JonDLundyn Parker 2 24
February 27th 2007 22:33
.So apart from the government agencies keeping shipping away, the ship skippers themselves were very reluctant to come near. The tide washed hard up against the hull and tried to push it away. In this narrow stretch
Of water it washed through at over six knots. Restrained in both flood and ebb, it set up a dramatic wave of energy against the hull. To make sure the ship would hold fast it was run aground with the use of her bow anchor. She had run across the channel and dropped the anchor port side then as it bit into the bottom the helm was put over with engines hard astern and she was run up on to the rock. Then her anchor chain was slackened to allow her bow to swing with the full force of the tide, onto the sand bar. With months of tides having washed over her she was now well fast.
“Ocean Kings” crew were still held hostage on board in their mess room. All ranks including the captain or “old man” were bunched in together and slept on the floor. They stank but were occasionally allowed on deck to hose themselves off with the saltwater fire pump. They were well guarded, though it did not take a lot of manpower to do this. Two men constantly out side the door was sufficient. All matter of plans to escape had been made and dismissed as not feasible. It was just too hard to get out of their prison. At first they had banged at the door demanding one thing and another but refusal to listen dimmed their hopes after a while. They had television and books but that was all. The cook looked after the crew and the terrorists had their own cook that worked alongside the ships cook, keeping an eye on him as much as cooking for his own men.
Ali Ibrahim who was the leader of the gang on board was a close and staunch ally of Ramid. He had been with Ramid on many escapades and together they had advanced the cause of Islam and their leader. This time though, Ali could not see a big success. Yes they had received international attention for over two months. They had managed to bring the whole country of Australia to its knees. Financially and physically it was all but ruined and would take years to build up its resources. Mentally though the tough Australians were fighting back. The huge armies of volunteers were everywhere it seemed. Even out here on the reef they were still cleaning up the carcasses of the dolphins and whales. They were still out there fighting the fires and they had thwarted the plans for polluting the water supplies.
Ali was in the captains cabin. He did not think of it as such but as his own, he and his men had boarded and completely taken over the ship and it was his by right of conquest. If someone could take it off him? He smiled at the probability. “Just let them try” he thought. He had out the plans for the ship and was tracing the pipes that controlled the oil again. The oil was pumped on to the ship from an outside source but out of the boat by the sips own pumps. It was the mass of pipes and cocks that ran across the decks that he was slowly staring to make sense of. The tanks in the middle row of the ship could, he resolved, be pumped into the outside tanks once they were holed and had lost enough oil to take up more of the crude. These cocks could then have their handles broken off or seised so that they could not be turned off. Again the engine room door could be managed so it would not open without cutting through with an oxy-torch. This would be the best he could do the ensure maximum damage.
Of water it washed through at over six knots. Restrained in both flood and ebb, it set up a dramatic wave of energy against the hull. To make sure the ship would hold fast it was run aground with the use of her bow anchor. She had run across the channel and dropped the anchor port side then as it bit into the bottom the helm was put over with engines hard astern and she was run up on to the rock. Then her anchor chain was slackened to allow her bow to swing with the full force of the tide, onto the sand bar. With months of tides having washed over her she was now well fast.
“Ocean Kings” crew were still held hostage on board in their mess room. All ranks including the captain or “old man” were bunched in together and slept on the floor. They stank but were occasionally allowed on deck to hose themselves off with the saltwater fire pump. They were well guarded, though it did not take a lot of manpower to do this. Two men constantly out side the door was sufficient. All matter of plans to escape had been made and dismissed as not feasible. It was just too hard to get out of their prison. At first they had banged at the door demanding one thing and another but refusal to listen dimmed their hopes after a while. They had television and books but that was all. The cook looked after the crew and the terrorists had their own cook that worked alongside the ships cook, keeping an eye on him as much as cooking for his own men.
Ali Ibrahim who was the leader of the gang on board was a close and staunch ally of Ramid. He had been with Ramid on many escapades and together they had advanced the cause of Islam and their leader. This time though, Ali could not see a big success. Yes they had received international attention for over two months. They had managed to bring the whole country of Australia to its knees. Financially and physically it was all but ruined and would take years to build up its resources. Mentally though the tough Australians were fighting back. The huge armies of volunteers were everywhere it seemed. Even out here on the reef they were still cleaning up the carcasses of the dolphins and whales. They were still out there fighting the fires and they had thwarted the plans for polluting the water supplies.
Ali was in the captains cabin. He did not think of it as such but as his own, he and his men had boarded and completely taken over the ship and it was his by right of conquest. If someone could take it off him? He smiled at the probability. “Just let them try” he thought. He had out the plans for the ship and was tracing the pipes that controlled the oil again. The oil was pumped on to the ship from an outside source but out of the boat by the sips own pumps. It was the mass of pipes and cocks that ran across the decks that he was slowly staring to make sense of. The tanks in the middle row of the ship could, he resolved, be pumped into the outside tanks once they were holed and had lost enough oil to take up more of the crude. These cocks could then have their handles broken off or seised so that they could not be turned off. Again the engine room door could be managed so it would not open without cutting through with an oxy-torch. This would be the best he could do the ensure maximum damage.
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