Visiting Shipping
Posted: Monday, 10 April 2006 |
Since Friday evening, we have this rather large ship sheltering off Stornoway. On Saturday, conditions cleared up sufficiently to allow me to see it clearly through binoculars. The company name on its side read Big Lift.
Having googled the name, I managed to find an email address, and I sent an enquiry to the company's offices in Amsterdam. They replied this morning, and were surprisingly forthcoming with their information.
One of our vessel's (the 'Happy River') is presently anchored near Stornoway.
The Happy River has loaded so called modules in the port of Wilhelmshaven (Germany) with destination Fjardaal (Iceland). These modules are part of a aluminum factory, which is presently being built at Fjardaal.
Due to the present adverse weather conditions in the north Atlantic Ocean, the vessel is sheltering off the coast of Scotland, awaiting better weather.
Details of cargo:
5 modules on deck, upto 26 meters high. Maximum weight of one module abt 300 metric tonnes. The Happy River is equiped with two cranes, each SWL 400 metric tonnes (combinable 800 metric tonnes or 800.000 kgs) lifting capacity.
You get some strange visitors to this port.
(With thanks to the Big Lift Shipping Co, and its agent Marcel Pera)
Comments
Fascinating stuff Arnish Lighthouse. I presume the aluminium factory will be making use of the vast amounts of spare, green, cheap, eco friendly electricity they have coming out of the ground as heat up there. Perhaps we should run a wee cable in their direction rather than a dirty great big expensive, polluting, politically unstable gas pipe into Russia? Let the spin merchants do their stuff with that idea.
pondhead from Mull
Thanks Arnish - I was telling everyone you'd let us know what that huge thing we could see in the distance was by the end of today, and I wasn't disappointed. Excellent detective work.
Big Gay Al from Lewis
Further info on this project on website http://www.alcoa.com/iceland/en/alcoa_iceland/fjardaal_background.asp.
Arnish Lighthouse from Stornoway
Pondhead, you forgot to mention predictable in your list of merits for geothermal energy. Yours might well be the most expensive option yet suggested. One must remember this is all about electability - not the cost of electricity so you may be on to a winner!
. from .
I thought it was a prison ship for windfarm objectors (breathes sigh of relief).
Reg from Lewis
Fascinating stuff, and very well written. Everyone wondered what the sip was carrying and now we know. Keep it up!
195 from Aird, Point
I have been in Lewis since late 2004 and am observing life on this fascinating island from an outsider's perspective. I look out at the lighthouse every day - as it looks out over the island and the sea. 
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