Shipposting

Don’t get the wrong idea: That’s ship-posting, mate 😉

There’s an entire category of videos online about ships. Especially interesting are the videos of the largest container ships that sail the seas. There’s something zen about sea vessels, the way they gradually yet intently move. The patience that is required to guide enormous vessels floating in the water, leading them into dock.

Another thing is that they are like self-sufficient, independent, miniature civilizations which exist on their own while out on the open seas. They must be prepared to handle any contingency. The mechanics must be able to not only fix but often create new parts should the need arise.

Finally there is the adventure and the bonding that exists between crewmates, as they travel the world together.

No wonder so many science fiction stories are derived from the nautical realm.

BIGGEST CONTAINER SHIP EVER ACE Maiden call at ROTTERDAM Port – Shipspotting September 2021

An added bonus is watching ships coming into a beautiful port like Hamburg, with the sylvan banks of the river interspersed with beautiful German architecture.

HAMBURG Shipspotting August 2021 with ULTRA LARGE CONTAINER SHIP HMM HAMBURG

After watching this, it’s fascinating to see the inside of these enormous ocean-going behemoths. (Note: I find the gonzo, wannabe-comic attitude of this presenter somewhat tedious, but the video is fascinating nonetheless.)

And there are other videos about ships. It seems that Germans, in particular north Germans, have a fondness for ships.

Here’s some important ship-related German vocabulary:

Meer, das – sea
segeln – to sail
Kapitän, der – captain
Lotse, der – pilot
Hafen, der – harbor, port
Frachtschiff, das – cargo ship
Schlepper, der – tugboat
Rettungsboot, das – lifeboat
Kammer, die – cabin
Einzelkammer, die – individual cabin
Ansteuerung, die – approach (nautical)
Maschinenraum, der – engine room
Welle, die – shaft as in engine shaft; also means wave
Antriebswelle, die – drive shaft
Schlauchverbindung, die – connecting hose
Treibstoff, der – fuel
schwimmende Tankstelle, die – floating fuel station
Schraube, die – propeller
Anker, der – anchor

HAMBURGER HAFEN – Deutschlands Tor zur Welt | HD Doku