Pirate Weather

January 11, 2008
For those of you who have been watching the news, I am sure the fog in Shanghai has been mentioned. I have not left the location from which I wrote last due to the thick fog blanketing the river, port, and city of Shanghai. From what the Captain tells us it will take 8 hours from where we are located to actually get into the port (even without the fog). We were supposed to dock the morning of January 10, which proved impossible when the port closed due to weather. The fog lifted slightly and we could see all the ships (mainly cargo ships) surrounding us. As of the first day something like 700 ships have been delayed. We are now at a stand still and only Mother Nature can really solve the issue at hand. Our port programs have all be pushed back and luckily we had an extra free day in Shanghai at the end that has now been commandeered for academic port programs. However, since we did not receive the go-ahead last night it would be impossible to uphold that schedule. Simply looking out the window will tell you we are not moving anywhere. The porthole in my room is about 30 feet above the water line and yet I can see no water. The fog is so dense that i feel we are wrapped in a cloud. As I write, the executive officers are having a meeting to determine what we shall do. Some people have started to go stir crazy, others are using this time catch up on sleep, we are all just sitting here waiting for instruction. We could sit here for days waiting to be allowed to dock or we could turn around and head somewhere else. Hey, two weeks in Thailand would suit me just fine! No matter what, we will be sitting here for at least a day longer, with our only opportunity to begin venturing into the port around 10 pm.

This fog not only effects the course of the Oceanic II but thousands of other vessels coming and going from the world's busiest port. From the little news we are able to get aboard I have read that due to the inability to bring the coal ships into port Shanghai is having a bit of an energy crisis. Highways, trains, airplanes, and ferries have all been shut down and the fog still covers most of the city. I will keep you all posted about where will be going from here. Please email me any articles if you find them. I am unable to really surf the internet so if you could copy and paste any news I would greatly appreciate it. Love to you all!