RV on a ship

fanrgs wrote:

Trackrig wrote:
Then there are several barge lines. There's AML (Alaska Marine Lines) which is part of the Lynden Transport companies. . . Also the barges take about 14 days to make it from the States to Anchorage because they stop in all of the various ports to load and unload cargo. Bill

AML was the shipper that the AF used to resupply Shemya Island. It took a month to get there from Seattle and they got two barges a year--one in April and one in October.

Because Shemya had no natural harbor, the barge had to wait until the Bering Sea swells died down sufficiently to land at the dock on the NW side of the island. I got there in early November and the October barge had been anchored offshore for a month waiting to dock and unload. The day after we arrived, it finally docked. The crew and the RORO truck drivers worked 24 hours a day to unload, so the barge could get out before another storm came in.

The barge also had massive fuel tanks. Six months worth of fuel oil for the power plant and diesel and gasoline for all the vehicles had to be pumped into the tank farm at the same time the containers were being unloaded. It was a very impressive operation, planned almost to the minute, to get the job done as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Wow....this takes me back. Did a construction project on Shemya in the early 90's and the boiler and air handlers were on the October barge. The boilermakers ended up getting two -three weeks of pay while we waited for the weather to die down enough for the barge to get in. A heat exchanger fell overboard during that time.....in the end, it was clear why we typically put a 200 - 300% markup on all of the soft costs (labor, OH, freight) of doing work in the Aleutians.

I think I made 4 flights to Shemya (for that project) and on one of them the outgoing 727 did consecutive 90 degree rolls (opposite directions)....a very interesting experience.