Evening Arrival of Cygnus Ocean at the Marine Terminal

The landscape was dotted with clouds of dense smoke as we approached Subic on a still Saturday afternoon in December. The rainy season was over, the main rice harvest was complete, and farmers were burning off the stubble (still allowed in the Philippines). A woody, smokey smell drifted into the car. 

Between the barren or burning fields, men were toiling shin-deep in the waters of newly-irrigated rice fields; planting a second crop for the coming dry season. The young shoots were a brilliant lime green that hurt the eye. The mirror-surface of the water reflected the verdant mountains as well as the massive blue sky dappled with cumulus clouds. 

After passing this broad patchwork of rice fields, the road climbs steeply to cross the last mountain before the long plunge down to into the Subic Bay area. Near the bottom of the winding, forested descent, there are glimpses of the port area.

On reaching the water's edge we were immediately treated to the sight of a bulk carrier coming gently in to dock. I took the photo below from the roadside, using my cellphone camera. 

Cygnus Ocean Arriving in Subic, Dec 2014

Source: Richard Stutely

As you can see, the ship was magnificently back lit by a stunning sunset. You can just about make out two tugs alongside and one astern, quietly pushing and guiding her into the East Bulkhead of the Marine Terminal. I am always impressed by the power of these little tug boats. Despite the calm we could barely hear the deep rumble of their engines. Thinking back, it is almost as if we could feel the engines rather than hear them. 

In just a couple of minutes after we arrived the carrier was docked with no fuss or noise. A peaceful end to the ship's sailing and to our journey. The sun slid down behind the mountains and its glow was replaced by twinkling lights around the bay. 

The vessel we saw dock was the Cygnus Ocean, launched in 2013 and owned by Diamond Star Shipping in Singapore (gross tonnage of 33,000, 197m overall, 32m beam, drawing 9.1m). She has a flush deck with a forecastle and five holds for transporting grains, coals, ores and steel products. The four 30-ton deck cranes allow cargo loading and unloading in ports without such facilities, such as Marine Terminal. 

According to marinetraffic.com the Cygnus Ocean left Istanbul on 13 November 2014, was at Suez on 18 November, then averaged over 10 knots and wasn't much more than 100km distant from Subic on 17 December. Presumably she had to stand off waiting for a berth. If we had arrived earlier in the day on 20 December we might have seen her predecessor leaving the same pier. 

I wonder if the delay caused demurrage (extra costs for the charter party/shipper). This was probably the least of their worries. I am guessing that the cargo was wheat flour. On 17 November, a few days after the carrier sailed from Turkey, the Philippine Department of Agriculture imposed anti-dumping duties of up to 16% on Turkish flour (see, eg, PhilStar), although Turkish exporters deny allegations of dumping (see, eg, Manila Bulletin).

The image below shows the port area, which is on the east side of Subic Bay. You can see the road running from the top right hand corner, diagonally towards the sea, and the Marine Terminal seemingly continuing the road into the semi-enclosed area of water top right.

Subic Bay Port Area

Source: Google Maps

We passed the Marine Terminal about a day later, and there were ships unloading at both bulkheads of the terminal and at the adjacent Sattler Pier. More on these in a later blog.

Footnote: Cygnus, by the way, is a constellation in the night sky near the Milky Way, but you probably knew that.