Flights through S Ike Solitons

NW NE W MIM January 2009 SW SE Flights through S Ike Solitons Medals and barometers Undersecretary rewards VOS observers

Ship in the spotlight! Anjeliersgracht 2 MIM January 2009 Build: 1990, Owner: Spliethoff Beheer B.V., VOS: since July 1990, OBS: over 6000.

4 6 11 12 14 20 21 24 From the editors desk Medals and barometers The PMO-Office announces Back to the shore: Herfst Flights through Ike And the certificates go to Results Top 10 list Dutch PMO-Office 030-22 06 851/678 René Rozeboom PMO Bert de Vries PMO Peter Westenbrink Assistent PMO Publicationyear 22, number 79 ISSN: 0925-2991 Adress: KNMI, Sector I-WIS PMO- Office Postbus 201 3730 AE De Bilt PMO-OFFICE@knmi.nl Red.Telephone: 030-220 68 36 Inmarsat-C Mobile: (581) 49 20 40 720 Colophon MIM is a quarteredition from the Department Waarneem- Infrastructuur of the KNMI. This magazine is ment for those who take part on board of ships and platforms, which accomplisch and release meteorological observations. Using articles is permitted when the source is mentioned and an example of the publication is forwarded to the KNMI. * Editing: P.M. Westenbrink Colleagues De Bilt: R.J. Rozeboom A. de Vries Corrector English text: D. Suri (Met Office) Fotographs (unless different): KNMI Lay-out and printing: Studio/Printcentre KNMI MIM January 2009 3

From the editors desk Peter Westenbrink Winter. Op het noordelijk halfrond, 68º noorderbreedte, valt sneeuw. Het bereikt de grond niet. De temperatuur ligt ver beneden nul: -45º C overdag, -95º C s nachts. Een licht briesje strijkt langs een microfoontje. Het registreert niets. De zon komt amper boven de horizon uit. De Phoenix geeft nauwelijks teken van leven. Op het laatst werken alleen de meteorologische instrumenten nog. Dan wordt het 10 november 2008 en trekt de NASA de stekker eruit. Na ruim vijf maanden is het weer stil op Mars. Niet in De Bilt. Daar klinken opgewonden stemmen. In de centrale hal van het KNMI reikt de staatssecretaris van Verkeer en Waterstaat, Tineke Huizinga, medailles en barometers uit aan zeevarenden. Ik heb geen idee of ze weten dat de bevroren woestijn van de rode planeet zeewater bevat. De groene polder. Grondwaterdeskundige Perry de Louw mist de strenge winters, de wakken in het ijs waaruit vogels drinken. Minder gecharmeerd is hij van gelijksoortige wellen in het landschap. Er borrelt zeewater uit op waardoor het oppervlaktewater verzilt. Oeroud zeewater dat 500 tot 5500 jaar geleden Nederland overspoelde. De NASA zoekt naar leven. De Louw zoekt naar een oplossing voor onze drinkwatervoorziening. De VOSvloot ondertussen gaat rustig verder met weerkundige observaties doen. Na 2011 geautomatiseerd. Varende robotten, zoals de marslander. Winter. At latitude 68º north, snow falls. It doesn t reach the surface. Temperature is far below zero: -45º C by day, -95º C by night. A light breeze strikes a little microphone, but it records nothing. The sun barely rises above the horizon. The Phoenix gives barely a sign of life. In the end only the meteorological instruments are still working. Then it s 10 November 2008 and NASA pulls the plug. After five months it s silent again on Mars. In De Bilt it isn t. Excited voices can be heard. In the KNMI main hall the Undersecretary of Transport and Public Works, Tineke Huizinga, awards seaman with a medal or barometer. I have no idea if they know the frozen dessert of the red planet contains seawater. The green polder. Soil water expert Perry de Louw misses the strong winters, the ice-holes which birds drink from. He s less enthusiastic about other some kinds of well in the landscape. Seawater is bubbling up from them, turning the surface water brackish. Ancient seawater that flooded the Netherlands 500 to 5500 years ago. NASA searches for life. Mr. de Louw searches for a solution to our drinking-water supply. The VOS-fleet meanwhile goes on regularly making weather observations. Automated after 2011. Sailing robots, like the Mars Lander. 4 MIM January 2009

The editors picture At source Steamboat Geyser, Yellowstone National Park Photo: Mila Zinkova MIM January 2009 5

Medals and barometers Undersecretary rewards VOS observers A memorable day for the those concerned. A lot of experienced seamen grounded in De Bilt on Monday the 10th November 2008 when Captains and Officers from both merchant shipping companies and the Navy were awarded medals and barometers for their contribution to meteorological services. They received these rewards from Undersecretary Tineke Huizinga from the Ministry of Transport and Water management. In her speech she underlined the importance of the observations from these Blue Giants as she called the seas and oceans. One of the Officers rewarded was Mr. Leo Versteeg, employed as Captain at Hapag Lloyd. After the ceremony he declared, I am genuinely pleased with this silver medal. I ve participated in this project since 1980. This is quite a while. I know it is important, but today I learned from the speech from Mr. Brouwer (director KNMI) and Mrs. Huizinga why these observations are so useful. Especially given the ongoing climatological change, the meteorological institutes worldwide seem to need the observations more than ever. Real motivation to continue!. Mr. Pronk from Svitzer Ocean Towage BV and Mr. Daane from Spliethoff Beheer BV received gold medals. The Royal Navy was rewarded with a tablet. This tablet was presented to Commander Hans Lodder on behalf of the rewarded officers from Hr. Ms. Tromp. In his welcoming speech KNMI 6 MIM January 2009

director Mr. Brouwer spoke about the importance of the observations for the end-users. He finished with the decision to automate the VOS: From the E-SURFMAR (European SURFace MARine program) comes the initiative to automate the VOS Observations. This initiative has consequences for the Dutch Ship Observations. The policy is aimed at austerity measures to reduce inspection work and gather more meteorological data from participating vessels. Denmark started this development. Support from Shipping Companies and officers remains inevitable, but the nature of this support will change. A number of observations is will be made by hand but the main focus will be at support and functioning of the AWS (Automated Weather Station). This development will not occur overnight but will take a considerable amount of time. Automation of observations has also consequences for meetings like this. The KNMI will continue to show its gratitude to those involved in the future, but this gratitude will have a different character. The amount of observations will no longer be the main basis for issuing rewards. MIM January 2009 7

The Director closed his speech with an old Dutch saying, If you move the piano everybody offers to carry the stool!. You don t do that! You voluntarily participated as a VOS ship making observations night and day, and I sincerely thank you for that. GOLD M.K. Daane Spliethoff Beheer B.V. C. Pronk Svitzer Ocean Towage B.V. SILVER L.J.P. Versteeg Hapag Lloyd J. Visser Holland Ship Service P.J.E. Dekker P. van den Oever Jo Tankers B.V. N.J.J. Sinnige Kahn P.J. Rommers Kustvaartbedrijf Moerman B.V. J. Klein W. Lindeboom Maersk Ship Management J.C. Ellen NIOZ A.J.M. Buijs R.C. Koningstein P.E.W.M. van Boxtel Seatrade Groningen B.V. F.S. Piscaer W.A. Bouwmeester J. Speelberg G.W. de Graaff. R.F. Scheffel. R.F. Berger Spliethoff Beheer B.V. 8 MIM January 2009

P. Heerema Svitzer Ocean Towage B.V. H.J. Otte B. Crum Vroon Ship Management B.V. BAROMETER J. de Vos Anthony Veder Rederijzaken A.F. Bijlstra H.F.M. Kat M.N.W. Boshuyzen G.J. Wijnands Broere Shipping Services B.V. C.J. van der Steen Holland Ship Service J.M. Semeins Jo Tankers B.V. E.V. Tijssen Maersk Ship Management G. Ros Min. v. Landbouw en Visserij E.A. Puijman NIOZ J.H. Levis Noble Corp. G. Bosch Oceanwide Offshore Services B.V. C.J. Metselaar P.R. Moentadi R. Hartsema Spliethoff Beheer B.V. L.C. Arizobal Vroon Ship Management B.V. TABLET Hr. Ms. Tromp Royal Navy MIM January 2009 9

KNMI HOOFDDIRECTEUR FRITS BROUWER SPRAK IN ZIJN WELKOMSSPEECH OVER HET VOORGENOMEN BESLUIT OM DE VOS-VLOOT TE AUTOMATISEREN: Vanuit het SURFMAR programma is ook het initiatief gekomen om het doen van scheepswaarnemingen te automatiseren. Dit initiatief heeft consequenties voor de Nederlandse scheepswaarnemingen. Het beleid is er op gericht om het doen van waarnemingen te automatiseren met als doel een besparing van de KNMI inspectiewerkzaamheden en nog meer meetgegevens vanaf hetzelfde schip. Een land als Denemarken ging ons daarin voor. De steun van de rederijen en zeevarenden blijft voor het doen van deze waarnemingen onmisbaar, maar de aard van deze steun zal veranderen. Een aantal waarnemingen zal nog steeds handmatig geschieden, maar de ondersteuning zal zich met name richten op het goed laten functioneren van het automatische weerstation. Deze ontwikkeling zal niet van vandaag op morgen gerealiseerd zijn, maar een aantal jaren in beslag nemen. Automatisering van de scheepswaarnemingen heeft ook consequenties voor een bijeenkomst als deze. Het KNMI wil ook in de toekomst zijn waardering laten blijken aan alle betrokkenen, maar deze waardering zal een ander karakter dienen te krijgen. Immers het aantal uitgevoerde waarnemingen is dan geen goede basis meer voor het uitreiken van beloningen. 10 MIM January 2009

The PMO Office announces Temperature and humidity measurement In the October issue of this publication the measurement of pressure was discussed. Pressure readings should be made as close as possible to the hour of observation. For temperature and humidity measurements this is less important since temperature and humidity changes gradually most of the time. The Dutch VOS ships are all equipped with a sling psychrometer. Don t use the ship s screen thermometer and wet bulb thermometer even if they are available since they are not certified for making weather observations. Some of the KNMI sling psychrometers contain mercury thermometers, other contain (blue) alcohol thermometers. Mercury regulations will result in the use of only alcohol thermometers in the near future. the condenser will generally be more suitable than ordinary fresh water. The psychrometer observation should be made to the windward side. Whirling or rotating the thermometers by hand at a controlled rate ensures the necessary ventilation. Sling psychrometers lacking radiation shields for the thermometer bulbs should be shielded from direct insolation in some other way. When the maximum difference between wet bulb temperature and regular temperature has been reached, the measurement is ready. Thermometers should be read at once after aspiration ceases! Don t forget to change the wick in time. The wick (free of grease and not contaminated by salt spray) must be moistened with distilled water. If this is not readily available, water from MIM January 2009 11

Normale temperatuur en hoeveelheid neerslag, zonnig Rob Sluijter Klimaatdata en advies, KNMI Herfst 2008 Kleurloze herfst, maar wel een winters slot TEMPERATUUR De gemiddelde temperatuur deze herfst is in De Bilt uitgekomen op 10,2 C, precies gelijk aan het langjarig gemiddelde. Zowel in september als oktober lag de gemiddelde temperatuur met 13,6 C en 10,1 C iets beneden de normaal van 14,2 C, respectievelijk 10,3 C. November was vrij zacht met een gemiddelde temperatuur van 6,9 C tegen een langjarig gemiddelde van 6,2 C. In totaal werden deze herfst in De Bilt zeven warme dagen genoteerd (maximumtemperatuur 20,0 C of hoger), tegen 12 normaal. Zes van de zeven warme dagen vielen in de eerste helft van september. Op 11 september werd het in De Bilt zelfs zomers warm (maximumtemperatuur 25,0 C of hoger). De landelijk hoogste temperatuur deze herfst werd die dag genoteerd in Maastricht: 27,3 C. Op 28 oktober daalde de temperatuur in De Bilt, voor het eerst na het zomerseizoen, tot onder het vriespunt. In totaal telde de herfst er negen vorstdagen (minimumtemperatuur lager dan 0,0 C), tegen zeven normaal. In de avond van 24 november werd het in Deelen -7,2 C, de landelijk laagste temperatuur deze herfst. NEERSLAG Gemiddeld over het land viel 238 mm neerslag, vrijwel gelijk aan het langjarig gemiddelde van 235 mm. Van de afzonderlijke maanden was september aan de droge kant met 63 mm, tegen een langjarig gemiddelde van 75 mm. Oktober was, met 94 mm tegen 78 mm normaal, vrij nat. In november was de hoeveelheid neerslag met 82 mm precies gelijk aan het langjarig gemiddelde. De meeste neerslag viel, zoals meestal in de herfst, in een brede kuststrook. Van de KNMI-stations was De Kooy het natst met 353 mm. Het zuidoosten verliep een stuk droger met op het KNMI-station Arcen niet meer dan 149 mm. In De Bilt werd 277 mm afgetapt tegen 230 mm normaal. Het noordwesten van het land had op 5 oktober te maken met wateroverlast. Op sommige plaatsen viel daar minstens 80 mm in 18 uur. Een dergelijke hoeveelheid neerslag wordt op een willekeurige plaats minder dan eens per 100 jaar geëvenaard of overschreden. Op 21 november veroorzaakten zeer zware windstoten van ca. 100-120 km/uur in vooral het westen en zuiden overlast. Op 23 november sneeuwde het urenlang in een groot deel van het land. Op de Veluwe ontstond een sneeuwdek van 10 tot 17 cm. Tijdens de nacht van 24 op 25 november was het met name in het midden en zuiden van het land verraderlijk glad. Tientallen ongevallen waren het gevolg. ZONNESCHIJN Met gemiddeld over het land 336 uren zonneschijn tegen 302 uren normaal was de herfst zonnig. De zon liet zich 12 MIM January 2009

in september en oktober vaker zien dan normaal mag worden verwacht. September telde 158 en oktober 128 zonuren tegen 136, respectievelijk 105 uren normaal. Het aantal zonuren in november was 51 tegen 60 normaal. Het zonnigst was de herfst in het zuidwestelijk kustgebied, het minst zonnig in het noordoosten van het land. Van de KNMI-stations had Wilhelminadorp in Zeeland de meeste zonuren: 372. Eelde registreerde met 295 het minste aantal uren.. In De Bilt scheen de zon 334 uren tegen normaal 298. Vorig jaar Herfst was in De Bilt de gemiddelde temperatuur 10,2 C, het aantal uren zonneschijn 307 en de neerslagsom 187 mm. Normaal=het langjarig gemiddelde over het tijdvak 1971-2000. MIM January 2009 13

Flights through Ike An eye-witness account. A special experience I ll long cherish. In September 2008 KNMI senior scientist Ad Stoffelen flew through Hurricanes Hanna and Ike taking measurements. He is responsible for measuring wind data with scatterometers (wind measuring instruments on board satellites). These scatterometers need to be properly calibrated, particularly in threatening weather systems such as hurricanes. To do so, research flights are made in aircraft equipped with scatterometers through hurricanes. Ad spent ten days on these research flights, and here his experiences with Ike are reported. Kermit Two years ago Paul Chang from NOAA called and asked if EUMETSAT (the European organisation for developing weather satellites) would be interested in setting up an experiment with the hurricane hunters. The idea was to improve the accuracy of measurements of hurricane winds over sea made by the ASCAT scatterometer. Detailed wind observations would be made from an aircraft at the same time as the ASCAT satellite made its measurements and then these observations would be compared to hopefully improve the interpretation of the satellite measurements. NOAA s National Hurricane Center has great interest in this work because ASCAT can penetrate cloud and rain to provide unique wind information about the intensity and structure of hurricanes. This is obviously of huge importance in forecasting the track and intensity of the hurricane. Paul Chang s offer was very interesting. They had an aeroplane, called Kermit, equipped with unique instruments, spare flying hours and a crew. We had to simply send someone along to fly with them to ensure the aeroplane made measurements at the right time and place in the hurricane relative to the ASCAT instrument. Risk Of course it occurred to me immediately that there d be risk flying in hurricanes. Fear can often be conquered by trust and understanding. This was also the case here. Take, for example, the crew, one of whom has been involved in flying through hurricanes for 30 years. Outside the hurricane season the pilots and navigator work in defence and have lots of experience with Lockheed Orion P3 aircraft. These aircraft have flown many more hours and are exposed to much more intensive manoeuvres than Kermit has been in the last 30 years. For example, I heard from one pilot that one of these Orion P3s was recently written off because during a manoeuvre a pilot exposed the aircraft to force seven times that of gravity, causing a wing to be torn off. Luckily the pilot lived to tell the tale. A hurricane is clearly less of a test for an Orion P3. Medal In January 2007 I took part in a research flight around Newfoundland, just east of Canada. There too the research programme was very successful and we measured winds of almost 150 km/hour. I was only just back on Dutch soil when I had an email from Kermit telling me, I don t think we re gonna make it. Luckily after three quarters of an hour there followed a relieved phone call saying that Kermit had managed to safely return to land after all. Through the sheer size of the storm too much salt got into the propellers from the precipitation 14 MIM January 2009

and three of the four motors broke down. Just fifteen seconds before the plane would ditch the pilots got one a second propeller to work again allowing an immediate return to base. After this incident flight procedures were amended, even for the Tropics where such a problem had never occurred. Safety above everything else, but I d underestimated this, just like the experienced hurricane hunters. How glad I was that I was at home, even though I missed out on the gold medals the crew were awarded. September 2: sandals With faith in the new operating procedures I travelled to Tampa, Florida. Hanna raged over Cuba and it looked like her successor, Ike, then still over the middle of the ocean, would strongly intensify. After some bad experiences with luggage I travel light where possible so I often have no baggage to check-in. For Florida I thought I could leave my jumper, coat and boots at home. A handful of T-shirts, underwear and shorts would surely do. And in any case these days with the new security rules you can t travel with big bottles of shampoo and tubes of toothpaste. My fellow researchers in Florida arrived at the airport in Tampa similarly attired so I didn t think any further of it. The next day we went to the American air force base at Tampa where Kermit is stationed. En route we stopped at Starbucks and Paul told me to ride along with Joe to the base because he works there and the fewer people in a vehicle the more straightforward security tends to be. Before Joe arrived at Starbucks Paul noticed I was wearing sandals and this turned out to be a problem. For safety reasons boots or tough shoes need to be worn on board Kermit. Damaging my big toe wasn t my greatest worry about flying through a Ad Stoffelen flew through Hurricanes Hanna and Ike hurricane, but rules are rules. At the researchers have a go at flying the base Joe found some work boots for plane (wow!!). The idea is to fly me. straight, but I think I signed my name in the sky. Not quite a straight September 6: signature line. In short happy that we do A trip from Tampa, Florida to St. actually have pilots with us and that Croix in the Caribbean, now who we, as researchers, don t have to fly wouldn t fancy that? However, it through Ike on our own. won t be just a trip, because en route we re going to meet Hurricane On the northwest side of Ike Ike. On the one hand we re flying conditions are relatively dry and to provide the National Hurricane sunny and so soon we can see the Center in the USA with actual data hurricane looming in the distance; about the intensity and structure of a sort of black stripe on the horizon the storm, and on the other hand, that quickly comes threateningly my bit, we re flying under the track towards us. Both above and below us of the ASCAT scatterometer to get cloud amounts increase, but we still high quality observations to better catch regular glimpses of the sea, calibrate ASCAT. With ASCAT on which looks increasingly rough. Even board the MetOp-A satellite the when we re flying through the band wind over the sea surface can be of maximum winds we see the sea. determined. Yesterday evening It s a spectacular sight, and ASCAT measured the highest wind even for experienced hurricane speeds ever (since October 2006) hunters a relatively unusual measured and now we can verify this experience. when we fly under ASCAT s path this afternoon. In the eastern sector the sea temperature drops from 25oC to In the early stages of the flight 22oC over a wide area. Ike leaves the pilots are happy to let the behind a trail in the sea as his strong MIM January 2009 15

The otherwise idyllic light blue sea is transformed into a sort of asparagus soup. winds mix the warm surface water with colder water below causing a net decrease in sea surface temperature. From the northwest we travel southeast through the eye and then back again. At that moment the ASCAT passes over us. Just above the sea surface we measure winds around 200 km/hour locally, and in general this ties in well with the highest winds ASCAT has measured. Ike will now be a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir Simpson scale, Category 5 being the most intense hurricane on this scale. I m curious what the latest ASCAT readings, which will be available in 30 minutes, will show. According to the instruments mean sea level pressure s fallen to 950 hpa in the eye. We cross Ike eight times from different directions, each time releasing a dropsonde which will give us a wind profile from 2 km down to the sea surface. From time to time it absolutely chucks it down. In these conditions the aircraft is bounced around from all directions and I m glad I took an anti-seasickness pill. Now I can enjoy the experience. When I can finally release my seatbelt the other crew members, some of whom have 25 years experience, tell me that it was an exciting ride for them too. I m happy that we ve made it through safe and sound. That doesn t apply to the aircraft though there is some damage from the wind and hail to equipment that s fixed to the wing. The plane underwent accelerations from -1.1 to +3.2 times gravity. The boundaries under which flying is allowed lies between -1.5 and +3.5 times gravity. I ll never forget this awesome trip. September 7: eye wall Yesterday the ASCAT scatterometer once again measured the highest wind speeds ever recorded just as we flew through Ike. Ike is a Category 4 and is now intensifying. During the briefing concern was expressed about the state of the plane s tail after tangling with Ike yesterday. It is not possible to make a full inspection of the aircraft tail construction in St, Croix. The plan is to return to Tampa immediately when stress on the plane exceeds +2.5 or falls below -1.1 times the gravitational field. We leave a little earlier because 16 MIM January 2009

during the evening Ike will move towards Cuba. We haven t got permission to fly over Cuba, although in all probability they won t come after us when we do fly there. Ike has not become too much stronger than yesterday, but looks more symmetrical on satellite photos. Consequently we should see a nice, round eye. The eye is usually visible in satellite imagery, but it does sometimes disappear. The eye is surrounded by what s called the eye wall, a wall of cloud extended from 1 km or so to more than 10 km high. When the eye is symmetrical it is completely surrounded by this eyewall. There is also little cloud and calm conditions in a well-developed eye. When the MetOp-A satellite passes this evening the eye is around 100 km outside the strip of sea surface measured by ASCAT. Because the zone with the most intense winds near the eye is less than 100 km wide today s data set is unfortunately less useful for our purposes. We measure a central pressure of 943 hpa in the eye. I don t get this at home! On the sea surface we measure 200 km/ hour winds, very much a Catergory 4 hurricane. We fly through the eye several times until after sunset. It is indeed a well-developed eye and looks both magnificent and quiet with an enormous wall of cloud all around us. A wonderful experience I ll keep with me forever. September 10: asparagus soup Ike has clearly weakened over Cuba. During today s flight we measured maximum winds of 65 knots (33 m/s or 119 km/hour). It seems like I m getting used to tropical cyclones, because today s flight doesn t feel like anything special. We crossed Ike s eye eight times, the final time as the ASCAT scatterometer passes, so once again we re able to get some good simultaneous comparative data between ASCAT and the instruments on board our aircraft, Kermit. This time we were allowed to fly over Cuba. Because Ike had just crossed Cuba we were able to see the effects of Ike on Cuba and its coastal waters. In the shallow waters of the Caribbean Ike has left a trail of destruction behind. The otherwise idyllic light blue sea is transformed into a sort of asparagus soup. Strong winds and low pressure in the eye of Ike MIM January 2009 17

The eye is surrounded by what s called the eye wall Sediment from the bottom (coral) is clearly stirred and mixed with the salt water. During the majority of the flight round Ike we measured winds around 25 m/s (90 km/hour), which shows us that although the centre has been broken up a little by Cuba s topography, there is still a lot of energy in and around the hurricane. The forecast increase in Ike to a Category 3 looks likely. September 11: spiral After a short night and taking care of the necessary media contacts in Holland and other emails we re on the move again at 12:00 for my fourth and last trip through Ike. The hurricane is gathering itself together again after crossing Cuba. A developing Ike over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico promises some turbulence. First we collect some lunch and dinner, then we go to the hangar for the planning breifing. Today there is no ASCAT satellite pass across Ike, but there is a QuikScat pass around 20:00 local time, so we ll use the advanced scatterometer on board Kermit to look at this data. Conditions during the first part of the flight are showery as Ike spreads his influence. Winds quickly pick up and exceed 20 m/s. The enormous cloud towers provide an impressive spectacle. As we fly towards the eye the wind picks up; 30 km from the eye we record 40 m/s at our flight level; (2400 m), and 37 m/s at 10 m. Then the wind suddenly decreases to 20 m/s, the rain stops, the cloud breaks and the sea surface is clearly visible again. As I look outside it dawns on me that we re in the spiral around the eye. We ve just flown through a convective band with bad weather and before we get to the eye we need to fly through a second band. This pattern repeats itself regardless of the direction we fly in. In the innermost band the wind rapidly shoots up to the old values, and it rains cats and dogs again. Every 45 minutes we cross Ike and each time we note a lower and lower central pressure; 949 hpa, 945 hpa, 942 hpa, 941 hpa, 939 hpa what will it get down to over the next few days? The wind increases through our flight too, but that could be associated with the various embedded convective cells and bands we pass though. The pressure pattern shows more symmetry than the wind pattern through our transects. We record a maximum wind of 18 MIM January 2009

Jo Spruce, 14 September: coldfront, day after Ike reached Texas 40 m/s at sea level and 48 m/s at flight level. That exceeds the forecasts from the National Hurricane Center who ll amend their forecasts based on our data. Incredible Of the four flights I made through Ike, the first two were the most demanding. Ike was then a Category 4 hurricane, Category 5 being the most intense class of hurricane. At one point it felt as though the aircraft had been picked up and then thrown back down again downwind. Shocked I looked around, but the crew looked calm, so I figured this sort of thing was quite normal. It was an incredible week. Translation English text: Dan Suri Jo Spruce: Ike carbage MIM January 2009 19

M.H. Jansen Certificates During the past period were 39 M.H. Jansen Certificates awarded for 50 OBS, 15 for 250 and 4 for 500 OBS. Together with the 250 and 500 certificates a set of pens and a coat of arms were awarded respectively as well. The PMO-Office would like to congratulate the officers and apprentices who have received a certificate from us this time. Anthony Veder Rederijzaken 50 OBS: Augustian A. Heriyanto A. Novianto T.D. Prastyo E Satria I. 250 OBS: Bulte D. Dean J. Phalevi M.R 500 OBS: Gunawan A. Broere Shipping Services B.V. 50 OBS: Koster de J. Dockwise Shipping B.V. 50 OBS: Degtjarjovs I. Djomins I. Jurshins M. Kireicikovs V. Timofejevs R. Kahn Scheepvaart B.V. 50 OBS: Brinke ten B.H. Graaf de S. Jong de J.E. Reijngoud R. Reijnhout V. Stenneberg M.A. 250 OBS: Hagenaars F. Rehorst M.W. Wisse A.P. Maersk Ship Management 50 OBS: Visser L. Seatrade Groningen B.V. 50 OBS: Domingo F.R. Kutalev R. Samoshkina L. Severgin V. 250 OBS: Fil chenkov V. Reglos K.S. Sistosa A.I. Tkachenko O. Trusov A. 500 OBS: Moiseyev L. Svitzer Ocean Towage B.V. 50 OBS: Bogomolov O. 250 OBS: Zhyltsov O.V. Spliethoff Beheer B.V. 50 OBS: Bruinsma P.E. Cañete D. Ferwerda T. Goryachenkov A. Kahara T. Malalis C.B.J.R. Mark van der J.L. Tabada M.E. Tugonon A.C. Uzlyakov A.V. Veldhuizen G. 250 OBS: Verbuys J. Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut 500 OBS: Adjei J.L. Striekwold G.C.M. Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut Instituut Instituut Meteorologisch Meteorologisch Nederlands Nederlands Koninklijk Koninklijk Vroon Ship Management B.V. 50 OBS: Castillo J.R. 250 OBS: Avila R.T. Ong Sotto J. Wagenborg Scheepvaart B.V. 50 OBS: Hasper P. Janssen van Doorn S.G. Tampos E.A. Tiemessen M.W.H. 20 MIM January 2009 Koninklijk N

RESULTS, The list always refers to the past 12 months. 2007 2008 Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Juli Aug Sep Oct Nov Sum AALSMEERGRACHT PCAM 53 8 27 13 17 14 10 2 27 34 24 24 253 ACHTERGRACHT PCCL 10 48 56 74 59 52 29 29 46 53 59 34 549 ADMIRALENGRACHT PCDE 54 37 91 67 16 35 23 38 6 61 51 23 502 ADRIATIC PJHB 0 13 31 53 50 31 0 8 18 8 33 13 258 AFRICABORG PHMH 48 78 41 29 196 ALBLASGRACHT PCIG 22 8 44 48 12 69 22 6 29 21 27 27 335 ALEXANDERGRACHT PCKU 20 28 30 18 27 18 44 35 32 31 24 50 357 AMERICABORG PHKT 13 46 16 39 68 16 36 43 27 57 1 362 AMSTELGRACHT PCPR 3 37 44 38 21 23 18 26 11 17 8 28 274 ANJELIERSGRACHT PCGQ 10 36 21 21 31 38 37 18 79 25 23 24 363 ANKERGRACHT PCQL 0 0 17 44 32 28 0 33 21 21 130 90 416 ANTILLA PJJI 9 0 0 23 3 40 51 12 3 5 3 21 170 APOLLOGRACHT PCSV 14 0 57 35 11 31 59 19 63 73 53 71 486 ARCHANGELGRACHT PCTG 20 2 4 2 5 1 14 28 0 18 57 32 183 ARNEBORG PHHD 12 22 45 15 20 46 22 34 31 31 42 38 358 ARTISGRACHT PCUI 0 4 3 3 6 2 31 78 31 34 43 46 281 ARUBA PJJH 28 0 25 28 16 55 46 75 8 72 84 19 456 ASIABORG PHIW 8 5 0 11 7 13 8 15 67 ASIATIC C6KE3 0 0 0 1 7 31 51 47 67 53 68 63 388 ATLANTICBORG PHNG 12 88 81 52 64 53 34 384 ATLASGRACHT PCVX 0 0 2 4 21 5 0 12 24 26 17 42 153 AVATAQ PFPT 22 32 32 30 17 28 30 0 0 0 0 0 191 BASTIAAN BROERE PCZM 0 0 0 0 0 1 15 0 5 4 1 0 26 BENGUELA STREAM PENR 23 100 90 72 77 89 87 104 150 129 150 137 1208 BERGE PACIFIC LAIK5 73 73 BERGE STAHL LATO2 15 14 0 22 46 51 52 61 45 35 61 46 448 BUZZARD BAY A8JH8 62 54 74 71 75 55 51 46 42 27 31 27 615 COLD STREAM PJRH 1 26 0 25 5 15 35 17 27 9 24 55 239 COMOROS STREAM A8IP4 11 3 0 16 19 12 6 15 17 21 21 8 149 COOL EXPRESS PDKK 13 13 13 25 48 50 48 60 30 19 15 20 354 CORAL CARBONIC TBWA05 8 35 60 44 66 10 56 68 52 38 23 46 506 CORAL FAVIA TBWA08 8 0 90 92 80 39 45 2 0 31 59 51 497 CORAL ISIS TBWA18 24 12 41 43 85 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 212 CORAL MEANDRA TBWA09 0 0 10 0 46 39 57 9 27 32 24 5 249 CORAL MILLEPORA TBWA10 0 0 8 42 21 2 27 27 4 69 146 98 444 CORAL OBELIA TBWA06 0 0 5 0 53 83 104 107 71 49 90 80 642 CORAL PALMATA TBWA16 4 1 13 50 46 76 61 37 92 77 41 37 535 CORAL PAVONA ELXG9 83 62 27 29 24 17 9 9 6 22 42 37 367 CORAL RIGIDA TBWA15 15 13 209 297 76 29 9 17 11 13 7 3 699 CORAL RUBRUM TBWA13 1 8 34 18 38 60 15 20 29 12 0 12 247 DANIELLA PDNN 26 7 47 56 43 61 22 45 14 50 42 69 482 DOCK EXPRESS 10 PBBT 4 67 67 56 39 37 0 47 63 54 13 0 447 DUTCH AQUAMARINE PCHS 36 7 20 28 6 42 58 31 7 42 32 18 327 DUTCH EMERALD PCIP 1 25 37 23 21 71 29 36 42 34 36 100 455 DUTCH ENGINEER PDTS 0 9 18 10 1 3 0 19 12 4 3 2 81 DUTCH FAITH PDTM 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 15 4 0 0 24 DUTCH MARINER PDTT 0 0 3 9 33 14 27 11 18 28 10 2 155 DUTCH MATE PDTQ 0 23 0 2 13 29 10 0 5 0 37 24 143 DUTCH NAVIGATOR PDTP 7 0 0 4 19 13 24 43 28 48 54 33 273 DUTCH PILOT PDTU 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 4 1 40 32 25 113 DUTCH PROGRESS PDTV 0 0 0 0 0 0 24 22 16 2 6 1 71 DUTCH SPIRIT PDTO 0 9 0 0 0 44 69 2 19 54 14 11 222 EAGLE BAY A8JH7 0 5 1 1 7 31 17 28 20 4 13 31 158 EDAMGRACHT PDWZ 40 104 47 83 44 60 46 61 66 47 48 66 712 EDISONGRACHT PDUJ 8 18 46 69 56 55 69 0 0 0 0 0 321 EDITH MAERSK OXOR2 8 8 EEMSGRACHT PDXQ 2 1 22 46 27 4 6 3 1 27 12 37 188 EENDRACHT PDVN 8 56 19 36 11 3 0 14 12 1 9 35 204 EGELANTIERSGRACHT PDWT 29 27 40 70 69 49 46 79 49 30 19 4 511 EGMONDGRACHT PDWG 0 0 1 58 41 47 16 32 28 32 34 19 308 ELANDSGRACHT PDYI 0 0 3 57 91 50 46 18 5 0 0 0 270 ELLY MAERSK OXHY2 47 47 ELSEBETH A8IO2 21 37 6 34 35 39 21 7 29 60 63 25 377 ELVIRA A8IP2 31 40 48 33 33 40 40 38 22 23 7 21 376 EMERALD A8IP3 41 40 24 14 15 16 13 17 31 22 12 23 268 EMMAGRACHT PDYX 50 27 20 54 27 10 0 0 0 0 1 8 197 MIM January 2009 21

2007 2008 Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Juli Aug Sep Oct Nov Sum EMMA MAERSK OYGR2 0 0 ERASMUSGRACHT PDYV 55 55 35 24 25 26 37 11 13 10 29 25 345 ESMERALDA A8IN8 48 24 33 71 43 43 47 53 39 37 58 60 556 EUROGRACHT PDZR 15 11 5 25 51 15 0 64 42 51 28 72 379 EUROPA PDZS 57 63 38 86 63 0 0 0 0 50 56 51 464 EVA N A8QJ7 39 51 76 91 50 60 46 28 10 28 48 50 577 EVELYN MAERSK OXHV2 19 19 FAIRLANE PBFW 0 1 0 1 13 20 14 41 31 32 12 6 171 FAIRLIFT PEBM 23 46 30 36 33 62 18 0 19 12 18 4 301 FAIRLOAD PEBP 28 13 41 72 53 65 25 13 0 15 43 52 420 FAIRMAST PHEB 0 0 0 0 15 30 56 45 57 48 50 33 334 FALCON BAY A8JI2 5 9 7 47 41 17 56 59 70 17 17 19 364 FLINTERDUIN PEBT 64 30 32 65 42 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 258 HAPPY BUCCANEER PEND 0 14 42 24 38 33 28 36 30 44 20 41 350 HAPPY RANGER PCER 16 9 10 24 74 24 39 37 36 7 2 18 296 HAPPY RIVER PCAW 24 1 4 1 1 145 64 210 216 25 99 74 864 HAPPY ROVER PCBZ 0 29 56 73 60 60 61 69 47 61 39 63 618 HAWK BAY A8JH9 21 0 0 0 1 26 42 36 50 39 46 47 308 HEDWIG OLDENDORFF A8FZS 75 49 38 46 47 36 18 309 HOLLAND KLIPPER PESF 0 5 52 38 32 6 51 11 23 63 15 52 348 IVER EXACT PHJV 5 60 33 35 38 22 193 IVER EXCEL PCBU 50 28 19 2 24 47 53 54 35 35 63 73 483 IVER EXPERIENCE PECF 34 32 23 25 31 22 12 12 2 10 5 7 215 IVER EXPERT PCEX 30 26 23 24 42 36 34 47 45 40 44 20 411 IVER EXPORTER PFBF 51 38 37 33 59 69 52 67 55 32 34 11 538 JACOBUS BROERE PEYU 12 0 24 21 2 10 5 17 16 11 19 1 138 JO CEDAR PFDI 7 9 2 30 42 0 20 15 28 37 5 60 255 JO SELJE PFEI 7 15 17 30 2 42 70 39 13 90 13 8 346 JO SPRUCE PFAS 31 29 15 12 42 32 19 23 17 53 51 4 328 JO SYCAMORE LAOO5 22 4 13 63 50 74 20 31 36 49 48 27 437 JO SYPRESS PFSK 4 17 15 17 51 5 0 35 33 53 0 37 267 JOHANNES MAERSK OWFDZ 36 2 22 9 16 21 15 37 26 14 41 17 256 JOINT FROST PJOJ 0 1 42 54 34 26 23 11 30 19 39 0 279 JUMBO CHALLENGER PHED 0 0 35 54 32 24 4 9 19 32 3 16 228 JUMBO JAVELIN PHEG 0 11 0 18 17 12 0 0 0 28 37 57 180 JUMBO SPIRIT PFFH 29 0 30 6 5 0 0 0 6 31 39 28 174 KARLA-OMAYRA PJUO 0 0 0 11 13 10 13 4 0 3 0 0 54 KLIPPER STREAM PHBO 0 0 LICA MAERSK OWAY2 40 51 40 53 64 79 12 26 71 53 43 85 617 LOMBOK STRAIT A8IO3 1 2 0 0 0 3 0 0 40 32 3 0 81 LONDON PCBI 21 58 0 11 82 95 0 32 67 0 69 92 527 LUZON STRAIT A81O4 7 4 7 39 25 8 0 2 20 21 7 15 155 MAERSK IMOSHIMA PHPP 0 0 0 MAERSK INVERNESS PBDH 0 1 0 0 62 82 64 34 243 MAERSL IZMIR PHOB 0 0 69 56 125 MAERSK KALMAR PDHP 7 22 23 11 16 9 43 24 38 52 50 36 331 MAERSK KAMPALA PFDH 23 14 13 21 32 23 26 43 50 49 8 33 335 MAERSK KIMI PDHO 15 28 20 70 36 12 42 26 40 16 21 14 340 MAERSK KLAIPEDA PBAS 12 12 3 7 27 48 54 23 40 35 34 39 334 MAERSK PALERMO PHDW 34 18 21 20 48 64 62 16 54 65 77 49 528 MAERSK PEMBROKE PDHY 12 11 0 0 29 64 51 58 50 51 63 71 460 MAERSK PENANG TBWA01 8 13 12 30 52 58 60 53 53 49 60 49 497 MAERSK SALALAH PHPG 23 29 29 81 MAERSK SAVANNAH PHPS 7 7 MAERSK STEPNICA PHNH 0 12 22 20 32 33 35 41 39 234 MAERSK STOCKHOLM PHPQ 39 14 18 71 MAGDALENA PBCK 0 0 0 17 44 0 69 90 0 6 10 5 241 MAKIRI GREEN C6VX8 0 0 0 15 16 24 19 41 46 40 50 7 258 MARINUS GREEN PECS 22 13 14 13 8 1 23 4 2 53 26 51 230 MARISSA GREEN PBAG 39 72 56 36 59 43 61 20 8 7 47 58 506 MARLENE GREEN PBCJ 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 MERINO EXPRESS DYKY 75 65 35 47 56 60 32 54 85 50 64 42 665 MIGHTY SERVANT 1 PJVZ 24 64 86 64 26 29 30 102 100 0 0 19 544 NASSAUBORG PHDU 0 0 8 22 0 7 28 53 66 65 76 73 398 NICKERIE PJJL 1 7 0 7 0 0 0 13 7 31 21 17 104 NLL BARENTSZ PHKL 11 9 10 19 53 29 11 16 27 23 32 20 260 NLL MERCATOR PCIM 1 1 6 18 39 48 22 40 25 38 28 20 286 NOVA CALEDONIA 9HIH5 0 0 0 24 45 25 33 6 22 31 44 0 230 NOVA FRIESIA A8OA7 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 4 11 28 32 24 104 NOVA TERRA C6IZ7 32 13 0 0 47 34 34 38 10 0 54 11 273 NOVA ZEELANDIA PJHA 0 0 0 0 18 74 54 56 1 26 35 18 282 ORANJEBORG PIAG 33 24 33 73 43 24 25 9 30 34 39 48 415 PACIFIC PGQI 15 4 7 42 53 17 23 11 15 46 41 74 348 22 MIM January 2009

2007 2008 Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Juli Aug Sep Oct Nov Sum PELAGIA PGRQ 158 150 47 27 27 0 37 110 101 93 135 163 1048 POLAR STREAM A8IO6 0 0 0 54 31 1 7 7 9 0 48 73 230 PRINCE OF SEAS A8JI5 0 0 0 10 36 36 73 75 15 15 7 14 281 PRINSENBORG PBJF 0 0 31 48 26 18 22 62 16 2 18 44 287 PRINS J. WILLEM FRISO TBWA07 1 1 18 36 34 37 43 28 23 36 52 46 355 RHONEBORG PEDS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 16 33 64 RHUR NEU A8KU7 18 19 37 ROTTERDAM PDGS 116 63 64 11 66 148 96 16 64 144 154 114 1056 ROTTERDAM (smitwijs) PHPO 56 50 90 44 85 106 0 76 63 20 60 58 708 ROYAL KLIPPER PCIH 41 56 57 67 54 46 93 81 82 80 76 99 832 SAMAAIGRACHT PHCQ 63 43 79 54 52 43 33 51 49 73 12 35 587 SAMPOGRACHT PHDL 5 3 1 41 34 53 41 42 47 33 32 15 347 SANTA LUCIA A8IP5 43 34 16 72 47 41 65 39 38 45 53 34 527 SANTA MARIA A8IN7 6 0 0 27 19 39 16 19 39 66 62 56 349 SCHELDEGRACHT PFAQ 8 5 16 17 29 9 15 6 14 14 31 26 190 SCHIPPERSGRACHT PCGR 0 2 10 29 73 40 75 30 36 7 0 0 302 SINGAPORE PHHB 37 19 40 27 0 0 33 49 16 5 87 11 324 SINGELGRACHT PCGM 21 11 1 21 15 24 35 38 7 20 20 46 259 SLOTERGRACHT PDBP 11 4 0 11 4 7 6 30 27 37 37 13 187 SLUISGRACHT PFBE 17 0 15 11 22 16 23 54 55 56 58 37 364 SNOEKGRACHT PCHF 14 21 11 4 16 22 15 7 42 44 77 32 305 SPAARNEGRACHT PDBO 44 25 31 31 14 14 10 32 35 33 37 21 327 SPIEGELGRACHT PCEO 36 24 28 30 28 27 14 31 20 48 21 49 356 SPRING BOB TBW04 101 69 60 38 0 62 42 61 56 20 49 32 590 SPRING BOK PBFM 0 0 18 36 30 29 53 33 46 46 44 48 383 SPRING DELI PJFF 24 19 18 34 18 26 45 30 14 40 31 15 314 SPRING PANDA PHQX 32 42 51 74 55 56 43 58 59 51 33 25 579 SPRING TIGER PCBV 60 60 54 41 39 74 24 76 56 49 33 19 585 SPUIGRACHT PBBB 13 21 19 28 43 34 59 49 32 53 68 72 491 STAD AMSTERDAM PECA 16 9 5 13 46 30 11 22 25 2 5 17 201 STADIONGRACHT PDBY 48 62 61 82 54 20 54 42 20 35 28 10 516 STATENGRACHT PHAQ 9 12 37 8 17 2 17 24 26 38 19 21 230 STELLA NOVA PHQW 0 0 0 18 25 58 25 50 29 38 47 5 295 STELLA PRIMA PHEA 1 21 15 19 0 0 1 0 0 79 68 33 237 STELLA WEGA PHHQ 0 0 0 0 2 16 12 27 43 12 28 52 192 SUOMIGRACHT PHBT 11 10 1 12 6 13 32 28 21 7 30 11 182 SUPER SERVANT 3 PJPN 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 SUPER SERVANT 4 PJPO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TIMCA PHFL 5 0 29 33 39 31 27 53 57 45 36 54 409 TRACER PHAC 50 41 12 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 125 TRAMPER PHAA 30 1 22 7 0 29 102 68 3 11 6 49 328 TRANSPORTER PHAL 16 39 34 40 23 16 0 0 0 45 32 24 269 TRAVELLER PHAM 24 0 40 65 73 63 53 32 69 7 0 26 452 UAL ABERDEEN PBHZ 8 0 0 1 0 22 6 51 35 15 30 8 176 UAL AFRICA PBGY 24 24 42 26 12 11 12 0 0 0 0 0 151 UAL TEXAS PBEN 0 0 44 18 17 15 1 0 35 58 22 3 213 UMIA VUT PFQE 0 0 12 11 59 3 43 0 0 0 0 1 129 SUM 3354 3253 4138 5431 5311 5573 5340 5664 5580 5946 6262 5882 61734 ROYAL NAVY - From the participating navy vessels 178 observations were received by GTS. THE FLEET During the fourth quarter of 2008 eightteen ships stopped making observations: the Maersk Miami, the Maersk Radford, the Nedlloyd Africa, the Nedlloyd America, the Nedlloyd Asia, the Nedlloyd Europa, the Nedlloyd Honshu, the Nedlloyd Oceania, the Dockexpress 12, the Fairpartner, the Isis, the Green Iceland, the Green Maveric, the Green Music, the Green Magic, the Green Majestic, the Green Magnific and the Green Klipper. We would like to welcome twelve new ships: the Maersk Izmir, the Maersk Salalah, the Maersk Stockholm, the Maersk Imoshima, the Maersk Savannah, the Elly Maersk, the Evelyn Maersk, the Edith Maersk, the Emma Maersk, the Klipper Stream, the Ruhr Neu and the Berge Pacific. The Dutch VOS-fleet is made up of 185 Selected Ships and 31 Royal Navy ships. From 1 March 2008 observations from offshore installations in the North Sea have been automated. MIM January 2009 23

10 TOP RANKING 2008 The Top 10 list looks at the calander year. There will always be a difference in number of OBS s with the list of results. January Sum 1 PELAGIA 150 150 2 EDAMGRACHT 104 104 3 BENGUELA STREAM 100 100 4 MARISSA GREEN 72 72 5 SPRING BOB 69 69 6 DOCK EXPRESS 10 67 67 7 MERINO EXPRESS 65 65 8 MIGHTY SERVANT 1 64 64 9 EUROPA 63 63 10 ROTTERDAM 63 63 Febuary Sum 1 CORAL RIGIDA 209 222 2 PELAGIA 47 197 3 BENGUELA STREAM 90 190 4 EDAMGRACHT 47 151 5 MIGHTY SERVANT 1 86 150 6 ROTTERDAM (smitwijs) 90 140 7 DOCK EXPRESS 10 67 134 8 SPRING BOB 60 129 9 ADMIRALENGRACHT 91 128 10 BUZZARD BAY 74 128 March Sum April Sum 1 CORAL RIGIDA 297 519 2 BENGUELA STREAM 72 262 3 EDAMGRACHT 83 234 4 PELAGIA 27 224 5 BERGE NORD 91 218 6 MIGHTY SERVANT 1 64 214 7 STADIONGRACHT 82 205 8 BUZZARD BAY 71 199 9 ADMIRALENGRACHT 67 195 10 DOCK EXPRESS 10 56 190 1 CORAL RIGIDA 76 595 2 BENGUELA STREAM 77 339 3 EDAMGRACHT 44 278 4 BUZZARD BAY 75 274 5 ROTTERDAM (smitwijs) 85 269 6 BERGE NORD 50 268 7 CORAL FAVIA 80 262 8 STADIONGRACHT 54 259 9 PELAGIA 27 251 10 EUROPA 63 250 24 MIM January 2009

May Sum 1 CORAL RIGIDA 29 624 2 BENGUELA STREAM 89 428 3 ROTTERDAM (smitwijs) 106 375 4 ROTTERDAM 148 352 5 EDAMGRACHT 60 338 6 BUZZARD BAY 55 329 7 BERGE NORD 60 328 8 CORAL FAVIA 39 301 9 ACHTERGRACHT 52 289 10 LICA MAERSK 79 287 June Sum 1 CORAL RIGIDA 9 633 2 BENGUELA STREAM 87 515 3 ROTTERDAM 96 448 4 EDAMGRACHT 46 384 5 BUZZARD BAY 51 380 6 ROTTERDAM (smitwijs) 0 375 7 BERGE NORD 46 374 8 ROYAL KLIPPER 93 373 9 CORAL FAVIA 45 346 10 HAPPY ROVER 61 339 July Sum 1 CORAL RIGIDA 17 650 2 BENGUELA STREAM 104 619 3 ROTTERDAM 16 464 4 ROYAL KLIPPER 81 454 5 ROTTERDAM (smitwijs) 76 451 6 EDAMGRACHT 61 445 7 BUZZARD BAY 46 426 8 HAPPY RIVER 210 426 9 HAPPY ROVER 69 408 10 BERGE NORD 28 402 August Sum 1 BENGUELA STREAM 150 769 2 CORAL RIGIDA 11 661 3 HAPPY RIVER 216 642 4 ROYAL KLIPPER 82 536 5 ROTTERDAM 64 528 6 ROTTERDAM (smitwijs) 63 514 7 EDAMGRACHT 66 511 8 MIGHTY SERVANT 1 100 501 9 PELAGIA 101 499 10 BUZZARD BAY 42 468 September Sum 1 BENGUELA STREAM 129 898 2 CORAL RIGIDA 13 674 3 ROTTERDAM 144 672 4 HAPPY RIVER 25 667 5 ROYAL KLIPPER 80 616 6 PELAGIA 93 592 7 EDAMGRACHT 47 558 8 ROTTERDAM (smitwijs) 20 534 9 HAPPY ROVER 61 516 10 MIGHTY SERVANT 1 0 501 October Sum 1 BENGUELA STREAM 150 1048 2 ROTTERDAM 154 826 3 HAPPY RIVER 99 766 4 PELAGIA 135 727 5 ROYAL KLIPPER 76 692 6 CORAL RIGIDA 7 681 7 EDAMGRACHT 48 606 8 ROTTERDAM (smitwijs) 60 594 9 CORAL OBELIA 90 562 10 HAPPY ROVER 39 555 November Sum December Sum 1 BENGUELA STREAM 137 1185 2 ROTTERDAM 114 940 3 PELAGIA 163 890 4 HAPPY RIVER 74 840 5 ROYAL KLIPPER 99 791 6 CORAL RIGIDA 3 684 7 EDAMGRACHT 66 672 8 ROTTERDAM (smitwijs) 58 652 9 CORAL OBELIA 80 642 10 HAPPY ROVER 63 618 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10? MIM January 2009 25

Solitons Self-reinforcing solitary waves Position: 19-02N 017-47W, passing 110 nm WNW of Nouakchott, Mauritania. 26 MIM January 2009

I Scientists call waves which are not fading out solitons. You can compare them with the human wave in a soccer stadium. On water they can stay in shape, strange shapes sometimes, for hours while regular waves quickly fade out. Waves rolling onto the coast from deep water can, before they break, look like solitons. These waves were observed for the first time by the scientist Scott Russell. The Anjeliersgracht crew observed this phenomenon on 4 September 2008 at 17:00 UTC. On the radar screen long stretched echos were observed, as can be seen on the picture. In front of the ship, this phenomena was also visible, as can be seen on the other picture, a crewmember wrote. The observation was made by Chief Officer R. Vermeer and Master J.A.M. van Zadel. Source: Stony Brook University, New York MIM January 2009 27

Hurricane Ike over Cuba, Jamaica, and the Bahamas, 8 September 2008. Photo by Aqua satellite. Image courtesy of MODIS Rapid Response Project at NASA/GSFC. ATTENTIE * ATTENTION! LES EIK (Noorwegen) en ARVI (India) We vragen jullie vriendelijk doch nadrukkelijk om weerwaarnemingen NIET via EIK (AORE: 104) te versturen en ARVI (IOR: 306) alleen binnen METAREA 8 (NOORD) te gebruiken. Zo wordt voorkomen dat de rederijen voor de verzendkosten opdraaien. LES EIK (Norway) and ARVI (India) We kindly but expressly ask you NOT to send any weather observations through EIK (AORE: 104) and to use ARVI (IOR: 306) only within METAREA 8 (NORTH). This will help shipping companies avoid being invoiced for these transmission costs. 28 MIM January 2009