St Helena 1

VulcanSpirit
Richard & Alison Brunstrom
Sun 14 Feb 2016 19:03
St Helena is one of the most remote communities in the world. There is no air service, so everything must come in by sea, mostly on the RMS St Helena, one of only two remaining Royal Mail Ships. It's about a five day trip from Cape Town, or two days from Ascension where there is an airfield.
Here is the RMS at anchor off Georgetown SH:

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Containers are unloaded individually onto lighters which make a precarious journey to the wharf:

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Where they are offloaded by crane:

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This is in a calm period, with less than a metre of swell, but these guys can still perform when the swell is up. How any of them are still alive is beyond me.
Everything comes in by sea, but it can be hit and miss. While we were there 42 containers from the UK had been left behind in Cape Town due to congestion in the port there, causing significant supply problems on the island.
An airport is being built at last, at eye watering cost (paid for by UK taxpayers). Every single thing to build it, from scratch, has come in by sea. The logistics alone must have been a complete nightmare before even a single stone was shifted. It's taken years in the planning and execution but it is due to open in May, changing the island for ever.

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