27 Oct. 2015; Malaga, Spain.

We were not the only one in today. When we sailed into the port the MSC Davina was already docked and also the Allure of the Seas who was furthermost in but due to its size still stuck out quite a bit. This evening she will have to go astern all the way through the harbor into open sea as it is too tight for her to swing around inside. We did swing around on arrival in the widest part of the port and there we had about 300 feet clearance but the Allure is 200 feet longer than the Zuiderdam (1187 ft. versus 962 ft.) and that makes it a bit tight. Luckily this ship has so much power so such a maneuver is not really much of an issue.

No doubt this was the biggest Apartment Building in Malaga today.

When I was captain on the Prinsendam, I was once docked nearly under her stern (I felt as if I was a tugboat captain) and the Allure had more horsepower for her bow thrusters than the Prinsendam had in the main engine room. You are talking different dimensions here. So when we looked astern today we saw indeed an “Apartment of the Seas” behind us and the ship took up the complete horizon on the port side.  You cannot talk about a ship here any more, this is a floating resort and the on board approach must be totally different than the way we go about our business on Holland America.

On the other side we had the MSC Davina which with 137,000 Gross Tonnage is also considerably larger than the Zuiderdam and that made us the smallest ship in port today. Proof that whatever our guests say about the size of the new Koningsdam, it will still be a medium sized ship compared to what we saw around us today.  In 1936 the Zuiderdam would have been the largest Ocean Liner in the world if it had been built then and now 80 years later it is one of the smaller ones. Do times change.

I do not know if both ships were full, we are, but if they were then today 6300 + 3400 + 1900 guests were invading Malaga and surrounding areas.  Although it is very much a tourist city with 100’s of thousand living along the coast line, there are a lot of things to see. From the ancient days, as the Romans were very much present here, to the current day, with a Picasso Museum. (I wonder how busy it was there today with 11,000 guests ashore who must all have read the ships shorex brochures) Then there are tours running to the Alhambra which is about 90 minutes away with the Coach from the port.  I hope that all the guests had a good day, as it rained and drizzled for larger periods. Not what you expect in Spain but then it is October and the hot summer is over.

I delved today into shipping legislation. That is for nearly every captain a sort of monthly “enjoyment” as things keep changing and it is not always easy to keep abreast with the latest developments. The IMO (International Maritime Organization) keeps producing new rules and regulations and these become law after a certain number of members have signed up to the agreement and its implementation. That can take a few years but then suddenly –pop- it is there.  Sometimes these regulations are frame works and the “Administrator” that is the Flag State has a certain freedom to implement the regulation. Then there is nothing to withhold the company to add more to it.

What had my attention today were the STCW 2010 Manila Amendments. STCW stands for Standards of Training, Certification and Watch keeping. These came into being in 1978 and regulate the operational requirements for seafarers. In 2010 there was a conference in Manila and various amendments were made to these rules based on the experience gained through the years. More and more of these 2010 amendments are now coming into being with the bulk of them becoming compulsory as of 1 January 2017.  To give a simple example: It was always compulsory to have a cook on board. The question was who would officially be the cook and what is a cook (e.g. under the law) Thus far the solution for the Dutch flagged cruise ships was where we can have a 100 cooks on board: It is the most senior Cook, the Exe Chef and he has to make sure that he has the required paperwork.  What was required was always a little bit vague but now under the 2010 amendments, there is an official Cook certificate. Our Cooks are way above the qualifications required for this certificate but they still have to have one. Thus the Dutch government is now issuing these certificates as long as Holland America can prove that the Exe. Chef can cook.  My interest today was to find out what this certificate looked like and when it was coming out, so I could prepare the Crew Officer.  The crew office is tasked with verifying on behalf of the Master if all crew members have the required certificates so they can be signed on and thus they have to know and understand the details.

This evening we will be sailing towards Cadiz, were we will arrive tomorrow morning. Around midnight we will leave the Mediterranean by passing Gibraltar and then follow the Spanish coast towards Cadiz.

Weather for tomorrow: partly Cloudy, little wind and temperatures around 71oF / 22oC.