At sea, at sea, that's where she longs to be…This old line seems to fit perfectly on our brave ship, her bow ploughing the waves as if she enjoys it. But do we, who are travelling with her, working on her, living in her - do we ever think of what's moving us? With this thought in mind it might be a good idea to climb down into the deepest recesses where all propulsion comes from. Here sits the power that drives us across the oceans, that gently manouevers us into ports and fjords, that pushes FRAM through the ice with vigour. And you do hear it. You think the control room is a noisy place? Just enter the next room through the heavy door, but don't forget your ear protection! Four huge diesel generators (MAK, which is a German make) hammer their song in the belly of the boat. It's deafening, everyone who works here must be a lip reader!
And also here, especially here, maintenance is a constant chore. The guys just take apart a oil cleaning filter, it's routine for them, but looking at the amount of available tools you realized that this is highly specialized work. Thanks for all that, thanks for working so hard down here, where nobody seems to notice, in order to make this vessel what it is.
And now we are arriving in Kiel Ostseekai, in Germany after a long while.Thanks to those who leave and a warm welcome to all the new guests. Have a good trip!!
