sea, a pollution which largely affects marine mammals. There is also a very interesting section covering rescues at sea and the exploits of the merchant navy sailors in period of conflict.
This is a book that I strongly recommend. You will not see a container ship the same way after reading “Ninety percent of everything “.
