Ocean Research - 16. IOR Chapter 16

On the roof level, we have a weather station and air traffic control centre, as well as a helicopter landing pad, which will be used mostly for medical evacuations only when needed, as the city has a medical centre and hospital. The top-level, which is level one, it has the accommodation for the executive team, the government offices, the administration offices, the 4 VIP Guest Suites, plus the exclusive sky restaurant, and the grand ballroom.

Level two as I stated earlier is the accommodation for the seasonal fishermen, and on the offseason will be additional staff or guest accommodation. This level also has a dining room, kitchen, laundry, two staff lounges and staff recreation lounge and a fitness gymnasium. Level three has all of the staff accommodations, plus the sky recreation lounge, the sky café and kitchen, plus the medical centre and hospital.

Level four is the ocean level, with two lots of fishing boat bays, the bays reserved for the Silver Cloud and the Silver Storm, plus two spare bays for visiting large yachts. This level has two entry foyers, with an information office and an accommodation office, and on the southern end, there are two large indoor landscaped garden areas and two indoor basketball courts.

In the very centre, there is a giant swimming pool area, that is open to the sea, but large steel nets with smaller than usual spacing, keeping all medium to large sea creatures out, including all dangerous ones. There is also change rooms, and toilets, and the two swim platforms to get in and out of the pool.

At the north end, there are two more landscaped garden areas, and their rest is a restricted area, as it contains the desalination plant, the solar and wind power station, and the waste treatment plant. There is also security centre, plus two water toy stores, that are available for hotel guests, including 24 double and 24 single kayaks and two blow up water trampolines.

There will be no jet ski’s as there will be too much water traffic with the fishing boats, as well as the two city vessels and all the coral reefs around the area, any visiting yachts that have these will be asked to not use them in the Abrolhos Island area, and this will soon become a Fisheries and Parks and Wildlife Regulation.

There will also be speed regulations for around the islands for all vessels, including master skippers who are newly qualified,” Mr Lloyd said, and I cursed under my breath, which most in the room heard, and they laughed, with Mr Lloyd also joining in.

“Now where was I, oh yes, now on level five, we have the double hotel suites and family suites, this level also has an education centre with two lecture rooms, two study rooms and a library. This level also has a fitness gymnasium, a laundry, the ocean lounge and the main ocean restaurant.

The final level which is level six, has the remaining double hotel suites, as well as a movie cinema, a large marine science centre and laboratories, the ocean café and kitchen, two small lounges, and finally a shopping mall with 8 shops of various sizes, including a bakery, a grocery store, a newsagency with post office, and a jewellery store as the main stores to open there,” Mr Lloyd announced.

“This is an amazing grandfather, but where about are we going to put this monstrosity of a building, oh wait, would it be somewhere near Morley Island by any chance?” Joshua asked, and I just chuckled at this. “So, you have been in on this for some time, have you?” Joshua asked me, and I just nodded my head yes.

“Only because I wanted to keep it a surprise and top secret for as long as possible. Even the ship’s crew that is delivering it from New Zealand have no clue what they are carrying, but the construction crew that is travelling with them do, and have been sworn to secrecy.

Apart from them and the company that built the city in three sections, at three different locations, only a handful of others know about it, that being the WA Directors of the Departments of Fisheries and Parks and Wildlife, the Environment Minister and the State Premier, that is all,” Mr Lloyd announced.

“Wow, that is amazing to be able to keep such a huge project so secret,” Amanda stated, “Yes dear, and it has not been an easy task to achieve that, but all of that will change, once the city is put together, then the crew of the ship that delivered it plus when the next tourist flights arrive, no doubt they will soon break the news to the world.

You are welcome to move into the city as soon as the construction has been completed, I hope that you enjoy your new homes, and good luck with it all,” Mr Lloyd stated before he signed off from the video conference call.

“I was wondering why you were making those trips out to Morley Island recently, now we know, that is to be the location of the city, right?” Joshua said to me, “Yes, it is, a whole series of posts will be rammed into the ocean floor, and the city will be secured on them, about one metre above the floor.

We needed a place that was exactly ten metres deep over a large area, that is not too far away from Rat Island or East Wallabi Island airfields, and that location came to mind and that is why we did the scuba dive of the area, as it is just over 3 kilometres away from Rat Island, has deep water with limited coral rock obstacles, making it reasonably easy to get the cargo ship in to deliver the city” I explained.

“There was no mention of accommodation for the crew of the Silver Cloud?” Joshua stated to me, “Yes true, and I have already looked into that and allocated two of the spare double suites on level three for their use, I have only had a copy of the layout plans for a short time, but I have managed to allocate the appropriate suites to those currently here.

Now if you wish I will bring out the layout plans for you all to look out, and Joshua, I have a copy of the list of senior complex staff for you to look at” I replied, as I walked over to the dining table and laid out each of the 6 pages of the layouts of the city.

“Wow, this is incredible,” Amanda said as she was the first to arrive at the table to look at the plans. “Yes, they are, you Amanda and your partner are in level three O2, Trent and Alex you are on level three O3,” I replied as I pointed out the two suites.

“Wow, is right Amanda, this is incredible, and what a view of the pool we will have,” Trent added. James and Nathan, you can have a bit of a choice, either suites with an ocean view, level one G3, G4 or G8 or suites with views of the pool way below and your offices across the way, level 1 G1, G2 or G6,” I said to the two rangers.

“Why have you skipped G5 & G7?” Joshua asked me, “Well if they really want a bigger suite, with a shared private lounge, then you can have one of those,” I replied with a big grin, “Yes I will have G5 please,” Nathan responded, “and I will have G7,” James said straight after, “I thought you might,” I said, as Joshua gave me a huge nudge, which nearly made me lose balance, and had everyone laughing, as he commented that I was a cheeky sod.

“I still can’t believe that we will have this monster building sitting in the middle of the Abrolhos Isnads in just a few days’ time,” Amanda stated as we ate dinner together that evening. “Yes, seems to be a bit out of place with all of the coral islands in the area,” Olivia said.

“I hope it doesn’t start a precedence for other giant building to be built here, as I think it would totally spoil it,” James commented and everyone agreed with that statement. “I’ve seen what tourism has done to remote islands, Magnetic Island in Queensland is ruined with too much housing and tourist accommodation, and I think Rottnest is heading in that direction as well” Trent said.

“You will not need to worry about anything like that, as part of a water tight contract with the WA Government, and with Australia’s National Parks, my Grandfather included a clause that forbids any other company, corporation or development organisation from any mining, residential, tourism or any other kind of construction on any of the Abrolhos Islands or with a 45 kilometre radius of the outer edges of the islands and the national park, for a period of fourty years” Joshua announced, and everyone applauded this great news.

“That is wonderful news, it means that the area cannot be spoiled by any development yahoo’s,” Nathan stated. “Exactly my response too,” James stated, “Hang on, Joshua stated any other company etc from doing it, that means that Lloyd Corporation has the ability to do just about any of those things that no one else can do,” I said.

“That is true, but remember that Lloyd Corporation’s main business is ocean conservation, so with building this one building, which is easily movable, we will have anything that we need to accommodate the work of marine research, provide accommodation for the seasonal fishermen and accommodate a small amount of tourism.

“I think the reason that my grandfather made the contract that way, is to allow for maintenance of the jetty, airfields, the fish storage facility and any other existing structures on the islands, which is virtually nothing but the stumps from the old jetties,” Joshua stated. Everyone seemed to be happy with what Joshua said, and there was a period of silence for a while.

“I thought there was supposed to be a storm approaching? I have not felt the boat rocking at all,” Alex asked, “I will check on the latest weather forecast after dinner,” Amanda responded. After dinner, I decide to follow Amanda up to the bridge to check the weather report, and while she was getting the right page on the computer, the Marine radio came to life.

“MV Cartouche to MV Silver Cloud, do you copy over?” came a European accented voice over the radio, “Can you get that please,” Amanda asked me, so I walked over to the radio and pick up the mic. “MV Silver Cloud, deck officer speaking, receiving you, over” I replied, and I saw Amanda smile.

“This is Captain Marco Padrolous speaking, it appears that the storm has drifted more to the south, so we will not be affected by weather as we had expected, and we are clear to approach the offloading location in the morning, over,” the Captain announced. “Message received Captain, we will have a 27-metre swath catamaran guide you through the narrow channel, starting from the north end of Campbell Island in the Easter Group of Islands, over” I respond.

“Understood, I have that island marked on my navigation charts, see you tomorrow at about 0930 hours, over and out,” the Captain said as he signed off. “Did you just promote yourself?” Amanda asked me, and I chuckled at this comment, “Of course I did, because I am the best friend of the owner,” I replied smiling broadly.

“I heard that” Joshua said from just outside the bridge door, before entering. “Oh shit, I am in trouble now,” I said softly, which made Amanda laugh and Joshua was smiling. “Not at all my friend you are a qualified captain now, so it is more of a demotion that you gave yourself,” Joshua said, and Amanda nodded her head in agreement.

“If you like, Captain Kip, I will send Olivia with you, to assist with the piloting of the cargo ship into the anchorage area,” Amanda suggested, “Yes, that would be good please,” I replied. “I came up here to chat with you both, I have been considering another vessel purchase, which would be more suitable for transporting cargo and supplies from the mainland to here,” Joshua announced.

“So, the Silver Cloud is not good enough for that?” Amanda asked, “It’s not that, it is just that this new vessel will be able to carry a lot more heavy cargo, even if it only has a cruising speed of 18 knots, which puts it at a 2 ¾ hour journey, and the Silver Cloud can remain as our executive haven if we need to get away from the city for a while,” Joshua stated. “Ok, so what exactly is this vessel?” I asked, and Joshua smiled broadly.

“One that both Amanda and Kip can skipper, as it is 33 metres long, has a beam of 8 metres and a draft of 1.8 metres, it is another Austal vessel, an Offshore Express 33 as it is known. It has six crew berths, two on the main deck and four on the lower deck, with an outside main deck cargo space of 12 by 8 metres, which is ideal for bringing almost anything over.

When not in use, the two deck crew that will also be employed, will be assisting either Amanda on the Silver Cloud, or Kip on the Silver Storm, and we can accommodate them in the city as well,” Joshua announced as he looked to me, and I nodded my head in agreement.

“How often will this new vessel be making trips to the mainland and back?” Amanda asked, and Joshua turned to me to answer that question, “I have not decided that yet, but once we are operational and fully staffed, plus with paying guests and fishermen here, then probably two or three times a week, maybe every second week day,” I replied.

“That will definitely keep us busy,” Amanda commented, and I nodded my head in agreement. “Since I will be doing some administration work, I am hoping that you will do two of those trips and I will do the mid-week one,” I said to Amanda, “Yes, that is fine with me,” she replied.

The next morning, we were all up early, as today was a big day for the islands, with the arrival of the Abrolhos Ocean City. After a quick breakfast, I was in my office on the Silver Cloud when Joshua knocked on the door and entered, “Hey mate, all ready for the big day?” he asked me.

“I think so, I have just been working out the best way of arranging accommodation for hotel guests. I think if we allowed every day arrivals and check-ins then it will get a bit messy, but if we make it like every two days, say on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, then we will have more control on the guests activities, which would mean less harm to the surrounding environment,” I replied.

“I fully agree with you on that, and since you are my deputy and you seem to be well skilled with making timetables and such, then I will leave it in your capable hands. My Grandfather is in the last stages of finalising a contract with one of the Charter companies, to provide air transport for staff and hotel guests, so when that is in place, we can set a timetable for hotel guest arrivals, making sure they have a hotel reservation when the guests book their flights, and I think three days a week is perfect,” Joshua stated.

“Sounds good to me boss. I was thinking that we could use both Silver Vessels for guiding the ship into the anchorage, so we are doubly sure that nothing will go wrong,” I responded. “Good thinking mate, lets get to it then,” Joshua replied. By 8.45 am, Amanda and I had the two vessels at the northern end of Campbell Island, as we saw the huge cargo ship approaching.

Amanda had Joshua, Trent and Alex working on the decks of the Silver Cloud, while I had Olivia, Nathan and James on the decks of the Silver Storm.

After a lot of radio talk and a lot of cautious manouvering, we eventually had the cargo ship anchored in the sheltered bay in very shallow water, with the ship expected to be nearly touching the ocean floor at low tide, with it having a draft of 12.5 metres.

For the purpose of assisting with the offloading and putting together the ocean city, the bottom section of level six has water-tight hydraulic doors, that will be closed while the city is put together, but once the bottom three levels are connected together, ocean water will be pumped into the swimming pool area of the city, allowing ot to slowly sink into position, with the assistance of steel cable winches that will be attached to the outside of the support pillars, and the lower section of deck six.

Once the lower three decks are secured into place, on its permanent support pillars, the remaining three levels will be craned into position directly from the ship, which will have to do this at high tide only or end up being grounded to the sandy ocean floor.