WorldWide Drilling Resource

Be Sure To Join Us Once Again at the Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center, Red Deer, AB, Canada April 19 - 21, 2018 Technical Sessions Entertainment Regulations and Information • Annual Meeting Drilling Rigs and New Technology Displays Alberta Water Well Drilling Association Convention and Trade Show For More Information Contact Carol Larson Phone: (780) 386-2335 • E-mail: awwda@xplornet.com by Tim Rasmussen The container was loaded on November 1, 2017, and booked into the Port of Seattle (Washington) the next day. It was idle for about one week and then loaded onto the container ship Athos on November 8. Athos is a very large MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) container ship and a relatively new one, built in 2014. After loading several hundred containers, the ship sailed from Seattle, and docked at Oakland (California) on November 10. There was another day of loading and unloading, then on to Long Beach (California). There was a delay of a day at anchorage in Long Beach Harbor waiting for a slot to open at the container dock, but by the 14th, the loading and unloading was finished and the voyage to Panama began. The Athos docked at Cristobal, Panama, and the container was unloaded, shipped across the narrow country, and placed on a smaller ship. This small coastal vessel took the container to Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, where it was unloaded on the 5th, and onto the customs dock for inspection. We had been worried about any new importation rules, and ran into them immediately. There are new regulations about any wood products inside the container, including any pallets used. They have to be certified for ocean transport. There can be no gas tanks, no fuel in any vehicle, no tires, etc. In several areas, they announced we were in violation of the new rules. The container was confiscated. Then the haggling began. They came up with a price of about 120,000 quetzals ($16,666) on Friday afternoon which would take care of the “violations.” Berny Leonardo and Henry Lazaro decided to walk away from the customs office for the weekend. On Monday morning, someone must have gotten into a better mood because they then offered to let the container go for around 35,000 quetzals or about $4800. This was more like it. Henry and Berny paid the fee on the spot with an electronic transfer of funds. This worked very well, saving time and travel. They had a truck ready and the container was released. Henry followed the container back to Poptun, and Berny went on the bus back to Guatemala city. The container arrived at about 11 p.m. on the 11th. The trucking company wanted it unloaded immediately, and Henry had pre- pared a small crew of guys to help. It was a big job, taking almost all night. They finished early in the morning with the last item, the drilling rig, being pulled from the container onto our loading platform a few hundred feet from our shop. It was tarped for protection and is waiting for the drilling crews to assemble and put it to use. Nothing damaged and no one hurt. Praise to the Good Lord. If you would like to help, contact Gary Bartholomew at 509-466-5075 or 509-939-1941 Tim michele@worldwidedrillingresource.com 53 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® FEBRUARY 2018