On the 14th of January, I had occasion to drive to Lavrio in the early morning just as dawn was arriving. On the way to the port, I could see two ships in the area of Lavrio, with all their lights on – it was a beautiful sight in the morning hours as the sun was coming up, but the darkness had not yet completely left for the day.
I made a mental note to drive back the same way if and stop and try to take some photos if the atmospheric lighting was still interesting and the ships still had their lamps shining. By the time I made it back, one ship had left the area and was out of sight, but the Phillip Bay was still anchored just off shore of the Port of Lavrio.
In doing some research with Vessel Finder, I discovered that this ship is only about 7 years old, but looks like it could be older. Presently, it sails under the Flag of the Marshall Islands, but used to be known as the Interlink Ability, owned by Ability Maritime LLC based in Hamilton, Bermuda.
The Phillip Bay is considered a “bulk carrier” – a ship designed to carry cargo that is not packaged such as grain, coal, ore, and the like. Recently, this ship has spent a lot of time in the Mediterranean area, with stops at various ports in Turkey, Russia, and Greece. As I write this, the Phillip Bay is in Samsun, Turkey and will be enroute to Istanbul when it departs its present port.
Other recent port of calls include Kanadalaksha and Murmansk, both in Russia, before calling into Lavrio, and then back east to where it is now, in Turkey.
One of the really fascinating things, to me, about living in this area is that I can see so many different ships, and then find out their names, and see where this ship might have been, where it’s heading, and follow along on its journeys. If you’d like to learn more about The Phillip Bay – you too can track its position regularly Vessel Finder.