Port Klang Views #19 - Super Dredger & YTL Cement

We saw some structures ahead and sped on. By this time, the sea was getting quite choppy and sitting in front, the plank I was sitting on was whacking my buttocks. Couldn't take any good picture like that. So I shifted to the back where it was more stable. At that point I realized that there was no safety vest on the boat and I won’t last long in the sea. But it is kind of late to realize that, right? So best not to think of it and continued to enjoy the journey.

As we're heading towards the super-dredger, the clouds opened up and rays of lights broke through. A spectacular sight.

This is the super-dredger's drilling head. Massive, isn't it? You can imagine that when those teeth are turning, could chew up anything. This is a floating dredge and can sail to wherever it is needed. The drilling head cut the bottom and the ship pumped up the debris and spewed it out the other end for land reclamation.

A drill worker was leisurely perching on the side of the vessel staring curiously at us. He was pleased we were there to release the boredom during his break.

We passed the dredge and you can see how far we are away now from the Star Cruise Terminal. This journey we are taking will trace almost the entire coastline of Pulau Indah from South Port. What you are seeing in the photos was what we saw all along the way. The photos are in sequence so it will be as if you are traveling with us.

The next structure we came across was the YTL Cement Factory. The two cylindrical structures are concrete silos which are used to store cement. They are used as temporary storage before being pumped into ships for export. Transportation of heavy materials were still the cheapest by sea.

Kurau enjoyed going under low places to force us to duck our heads. He wanted to prove to us how good his estimates are. He almost did not make it one time but that was much later on in our journey.

We then headed for this gigantic arm that reached high into the air. The green panel must be housing a belt conveyor that carried the cement to the end. From there the cement lifted by a chain elevator (probably, sorry don't much about the cement business and I'm not an engineer) to the top to drop into the ship that came to carry it. It has to be high enough to accommodate the height of the ship. The jetty is stretched far out to sea to get the desired depth for the ship to dock.

Another shot of the gigantic arm against the evening sky.

We went under the jetty to head to our next destination which are a number of storage tanks in the distance.

To be continued...

Port Klang Views #18 - Port Klang Star Cruise Terminal.

We are now heading towards the Star Cruise Terminal in Pulau Indah. Star Cruises is the third largest star cruise operator in the world. They operates two terminals, this one and another in the island of Langkawi. The jetty has a length of 200m and with dolphins 350m.

The building on the left is the terminal where passengers first checked in. It has five floors. The ground, first and second floors are open to the public and the top two floors are the corporate and administrative offices of Star Cruises. The building has a departure hall that can accommodate more than 200 passengers.

There was one cruise ship docking at that time. It was "Wasa Queen". This vessel has a gross tonnage of 16,546 grt, A length and width of 155.7m & 22m and a cruising speed of 17 knots. It has 218 cabins and can take in 608 passengers. You can go for a one day package with 3 meals included starting from RM98.00

We approached nearer for a closer look.

After making a turn, we went just under a pipe to come out the other end.

Wasa Queen loomed above us as we came out the other side impressively set against the setting sun.

Another view of Wasa Queen.

We were been curiously observed by the passengers as we passed the ship. People must be what these three jokers must be doing driving round in their little boat taking photos.

We then passed the ship and continued our journey leaving the Star Cruise Terminal behind.

To be continued...

Port Klang Views #17 - Round The Island Of Pulau Indah.

We passed by this boat fishing near the beacon. They must have lasted through the storm. These fishing kakis are really hardy guys. Wind and rain does deter them not as long as they get a bite from the fish.

On the opposite side of Pulau Indah is North Port which is mainly a container port and those are huge unloaders for unloading containers.

We have now passed by the mangrove swamp area in Pulau Indah and reached more developed parts. I am not familiar with some of the construction and if did not make any comments is because I do not know about it. But I will show the pictures anyway for you to have a complete photographic journey and hopefully filled in the information later in the picture. Any help from readers would be appreciated. This I believed is a ship repair yard.

This looked like another government marine department.

Ship repair yard.

We now sailed to deeper water and the water was getting choppier.

We could see big ships either sailing to either one of the ports. There was a large container ship and we headed towards its direction for a closer look.

Photo from Kurauking gallery.

That’s me being caught taking photo of the container.

After rounding it we left it and once again headed for the shoreline of Pulau Indah.

A jetty but we do not know for what purpose. Was surprised to see a few children there.

We left it to continue tracing the coastline of the island of Pulau Indah.

To be continued...

Port Klang Views #16 - Out Into Open Sea Again.

This is my second attempt at map-making. As you can see, still needs a lot of improvement. ha ha. But you get the general idea. From this point, we have just left Perlama restaurant. At the end of this post, we would have reached the extreme end of the line.

Our boat left the railway bridge behind heading out for the open sea. We also left the dark clouds behind. The further out to sea we went the clearer the sky became.

This is the bridge that connects Pulau Indah (Beautiful Island) to the mainland. When we round the island we will be coming back from the other side and under this bridge.

We headed for the new custom complex which is still under construction. There are also some apartment blocks being built. The sea-view offered a commanding view of the sea and South Port. Anyone fancy a seaside apartment. We would love to visit you.

A close-up view of the new custom complex.

We chased this small boat that is so low that even a minor wave would threaten to flood it. Maybe the driver is too heavy as the boat is slopping heavily on one side.

We leave the custom complex and South Port behind heading further out to sea.

By now we have traveled far enough where the water is deep enough for large ship to anchor. We passed by this rusty bucket.

See how far we have left South Port by now. On the right of the picture is Pulau Indah. This part is still under-developed and consisted mainly of mangrove swamp. It won’t be that way for too long.

We are by no mean the only boat around for every now and then we will pass a boat traveling from the opposite direction. We waved to all of them like long lost brothers which we are – “brothers at sea”.

To be continued...