I was a young American doing a similar job once, and I viewed it as extreme and dangerous at the time. I just didn’t have enough wisdom built up yet to counterbalance the cool/awesome/badass factor. Young people are great.
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The snow in that video looks a bit sticky and wet. Working in those conditions can get miserable.
The Aleutians have a maritime climate, with typical winter temperatures just below freezing—around 28°F (-2°C). I don’t know the exact temperature in the holds, but it was about 0°F (-18°C).
After working in the cold, dry holds for a while, climbing out and taking those first few breaths of the relatively warm, moist air outside felt almost tropical by comparison.
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If gets colder in Duluth than in the Aleutians.
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There were times when we wished for the temperature to be just a few degrees colder. That wet, miserable weather just above freezing was the worst, and your Carhartt coveralls would gain 20 pounds during your shift on deck. (9.07 kg if you’re Norwegian.)
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One of the deckhands had a T-shirt with an illustration of Dutch Harbor but with palm trees. The caption was “South Bering Sea Islands”.
Didn’t really appreciate it till the time we got back to Dutch after spending a cold Christmas Day anchored off St George. It was nice to get back ‘down south’.
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My engineer had an amusing T-Shirt:
Dutch Harbor Logging
*Clear cut Specialists.
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Dazzling aerial views of Unalaska Island this week, as the Coastal Trader arrives to unload her cargo.
Watch with CC on.
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That cargo operator is one rugged individual! Standing at the controls in only a short sleeved shirt.
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This week’s episode focuses on the glamorous part of a sailor’s life: maintenance! A rattling good saga of steel versus rust, pounded out on the high seas.
(Watch with CC on.)
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The equivalent coastal trade in Norway:
Now owned and operated by Icelandic company Samskip:
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It’s interesting looking at the ramp arrangement on the dock. Most docks we visit in Western Alaska are shorter than the vessel is long. No ramps. Not likely to change. Small population base. No road system on the Alaskan Peninsula. Most freight travels no more than a cable from the beach. The Coastal Standard carries her own ramp for vehicles on deck but it is deployed athwartships.
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Filipino Captain post videos from a coaster in Norway and Northern European ports:
A bit long and short of action, but he has a fairly large following.
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This week’s episode is all about the Coastal Trader herself, including facts and figures.
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In this week’s episode, an AB and deckhand talk about what their working life is like on an Aleutian freighter.
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To begin the 2025 season of our YouTube videos, we showcase the annual firefighting training program for our mariners. We start with the work of the Training Group, the officers who plan and carry out the training.
Note that the captain of the Coastal Trader (1), shown in the 1997 footage, is one of the two captains who leads our Training Group today.
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Just found this fascinating thread. Coastal Transportation seems like a great place to work, especially in keeping everyone well-fed. Great videos!
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This episode highlights what a trainee experiences when they go through Coastal Transportation’s Disaster Simulator for annual fire-fighting training.
Unlike other marine fire-fighting programs, CTI’s program requires that the trainees have no idea of what they will face during the scenario, which is staged in the company’s own 5,000 square-foot simulator.
Before the scenario starts, crewmembers are placed in the simulator as they would be on a real boat, with some in the engine room, some in the wheelhouse, and others spread throughout the ‘boat’. Captain and crew are told to react as if they were at sea, far from help.
Off-scene trainers act the role of U.S. Coast Guard SAR personnel, communicating with the captain via radio and phone, adding an additional dimension of realism and complication.
Officers and crew know they will face some sort of fire, and perhaps a serious crew injury. But once the simulation starts the crew has to deal with it on their own, without trainers telling them what to do.
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Yep. Have downloaded all videos. Looks like a great channel and family like company. Have been for advanced FF renewals to many FF live simulators - the biggest one in the local Naval Academy but the one I saw here is absolutely fantastic!!!.
Enjoy watching this channel , saw and heard cheng Radek talking but Kasia with her cooking has realy stollen my heart causing my mouth salivating with such intensity that Niagara Falls could only envy.
Unpleasantly surprised though , there is only 1.31 K subscribers despite their excellent content. Wow.!!!
See my stomach new love in action here . Delicious.!!!
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