Royal Visit to Antigua - Cunard's Queen Mary 2

The Queen Mary 2, flagship of the Cunard line and the largest ocean liner ever built, graced the shores of Antigua today. However, due to its size the vessel couldn't berth in St.John's harbour and was instead moored outside of Falmouth harbour. Passengers had to be transported to and from the Falmouth Marina using the ship's tenders.

 When it was launched in 2004, specifically for the Southampton to New York transatlantic route, the purpose built Queen Mary 2 was then the largest passenger ship but has since been superseded by behemoths such as Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas. It still however, retains the title of the largest ocean liner. This brings into focus the distinction between a cruise ship and an ocean liner.

Queen Mary 2 taken from Windward Bay, Antigua

Characteristics of an Ocean Liner

• Designed to transport passengers between two points
• Deep draught to increase stability
• Built very strongly to withstand the harsh sea conditions (eg the steel used to construct the Queen Mary 2 hull is 40% thicker than that used for regular cruise ships)
• Bow is long and tapered in order to cut through waves
• Very fast (top speed of Queen Mary 2 is 30 knots compared to a top speed of 22 knots for the Oasis of the Seas)
• Life boats are typically positioned much higher above the water line to avoid waves reaching them

The Queen Mary 2 left Southampton on Dec-15 for its last Westbound crossing for the season arriving in New York on Dec-22. It  then embarked on its Christmas cruise to the Caribbean which includes stops in St.Thomas (Dec-26), Antigua (Dec-27), St.Kitts (Dec-28), St.Maarten (Dec-29), British Virgin Islands (Dec-30) and New York. (Jan-3). After completing the Eastbound  crossing back to Southampton on Jan-10, the Queen Mary 2 will then embark on its annual World Cruise.

While it would have been great to have the ship docked in St.John's, the trek to Falmouth and the photo opportunities it provided was well worth the effort.

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Total disregard for Things Historic in Antigua and Barbuda

As I took the following photograph on 29-Aug-2013 I reflected on how far we've come as a nation; in particular as far as construction methods and housing is concerned. Imagine the hard work that was put in by our fore fathers to construct the numerous sugar mills on the plantations which dotted Antigua & Barbuda's landscape.

You can imagine then my disgust on hearing, less than a month later, that the sugar mill in my thoughtfully captured photograph had been destroyed . A structure which stood for hundreds of years, withstanding numerous hurricanes and earthquakes was wantonly torn-down for the sake of a piece of 'ole' iron; destined most likely to be sent off to some distant land as scrap.

Sadly, at this rate there will be none left. As a tourist destination but most importantly for our own sense of pride, such action is myopic.

Below is a map of the Sugar Mill sites I've been able to identify so far. There are quite a few more around the island so this will definitely be an ongoing project. Click on the icons to view a pictures of the Sugar Mills.

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More Cars for Antigua's already busy roads

Another shipment of cars, to add to Antigua's already crowed streets, arrived in St. John's on 29-Aug-2013 on board the vehicle carrier Patara.

Patara (capacity of 5000 cars) left Yokohama, Japan on 31-Jul-2013 stopping at Balboa, Panama then transited the Panama Canal for scheduled stops at Jamaica, Santo Domingo and St.Kitts before arriving in Antigua. Within 6 hours of berthing, the ship left Antigua for its remaining ports of call namely, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, St.Lucia, Barbados, St.Vincent, Trinidad, Venezuela (Puerto Cabello), Charleston (North Carolina USA), Brunswick (Georgia USA) before exiting the Panama Canal on 21-Sep-2013 on its way back to Japan. 

This was Patara's second visit for the year having previously stopped here on 28-May-2013.

While I'm unable to say exactly how many cars were offloaded, previous inquiries revealed that typically up to 150 vehicles are received per shipment. More than likely the majority of the vehicles are reconditioned and from my distant vantage point I was able to confirm that the ever popular Noah van and Toyota Vista models featured prominently in the procession off the ship.

Maiden voyage of the World's largest ship mapped

Over the past 45 days, shipping enthusiasts around the world have been following with keen interest the passage of the Maersk McKinney Moller, the world's largest ship, on its maiden voyage from Asia to Europe. For those unable to make it to one of the ports of call, services such as marinetraffic.com and Maersk's excellent use of its social media channels kept us up to date on the ship's progress. The interactive map at the bottom of this post seeks to capture some of those moments.

Named after the now deceased former CEO of Maersk shipping line, the Maersk McKinney Moller has a capacity of 18000TEU (ie 18000 twenty foot containers). To put the sheer size of the vessel into context, this capacity is equivalent to:

• 111 million pairs of shoes or 
• 36000 cars or 
• 182 million iPads

The previous record of 16000TEU was held by CMA CGM's Marco Polo.

The Maersk McKinney Moller is the first of 20 ships in the new Triple-E class which Maersk will be bringing on online within the next 2 years. The Triple-E class of vessels are so named because of the Economy of scale, Energy efficiency and Environmental improvements they are designed to achieve.

For example, these ships will reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 50% per container moved. According to Maersk the main innovations which contribute to this reduction are:

• Two ‘ultra-long stroke’ engines, an innovative efficient shape and advanced waste heat recovery system saving up to 10% of main engine power.

• Two four-blade propellers instead of the 6-blade larger propeller found on Maersk E-type class vessels.

The second Triple-E vessel, Majestic Maersk has being deployed and is currently enroute to Europe on its maiden journey. The third vessel, Mary Maersk, is undergoing sea trials.

The ships are being built Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) of South Korea at a cost of US $190 million each.
Following is an interactive map of Maersk McKinney Moller's maiden journey. Click on the icons to view pictures and video of the ship.

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Antigua and Barbuda - Top of the heap in ICT

As a small island state, it is not often that we get the opportunity to be first at anything so when we do we must bask in the glory. Since the early nineteen nighties Antigua and Barbuda has been at the forefront in the deployment of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in the Caribbean.

Antigua and Barbuda, in 1995, was the first island in the Eastern Caribbean to connect to the internet; albeit then via a mere 64 kilobit circuit! As a result it became the hub for many of the neighbouring islands as they too eventually made it to the World Wide Web.

The availability of internet connectivity provided the impetus for a once thriving online Gaming industry;the demise of which is well documented in the WTO complaint (DS285) brought against the United States for the measures implemented to restrict the cross border supply of Gambling and Betting services. In another first, Antigua and Barbuda won the case but it remains to be seen whether or not the compensation being sought will ever be awarded. 

Government initiatives such as the waiver of duties on the import of computers for personal use and the opening of the Antigua and Barbuda Institute of Technology to provide training further helped to heighten the awareness of ICTs.

Antigua and Barbuda was one of the first states to introduce competition in the provision of mobile and internet services. Currently there are 3 mobile operators and 4 internet providers on island.

It is no wonder then that Antigua and Barbuda is top of the heap in ICT as the following data from the International Telecommunications Union, via Google's public data initiative reveals. 

Arrival of Gates for Panama Canal Expansion Project

The Heavy Lift vessel Sun Rise (formerly named STX Rose 2), arrived in Cristobal, Panama on Aug 19 with the first four of the sixteen new lock gates for the Panama Canal expansion programme. With its name change executed just prior to departure, the vessel left the Italian port of Trieste on 22-July. 

On the way it passed just 15 miles south of the historic Nelson's Dockyard in  Antigua as it entered the Caribbean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean ea for the last leg of the journey. 

According to a Panama Canal Authority press release dated 25-July-2013, the gates, weighing an average of 3,300 tons each, were constructed in Italy by subcontractor Cimolai S.P.A. and unlike the mitre gates currently in use, are designed to roll into place.

As shown in the following MarineTraffic.com screen shot, the site where the gates are being offloaded is at the entrance of the new lock currently under construction. 

Video showing arrival of Gates aboard Sun Rise

Video showing the process used to load/unload and transport Gates

Gates being manufactured

 

The Panama Canal Expansion project will facilitate the passage of much larger ships (refered to as Post Panamax class) and  is scheduled to be completed in 2015. The following Panama Canal Authority video gives an insight on the progress being made on the project.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog!

In Antigua we often use the phrase "Too Nuff", generally in a negative way, to refer to persons who have a tendency of being nosy, or of persons who like to be in the limelight.
We also use "Nuff" (shortened for "Enough") in the context of there being a lot of a particular item. For example we would say "Nuff Respect" to indicate our high regard for an individual or "Nuff Money"to highlight the abundance of this illusive resource.

I assure you that my reason for writing this blog is not to be "Nuff" but to share with you "Nuff Information" on my experiences of life in Antigua, my love for technology, nature and life in general. I am indeed amazed at how the internet has transformed our lives and exposed us to a wealth of information we only could have dreamed of having access to a few years ago. I fully intend to utilize it in a positive way.

Thanks for visiting!

"Nuff Respect"