[DeepDraft] My first serious encounter with biofouling was at Teluk Semangka, Indonesia, where my vessel, a modern VLCC, was deployed as a storage tanker for 1.5 months. On paper, it was a straightforward operation with maintain position, change anchors every 15 days, perform routine maintenance, and resume normal service when required. The crew planned on enjoying shore leave and local Luwak coffee, but the anchorage had other plans.
The fouling we experienced was phenomenal, with a thick, calcified crust across the hull that far exceeded the light growth seen during normal trading. Up close, the organic decay carried that unmistakable, pungent stench of rotting marine life. Fully crewed, classed, and insured on paper, she was still no longer the same vessel beneath the waterline.
This experience now has direct relevance to the Hormuz standoff. Reuters reported on 27 May that around 20,000 seafarers remained aboard vessels in the Gulf, while daily transits had fallen from a pre-crisis average of 125 to 140 to about 11 in late May. While the commercial market asks when ships will move, a Master must ask: what condition will they be in when ordered to move? |