Spent many years piloting these things through the Reef.
Very boring ships - pretty plain Bridge with not much to play with! One fixed blade propellor, one small (economical) engine, no thrusters, an autopilot and a single lever to pull.
Big guts full (250,00 tonne) of Queensland coal bound for Korea.
Need to pack your lunch if you go out on the Bridge wing!
And no matter how hard you try, you always get smeared with coal dust. The Pilot transfer helicopters don't like the coal dust either - very abrasive when it gets sucked through the engines, etc. Decks can't be washed down while the ship is still in the Reef - pollution.
The coal thunders in at 8000tonne/hour and 4 bulkies loaded and on their way every 36 hours - about one million tonnes - and thats from just one facility.
They can still dip a rail in heavy seas!
The Marine Pilot has to sometimes make a run for it to get up onto the helicopter landing hatch.
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