Bulk Carrier FEDERAL SHIMANTO

For some, it's a joyous time of year as clocks 'fall-back' and everyone gets an extra hour of sleep. Good deal providing the human alarm clock gets the same memo, otherwise when it's time to empty out the ballast, it'll happen when it happens, time change or not.

The other big downside of standard time is it gets dark really early. There was actually a fair bit of light at 4PM when we passed Brockville on the 401 heading east to Iroquois Lock to get a glimpse of the down bound bulk carrier FEDERAL SHIMANTO. According to the Seaway website, her original ETA at Iroquois was 5:20 which was changed to 4:50 before we knew it. I guess that's why they call it 'Estimated Time of Arrival' because it'll get there when it gets there, just like emptying out your ballast at the 'fall-back' or 'spring-forward' time of the year. The sun was just setting when we arrived at the lock but when the FEDERAL SHIMANTO got there it was dark, and it was really dark 10 minutes later as she made her way out and on towards Eisenhower Lock. It could have been worse. It could be dark and SNOWING!!

Meanwhile, the 624' FEDERAL SHIMANTO was high in the water and making her way to Puerto Rico in the Caribbean where at that time of day, it was also dark but HOT!!. Built in Japan in 2001, she is owned by Fednav Ltd. which is based in Montreal and is Canada's largest ocean-going dry-bulk shipowner and charter group. According to their website,  Fednav owns or charters 61 ships that are registered all over the world, like the FEDERAL SHIMANTO which flies the flag of the Marshall Island, which at that time of day, it would have been quite sunny and HOT, HOT HOT!!.