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Day four at Casey. Fuel hose deployed and anchored yesterday, with pumping commencing at 1623. Conditions were excellent: calm, sunny, and relatively warm in the sun (after all, it is summer down here!). The fuel farm monitors from station and ship, and all the IRB (Inflatable Rubber Boat) drivers and crew spent the whole night monitoring tank levels and patrolling the fuel hose. Perhaps I didn’t explain very well yesterday, that the fuel hose is deployed from the ship to the shore over water (about 1.5 km of hose) to a fixed shore point, and from there it goes to the station’s fuel tanks. It’s necessary to have a constant watch on the line, to protect it from moving ice in the bay, and of course, monitor for any signs of leakage. We were pumping from the ship at a rate of just under 40,000 litres per hour, and in total pumped ashore nearly 670,000 litres of fuel.
The light last night was superb, and combined with mirror-smooth waters and porpoising penguins (penguining penguins?) made for a unique and truly remarkable “workplace”. The delightful conditions were replaced this morning by a metallic-looking ocean and sky, with light snow falling, but still no wind. At 0906, the ship had no more fuel left to pump, and we all breathed a sigh of relief. As I write this, the fuel hose has been collected back on its reel, and we are about to recommence cargo operations in full (we managed to get a few things ashore yesterday and this morning while pumping was underway).
Regards, Doug, Aaron & Margaret
Map
A map showing Australia and Antarctica. The map shows the journey of one voyage that has occured in the season, with each route highlighted in a distinct colour.