At the jetty

One of the things we are working on here is helping the workers prepare for some upcoming training on the loading arms that load the LNG onto the ships for transport.  One of our students made all the arrangements so that we could take a tour of the jetty where the loading arms are located.  Going to the jetty-specifically where the loading arms is-requires two extra levels of security, so we were very excited to be able to go.

The loading arms are the 4 towers in the background

One of the first things that I noticed when I got there was the smell-it smelled like the aviary.  Strongly. When they first built the jetty, they had a lot of problems with the sea birds.  The bird poo is a big problem because it is corrosive to the pipes.  As a natural solution to the problem, they have these hawks that scare away the birds from perching near the pipes.

The hawks were watching us, well, like a hawk as we posed for this picture

It was really helpful to be able to see the arms up close and personal and they promise to invite us back when they are in action, which I am really excited about.

Our guide even took us under the jetty to take special pictures to remember the tour.