The Poseidon Adventure

Last Sunday, the vessel Poseidon (registered in Moroni, Comoros) was towed into the Palm Jumeirah, and now lies anchored with its stern facing a branch that is devoid of permanent villas. This frond appears to have only white tents on it, and must be housing some of the Palm’s construction workers.

Poseidon is a ferry with a history that started in the dockyards of Japan where she was built and named Suzuran Maru in 1968. Since then, she’s gone through a series of name changes. Her funnel is now painted to resemble the UAE flag – and a real one also flies off the mast. It’s interesting to note that she was only bought and registered under the Moroni flag in December 2005 which means that she’s possibly only recently been acquired by a UAE shipping company and registered in Moroni as a barebones registration. At night, Poseidon has a pretty row of lights strung from bow to stern which gives it the appearance of a cruise ship.

The Poseidon’s presence in the Palm possibly means one of these:
1. the workers have done the construction equivalent of painting themselves into a corner, and now the only way to get them off the Palm is to ship them out
2. more accommodation for extra workers is now required if the Palm is ever to be finished
3. they are housing the existing workers on the ship instead of bussing them on and off the Palm, as this has turned into a logistical nightmare which sees the workers spending more time on the buses than on the job
4. Nakheel is so happy with the project that they’ve promised the workers a free cruise once it’s all completed

Your choice – but if you chose Option 4, all I can say is welcome to Fantasy Island!