If you've got nothing better to do.........

[subseastu]

You can check the progress of my ship as we make our way to Reijka, Croatia for conversion to pipe laying. Should only take 9 months (the conversion not the passage)!!!

Follow the link, in the top left corner is 3 boxes (go to area, go to port, go to vessel) In "go to vessel" box put SAMPSON. This will load a map up like google earth showing near real time info on us.

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/

You can zoom in and out using the sliding bar on the left of the screen and if you click on "show vessel track" on the information box the pops up about my ship it'll show you where we've been.

Enjoy, if theres nothing beter to do................like watch paint dry, mow the lawn, figure out where that stain came from on the ceiling.

[Steve.r]

Says 'out of range' for me Stu You haven't gone over the edge have you ??

[Dedworth]

Very good - no response (out of range) when I put in SAMPSON. Had a look at Pompey but the water bus that took me to the Museum of Naval Firepower and the Sub Museum yesterday wasn't shown

[subseastu]

Hmmmmmmmm strange, it was working a couple of hours ago.

[Dedworth]

I think my water bus might be on there labelled as VTS - they've got the Gosport Ferry

[subseastu]

VTS - Vessel Tracking Service. Basically its like air traffic control for ships within port authority waters

[grahamw48]

Phew, that's a relief....thought you'd gone down with the ship for a minute mate.

[stevewool]

i found you, cant see you waving

[Steve.r]

Similar to Stu's site, try this one too. I like this as you can see the type of aircraft and where it is coming from and where it is going to.

http://www.flightradar24.com/

[Terpe]

Similar to Stu's site, try this one too. I like this as you can see the type of aircraft and where it is coming from and where it is going to.

http://www.flightradar24.com/

That's one scary sight. Mindblowing

[grahamw48]

Amazing !....Mesmerising !

I've just been lost on there for about an hour !

Bookmarked now, for future use.

[joebloggs]

i wonder if i could put the wife and kids in a container with food and water and track them online to the phils

[Steve.r]

i wonder if i could put the wife and kids in a container with food and water and track them online to the phils

I wondered if you could track a container that has your balikbayan box on. I always wonder which route it takes.

[joebloggs]

I wondered if you could track a container that has your balikbayan box on. I always wonder which route it takes.

could take a couple of months thou , like stu says watching paint dry

[joebloggs]

i wonder if those Somali pirates are using this

[Dedworth]

I wondered if you could track a container that has your balikbayan box on. I always wonder which route it takes.

I've often wondered the same I suppose if you asked Mr Man at the box co nicely he might be able to give you the vessels name off the waybill. Some years ago I was dealing with some products originating from Malaysia and my importer told me that sometimes rather than it being seaborne container all the way there was some sort of express route which involved shipping it to Vladivostock and then it was put on a train to somewhere in Western Russia and moved into Europe that way

[fred]

Current Vessels in Range: No Records Found..

[subseastu]

If you still can't see me try putting mediterranean into the area box, that should help locate the ship better. Pirates are known to use AIS
(automatic identifying system) to help pick their targets. Before it was all fairly random, some used to bribe shipping agents to get info
on a particular vessel and its next port so they could intercept it. Common pratice in certain parts of the world was to lie to the agent
and give him a bogus destination, sail off in that direction and then alter course 50 miles or so out of the harbour and proceed to your
real port.

[grahamw48]

What a sad state of affairs.

We can waste money on basket case states like Afghanistan, but can't go in and sort Somalia out.

[Dedworth]

The wrong message is often given to these pirates

HMS Nursemaid: Shame as Navy seizes 17 armed Somalis, gives them halal meat and nicotine patches... then sets them free!

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz1Vq7oPlqD

It's no good pandering to scum like this, they should just be blown out of the water.

[subseastu]

Somalia will never get sorted out due to the fact that unlike many of these other countries that we are involved in with a conflict
to bring "demoracy" Somalia hasn't got alot in the way of mineral wealth and therefore is not really worth bothering about. The
worldwide awareness of the merchant navy fleet is next to non exsistant, therefore many are completely ignorant to the dangers faced
by the average jolly jack now. You ask the average person in the street in the Uk how the vast majority of the food, consumables, white
goods etc come to this island nation. Most have not got a clue that the vast proportion comes in via shipping.

[joebloggs]

by the average jolly jack now. You ask the average person in the street in the Uk how the vast majority of the food, consumables, white
goods etc come to this island nation. Most have not got a clue that the vast proportion comes in via shipping.

"It costs less to ship a container between China and Felixstowe than it does to then send it on the road to Scotland," says Philip Damas, research director at shipping consultancy Drewry

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4943382.stm

[subseastu]

This is due to previous uk goverments (both parties) blindly pumping massive amounts of cash into a motorway / road network that can
bearly cope. If they'd maintained inland waterways, harbours and ports around the coast and up river then transportation costs would be vastly
reduced and the roads would be alot clearer. Cost would be lowered as its more efficent to transport larger quantities (in a small ship
for instance) than single units (trucks).Chances are pollution levels would also be reduced.

[grahamw48]

Or if the short-sighted idiots hadn't closed most of the railway network.

[subseastu]

Or if the short-sighted idiots hadn't closed most of the railway network.

This is also very true. Another industry that was more concerned with profits and bonuses than providing a proper service that was
actually maintained to a safe standard