Steph and I jumped on a ferry from Singapore bound for Tanjung Pinang on the island of Bintan in Indonesia. We elected to sit up top as the weather wasn’t too bad and the passenger cabin below was very stuffy.
Big cargo vessels anchored in the Singapore Straight. This one was unloading cargo with its big cranes onto a smaller freighter. In most of the world, cargo is containerized (like on the ship in the background) but here some smaller tramp freighters can still be found.
Singapore is barely visible through the haze on the right. Our small ferry dodged many large commercial ships on the way to Indonesia.
A couple ships tied up together with a smaller tender ship alongside. I believe these two ships were bulk liquid carriers. Perhaps petroleum products?
As we passed from Singapore-controlled waters to Indonesia-controlled waters, one of the crewmen came up from below deck to take down Red Ensign of Singapore and raised the Indonesian flag. I was a bit surprised by this but evidently this is normal.
A big container ship plying the Singapore Strait.
We kept a wide berth from this ship. It is a liquefied petroleum gas transport. Based upon the way the ship was riding in the water, it was probably empty. Still, it is best not to tempt fate with ships carrying huge amounts of explosive cargo.
A small regional ship with a few cargo containers and self loading-unloading cranes.
A little fishing boat far away from the shore. The fisherman has to be mighty brave to be this far out and in the shipping channel.
A small shack on stilts next to a fish trap.
The house on stilts with more fish traps behind it. A fire at an oil refinery is visible in the background on the left. It seems that many of the things that are too dirty to do in Singapore get pushed over to Indonesia.
A local fishing boat motoring to somewhere.
A large mosque on a hill.
Coming into Tanjung Pinang.
The Hollywood-style sign on the hill makes sure that everyone coming into the port knows where they are.
A little island across the harbor. We were told many people live there and commute to town by boat. This is similar to what people did in the cays around the island of Utila off the Honduras mainland.
The ferry terminal comes into view.
A local fuel boat. Something tells me that this isn’t up to international standards.
The interior of the boat. I think that Steph and I were the only non-locals aboard.