Thursday, July 30, 2015

RAT INVASION,SPANISH DUBLOONS AND MARITIME MYSTERY

Townsville  Shipping  Reporter  Scoops  the  Pool

In one day, alert  waterfront scribe  , Barnacle Bill,  uncovered  at  least three  major stories  missed by local  media which  devotes much attention to  mind numbing  Kardashian  handbags ,  celebrities and  other  trivial subjects... handbag  items on  consecutive days  in  the  Townsville  Bulletin, for example , aint real   local  news  and  makes one want  to upchuck.
 
Scoop 1 
Circular devices  supposed to  prevent rats  from   coming  ashore on lines attached  to wharves appear  not  fitted  properly to  some  vessels, some just  flapping in the breeze. Could  this  lead to  the plague , Black Death , foot  and  mouth , Blue  Tongue ,  more  port  babble ?
 
Scoop 2
With Queensland media  preoccupied with  Johnny Depp  and his  dogs showing that animal  quarantine  and biosecurity  checks in the Sunshine State leave a lot to be desired ( much more on this subject  later, including the Northern Territory) and  shooting  of  the latest  Pirates of  the  Caribbean  there , how come a  galleon, sails into Townsville and nobody in the shrinking Fourth  Estate  fails to notice ?
 
It was the  bulk carrier  MV  Galleon  which could  be the subject of a  newspaper  do up about a Spanish Galleon  , perhaps a bit  corny, but what isn't in the blats  and TV  nowadays? And there could have been an angle about  Depp  and his scurvy  rats rushing  to sack  the treasure ship,  said to be  loaded  to the scuppers with  golden Kardashian  handbags .

It is too late  for  a  churnalist  to  leave the  desk  and   dash down to the  wharf   and  board  the  fairly new  Galleon...it is  at sea heading for South Korea .

Newspapers used  to  have a  SHIPPING NEWS   column  in  bygone days   in which  information  about all  vessels arriving and departing  port were listed.  Little Darwin raised the  fact that in Darwin  reporters did not keep  a  close  shipping  watch  and as a  result all kinds of  interesting vessels were coming and  going without coverage ;  it also seemed that vessels entering port were being escorted by  naval vessels , surely a   news  story. In  Darwin  the  ABC  started  to  keep  a waterfront  watch  after  Little Darwin's  post but so much  more of maritime news of the Top End  still  goes unreported , as  it does in Townsville today .
 
Scoop 3

The  almost completely submerged vessel which has  been in  Townsville Harbour  for more than a year  appears to have been removed  or  is  now resting in Davy Jones's locker , without  any  mention in the  local media  machines . Would make an interesting  story.  Another  possible  Scoop , with free steak knives  thrown in  for an alert   scribe  , is  what  is  going on  below  in the   action shot  in  the  channel ?
All  this  in one day in Townsville ... and  many more exclusives  to  come, including the ship which sailed from Townsville  and  disappeared without mention  along with  its crew  who   claimed  to  be  top  basketball  players .