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Fuel pumping commenced yesterday at 4pm but not a drop of fuel reached Davis until all of the checklists had been completed and associated paperwork had been signed off. So far we have pumped over 600 000 litres which over three quarters of the way.
Once pumping has started, the fuel line stretching between ship and shore must be patrolled 24 hours a day to make sure there are no leaks or problems. This requires a large number of people not normally associated with bulk fuel transfers to get involved. For example, one wonders if Branka and Jared ever expected that a career choice of atmospheric chemistry would find them on the Antarctic sea ice in the small hours of the morning, trudging along a two kilometre fuel hose in -10 degrees Celsius.
Fresh water transfers have also been running overnight. Two 9000 litre tanks have been towed back and forth between the station and ship and this morning we sent the last of 22 loads off for a total of almost 200 000 litres of fresh water. This will help Davis support its recent population explosion although we are hoping that enough water has been left on the ship for our own use. On the plus side, we're all heading over to the station just as soon as the Jacuzzi is up to temperature.
This morning, we also discharged 6 passengers bound for Mawson via the Twin Otter aircraft.
There is a very long way to go in this operation but we are well on track. Most people will have a rest this afternoon and evening and then it will be back into cargo operations tomorrow. The weather outlook is favourable.
Lloyd & Andrew
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.