Sum Ho

Today, I have an opportunity to observe the unloading of para-xylene from ship tanker to ground/land storage. It's quite interesting experience when seeing at close distance how the ship unloading dangerous material. "Sum Ho" is the ship name and believed to be registered at Korea based on the flag. Load of question playing in my mind, how they barge, how the pull the ship "rope" for ship parking, how this ship men were boarding and being check by imigresen. Asking further to the crews, first thing normally happen when the ship embarking the barge, imegresen, health and the port authority will do the inspection and verify the approved document before allowing the crews to be landing on the sore. Later the process will handover to the ship customer for further preparation before loading. There is a mediator who helping the company to dealing with these authories in ensuring that these peoples are available once the ship embarking. It's about coordinator, poor coordination will delay the unloading activities. I have chance to look at so call "checklist" for the unloading activity. It's like a book of various checklists and documents. At this time about 5000 tan of para xylene to be tranferred to storage which at rated of 500 ton/hr. Estimated to unload the chemical for 10 hours. Bigger the ship and lower the pumping capacity will prolong the unloading process. Once the transfer completed the ship will be back on the sea to next destination. Our life is just like a ship, a captain to lead, a crew to help, a direction to go, each stop with different experience, each experience will tought us something. When come the day..it will be surrended and turn to scrab metal (dispose).