Cargo Ship and Phinisi Boat Just Outside Manokwari bay

Last month I shot a cargo ship and a phinisi wooden boat just outside Manokwari bay using my camera Nikon Coolpix P500. I was amazed to see that the traditional Phinisi boat which was considered slower than the steel ship could chase the modern cargo ship. At first, the phinisi boat was behind the cargo ship. It was not moving on the water with sails but wit propeller. In fact, both of them were using marine screw propellers.

The phinisi sailing boat was not a cargo boat. It was a diving boat. So, it was quite empty, I guess. On the other hand, the cargo ship, perhaps, was loaded with goods which made her movement slower due to more water resistant. In less than 5 minutes, the phinisi boat was able to chase the cargo ship.

Later, the phinisi boat was at the front of the cargo ship. This is an interesting scene for me because most of us consider a wooden sailing boat like Phinisi slower than the cargo ship. In reality, it is faster - if it is equipped with marine diesel engine that drives a screw propeller. Another factor which makes the boat faster is her smaller block coefficient. The smaller the block coefficient, the faster it will be when moving on the surface of the water. 

Wooden boats frequently experience water leakages in the stern tube area near the propeller. Traditional boat builder in Indonesia do not use lignum vitae as bearing materials. They have certain kind of wood that has properties similar to the lignum vitae. However, the wood has to be frequently replaced to prevent sea water from entering the hull through gaps between the propeller shaft and the stern tube bearings. 

Modern design sterntube bearing uses seals and oil around tail shaft inside metal bearings with higher pressure to prevent sea water from entering the sterntube. - by Charles Roring

Ships in Manokwari harbor

The number of goods or containers that are unloaded in ship harbor of Manokwari is increasing nowadays. This is due to the change of the city's status into the capital of the newly formed West Papua province.

Container ships and cargo ships frequently visit Manokwari to deliver goods that are needed to support the development of the city and its rural areas. Most of the cargoes that these ships bring are construction materials. And small amount of agricultural produce that they load to be exported to Java or Makassar from this city are plantation commodity such as cocoa beans.

Every week PELNI passenger ships arrive in Manokwari ship harbor to bring hundreds of migrants from outside Papua and take hundreds from the city to other coastal towns of Papua island or to other islands in the Indonesian archipelago.

 Besides seagoing steel ships, smaller wooden boats that are operated by the Butonese provide service both to the Papuan people and the government. These boats have different berthing pier. The government has provided a small wooden jetty for these boats in Anggrem area.These boats are greatly important in carrying government logistics to remote coastal villages in the Cendrawasih bay (Geelvinkbaai).

Although more cargoes and containers have been delivered to Manokwari city, the cargo handling equipment used to unload them are still from the derrick booms or crane that the ships have.  Although Manokwari harbor has been enlarge to increase its capacity for berthing ships with larger displacement, it still hasn't got container cranes that can speed up the process of loading and unloading of cargoes at the moment. by Charles Roring