Steaming South: Respect for our Merchant Mariners
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“Photography is not about cameras, gadgets, and gizmos. Photography is about photographers. A camera didn't make a great picture any more than a typewriter wrote a great novel.” - Peter Adams
The world watched in amazement this past week as global shipping was in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. The ongoing challenge at the Pacific Ocean docks of the United States continues with more than twenty-five cargo ships remaining backed up waiting for a berth to unload their goods, the result of the COVID-caused labor shortage and a surge in orders from American companies anticipating a big increase in consumer spending as the pandemic presumably winds down.
Far more interesting to the casual observer, though, was the drama in the Suez Canal. The cargo ship Ever Given of the Evergreen Line ended up stuck with its bow jammed into the sand on a particularly narrow stretch of the canal. With low tides and heavy tonnage, little could be done to dislodge the ship until high tides arrived. Arrive they did this very morning! With the help of plenty of tugboat power, the Ever Given was floated, freed, and moved to a wider area of the canal where it anchored for inspection and possible repairs. Fortunately, global shipping through the canal can resume.
My photograph this week was in monochrome which I felt helped tell my story better. We see a nice beach scene with some dune fencing in the foreground and lots of surf action with decent breakers. Out at the horizon, though, we can just make out an anonymous cargo ship. And it was the crew of that ship, and the many thousands of similar ships that make up cargo shipping worldwide, who I wished to honor and for whom I wished to offer some thoughts in my post.
I was gently reminded to also honor the longshoremen and Delaware River pilots who commented about their role in Delaware Bay shipping. A "well choreographed machine," one commenter described it. I am looking forward to an opportunity to spend some time with the people of The Pilots' Association For the Bay and River Delaware, ideally going underway with them, photographing them at work, and telling some of their amazing story.
It was an honor to serve my country and I am grateful for the many thanks I received in the comments. I will never forget my time in the world's greatest Navy and the many outstanding sailors with whom I served. As I wrote in my post on March 27, 2021...
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