On Thursday, March 24th KMA sent me an e-mail announcing to me that the ship will be in Montevideo on March 31st and that an e-mail will inform me the day before the time of loading. The told time was at 4 p.m. on March 31st. I was at the port around 3 p.m., Socorro expected me for the formalities to give the certificate of temporary admission of my truck as well as my passport and the notebook of yellow fever vaccination that the captain will keep up to Antwerp. My truck remained at quay in front of Grande Buenos Aires until 23:00. I put it on board to install it in the immense car park. I was the only passenger!
On Saturday, April 1st Grande Buenos Aires installed and left the
Montevideo port at 10:00. I visited Montevideo on July 8th, 2016.
Here
The long way towards Antwerp started to finish on an unknown date
around May 10th. Good voyage.
Sunrise |
M/V Grande Buenos Aires arrived on Monday, April 3rd around 19:30 at Paranagua, port of Curitiba. The setting at quay in a crenel between two container ships is carried out by two tug boats pushing it in the crenel. This very delicate operation takes a certain time. The view of the port from the top of boat is impressive; the lighting of the warehouse of the containers, the prospect for the cranes, the noria of the trucks transporting of the containers then the lowering of the right back door of the boat is a surrealist spectacle. The loading of boat was carried out all the night to leave the following day around 10:00.
M/V G.B.A entered, on Tuesday, April 4 around 21:05, the bay of Santos, port of Sao Paulo, second city of Brazil. The setting at quay followed the same procedure as in Paranagua. The view of the wearing of night was fairy-like. The loading of the boat was very long a large number of containers then new trucks manufactured at Sao Paulo, Scania and Mercedes-Benz as well as machines of building sites CAT, Caterpillar.
M/V G.B.A surfed in the splendid bay of Rio de Janeiro passing at the bottom of Pao de Açucar as well as the majestic statue of Cristo Redentor. I had visited the city on June 14th, 2016, here. The setting at quay at the bottom of Ponte President Costa e Silva was carried out on April 6th around 7:55. The loading was rather fast because there were few containers. But the departure was only the following day around 16:00.
M/V GBA arrived at Dakar on April 14th around 7:50 am for the setting at quay. Then it was a ballet of containers on the storage platform. Heat was already intense; I spent most of the day in my air-conditioned cabin. The following day, the lifting of the back door, drawbridge, was carried out around 17:00 during 15 minutes; then lifting of the mooring ropes around 17:40 after the pilot's rise on board. Finally the exit of the port was effective at 18:00.
M/V GBA arrived on April 16th around 1:00 am at Banjul, Gambia, that is to say approximately 7:00 after having left Dakar. I attended the unloading of the hold as from 5:00 am; it still night. Unloading then the loading lasted until April 17th around 5:00 am. The starting procedure started around 10:30 and the exit of the port was effective around 11:00. The payment of a visa is obligatory even without leaving the boat; the price of 75€ is perceived by BOLLORÉ, Transport & Logistics, French company!
On Monday, April 24th M/V GBA crossed the Pas-de-Calais, Strait of Dover, broad of about thirty kilometers while skirting the French coasts. Many boats surfed English Chanel, La Manche, on the rails of Ushant which ensures building safety. I noted that with the view of the French coasts connection GSM was of good quality but of course no Internet.
Then around 16:00 M/V GBA dropped anchor some share in the estuary of the Thames during 24:00 expecting the authorization to go to quay in Tilbury on April 25th around 21:00. Unloading started around 21:30 until the following day 13:00.
On Wednesday, April 26th the boat did not move towards the downstream of the river but continued upstream during approximately 1 kilometer to stay around 14:30 at quay under immense cranes to discharge the containers front stored before until 23:00. The port of Tilbury does not have a rational organization a quay for unloading by the right back drawbridge then another quay for front storage!
The setting at quay of M/V GBA began on Friday, April 28th around 7:30 with a lowering of the drawbridge around 8:00 for unloading by the back door. Around 11:00 I left the boat to go by taxi to a ATM for withdrawing Euros with my second credit card in the term on April 30th! I was back for the lunch. The ship left Hamburg on Saturdays around 16:00 towards the mouth of the Elba river.
But on Sunday, April 30th M/V GBA stopped around 15:00 to station near the coasts on a carpark where there were already a large number of boats.
On Wednesday morning the May 3rd M/V GBA arrived around 11:00 in the hopper of entry at the port of Antwerp. It stationed there to leave there around 12:00. It finished its setting at quay at 13:00. Around 14:00 a member of the crew came to seek me to go by taxi to immigration. We left there around 17:00. I returned to the boat to leave my vehicle wedged between two files of trucks of which one of them did not start. He was drawn by a machine from handling all brakes applied on 20 meters. Finally I left the port of Antwerp around 18:00! The voyage from Montevideo to Antwerp was finished after 33 days at sea.
I left M/V Grande Buenos Aires by Grimaldi on Wednesday May 3rd at Antwerp. Look at the border crossing, here