Category Archives: HS DEBUSSY
Voyage HS Debussy (August – December 2014)
I joined HS Debussy together with my husband in the beautiful port of Valencia at the beginning of August 2014. As far as we had known before stepping on board, the vessel was engaged in a Mediterranean Sea – East USA Coast trade with two extra ports in Mexico and it was supposed to remain on the same route for at least 3 months, the duration of the charter with Hapag Lloyd. As our future was uncertain – starting with the beginning of November – I enjoyed the given route very much and I was looking forward to the perspective of one month anchoring as well. In the end, things didn’t come out exactly as I expected them to be, but much better.
Transiting the Strait of Dardanelles
Dardanelles Strait (Çanakkale Bogazi) is situated in the northwestern part of Turkey and connects the Aegean Sea with the Marmara Sea. It is 40 miles long (70 km) and 1 to 4 miles wide (2 to 6 km) and can be transited in both ways.
Transiting the Strait of Bosphorus
The Strait of Bosphorus (İstanbul Boğazi) is situated in the South Eastern Europe and South Western Asia and it connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara, separating Asian Turkey from European Turkey. It is 19 mile long (31 km) and varies between 0.5 and 2.8 mile wide.
Visiting home ports
More than 25 years ago most of Romanian seafarers used to join their vessels in one of our local ports and they usually came back – at the end of their very long contracts – in the same ports, too. Coming to the home port by ship used to be the normal routine for a few thousands seamen who didn’t have to worry at all about their transportation when they were embarking or disembarking as their trip from ship to home (or the other way around) lasted at most for few hours and it didn’t involved any plane.
Fishing at Piraeus anchorage
Staying at anchorage for a few days is not a good option for a passenger who is travelling on board a container vessel – and who is paying for every day of his/her voyage – but for the crew it is a very good opportunity to slow down their rhythm and change the daily routine.
Halloween Party on board HS Debussy
Halloween is the funniest celebration that can take place on board. Most people may think Halloween is a children’s type of holiday, but when you are on the vessel – away from your family and friends – you are allowed to have your part of fun and a distraction like this can be the best and easiest alternative. Having fun – from time to time – is a way of recharging the batteries after a hard week of work and preparing yourself for a next one. The more people involved in the event, the funnier it could get and even the evenings that follow can be brighten up by the hundreds of photos and videos everybody shares with everybody.
Table Tennis Competition on board
During long passages across the oceans of the world, seafarers have the time to enjoy at least 3-4 spare hours every day and do the things they like most. Some of them prefer to spend their evening time watching movies in their cabins or in the common areas while others enjoy different and more exciting activities like video games, chess, backgammon, darts or table tennis. After all, being on a vessel doesn’t mean that you have to work 24/7 because you have a fixed schedule of work and resting hours and everybody is entitled to have a few hours of leisure time every day.
