Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 12/01/2008 - 04:23
Forums
Oden Antarctic Expedition 08

Hi Jeff and Team,

Mr. Calderwood's Block 1 class would like to know if you have laundry facilities on the ship (since you had such a rough start with laundry issues).  Also, since there are so many people on the ship there must be a large volume of waste water generated through laundry, bathing, cooking, etc. - How does the ship handle waste water?

Wed, 12/03/2008 - 09:55

Jeff Peneston

It does not surprise me that Mr. Calderwood’s class would come up with a great set of questions! First, yes we have washing machines on the Oden. One of the crewmembers washes the ship laundry during the day including bed linens and towels and then we all have access to the washing machines so that we can wash our clothes overnight between the hours of 1900 and 600. I really don’t know the full answer to the rest of your question regarding waste water treatment so I have asked the 1st officer to help me find out. He has arranged a tour of the engineering department including the water treatment system for me today. I will take pictures and describe it in an upcoming journal posting. I think that some of the wastewater is discharged into the ocean before we enter the protected Antarctic waters but I don’t want to guess any further. I do know that all of the solid waste (garbage) on board is stored throughout the 5-6 month trip from Sweden and back! Some ships have incinerators but the Oden does not.Check my journal soon for your answers and keep the questions coming!
Have fun,
Jeff Peneston