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Shipboard Fire Traditional Cache

This cache has been locked, but it is available for viewing.
Hidden : 6/22/2016
Difficulty:
3 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   other (other)

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Geocache Description:

Fire services were called to a fire on a ship while docked at the Port of Portland in November 2015 .

The Country Fire Authority was called to the port after smoke was reported issuing from an 800-tonne grain hopper on board the livestock carrier. The hopper is the size of a three-storey building.


Suppression activities included the use of inert gases and the injection of water and suppression mediums into the silo.

The ship has a stock carrying capacity of 20,000 head of cattle with an above deck fodder storage compartment. The fodder storage compartment presently contains 800 tonnes of pelletised stock feed. No stock are aboard the vessel.

Standing at the Geocache GZ, you can see where the ship was docked. You are looking for a magnetic bison style cache - get down low. The cache has gone missing a number of times so please replace in the same location.

The fire proved to be challenging and specialist fire crews from as far north as Wodonga were called in to help extinguish the blaze with as many as 50 firefighters working on the ship at any one time. There was also specialist rescue crews on hand because they were dealing with confined spaces and working at heights, making the job more difficult.

Boat movement in this area is limited to 8 knots. Another hint.

Extinguishing the fire was a very slow operation as they needed to empty the feed pellets out of the silo. This work produced both combustible gases and gases that would asphyxiate the people working around it.

After nine days, the fire was finally brought to an end.

Bring your own pen. When replacing the waterproof log, roll it up, place it in the lid and then slide the tube over it and press the lid tight. Note: Difficulty is set at 3 because you will need to be creative to avoid muggle attention during the search and replacing of the cache.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Uvagf ner va gur qrfpevcgvba.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)