Thursday, January 27, 2011

Richard G. Matthiesen


Just offshore from McMurdo sits the Richard G. Matthiesen.
It's the ship that holds an entire year's supply of fuel
for McMurdo and South Pole and will be docking soon at
our Ice Pier. A few years ago we were wintering and the
Matthiesen couldn't make it as far as the Ice Pier. Fuel
hose had to be run several miles into town from the ship.
As a fun trip, we got to take a tour of the ship. Not
often one gets to walk around a Tanker ship. These photos
are from that trip.


It was a cold and blustery day. Perfect for walking around
on a icy deck of a ship...NOT!


I could envision huge waves washing over these decks.
Luckily while we were on it, we were surrounded by ice
and the nearest waves were miles away.


This is the Captain. He kept a close eye on all of us.
Really? I mean, what trouble were we going to get into?
Taking fuel souvenirs? He struck me as the stereotypical
old salt of the sea.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Those photos are really beautiful. Love the black and white. Terrific blog, as well. Keep up the good work!

Benjamin said...

What is the flag that is flying on the front of the ship? It looks like the First Navy Jack to me from 209, but I can't see it close enough to tell.

Tom said...

Not sure Ben...I'll have to check