The ship, loaded with 15,000 tonnes of stone destined for the drywall plant in Caledonia, Ontario, arrived in Hamilton at around 7:00 am on Monday morning. Literally within minutes, the self unloading boom was moved into out over top the designated spot on the dock and unloading began.
This was the scene at around 8:00 am
And 2 hours and 5,000 tonnes later
All the while, the crew is inspecting bearings to ensure none of them overheat and seize up.
The ladder control for broke, so John and Carlos managed to find a previously used one in the parts bin and were busy making the appropriate solder connections.
The base of the self unloading boom with the newly formed pile in the distance.
Within 5 hours, the ship had unloaded itself. While being unloaded, the holds were being spray cleaned with water to make them ready for the next load (grain), which was to be taken to Toledo, Ohio.
Here’s the company’s motto: “Don’t give up the ship.”
At this point, we unloaded as well. All in all, it was a most enjoyable trip. We came away very much impressed by the amount of hard work being done by the ship’s crew under sometimes very difficult circumstances. Nonetheless, the crew seems a very homogeneous unit, collaborating with one another very effectively.
Our thanks to Lower Lakes Towing and to all involved for allowing us to witness and experience firsthand this unique corner of the shipping world.
More pictures can be seen here:
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