I am writing this blog from JOIDES Resolution (JR), the ship, which will be my home for
the next two months. We are still at port in Singapore and awaiting to receive necessary
clearance to leave the port. This is my first time in an IODP expedition, and I am very much
excited to sail on-board JR as part of an international team of scientists, and
to experience the life in middle of the sea. During my doctoral studies, I sailed twice along the west coast of South Africa, but those were only week long cruises. Here, I will be at sea for two months. The objective of the expedition is to find out the sedimentation history of Bengal Fan since the development of Himalaya. Sediments keep record of the environmental and climate conditions during its transport and deposition in sea. I will discuss the science in another blog.


After leaving the port and on our way to the sampling site, we will pass
through the Singapore and Malacca Straits that has a long history of piracy. In
fact, the third mate informed us about 'dos and don'ts' during an unlikely
event of pirate attack while briefing on security on-board yesterday. The ship
has hoses, anti-piracy fence and round the clock security along with other
anti-piracy measures. We are far more equipped that Tom Hanks in the Captain
Phillips movie. Moreover, a drilling ship with over 130 people on-board is an
unlikely target of pirates. So No worry.