A flashy orange ship is moored in the middle of the sea. As the winds and currents change directions, the vessel and its crew move around a giant turret. From the windows, the view changes – to the East, the Tuscany coast; to the West, the open sea and Gorgona island.
This LNG carrier retired from sailing, but a whole plant was welded onto her hull. She is now able to pump, store, regassify the LNG and send the gas out via a subsea gas pipeline.
Tonight, our cargo vessel coming from Peru, after 26 days at sea, should be seen on the horizon. Not less important, France will play Germany in Euro semifinal. A match which, as a French born in Germany, I can’t afford to miss.
I am told that TV reception is OK apart from a few “blind sectors” covering 15% of the ship’s angle from the North. Of course, on that night, the wind wasn’t French nor German. It’s on my trusty portable radio, from a screaming Italian RAI speaker, that I will more or less understand the outcome of the game.