Pic(k) of the week 20; DESERT LIFEBOAT

When one mentions Desert and Lifeboat in a single sentence, it probably will first make you think about a camel rather than an actual Lifeboat left behind in the desert! 

Just over a year ago, I bumped into a pair of 37 person lifeboats, left in the desert near Maleiha, Sharjah (UAE). I wanted to go back to the site and shoot some aerial drone footage for my "Everybody Left" project and finally found the time to do so.

Online research shows that the lifeboats used to belong to the "Betatank II", a large 250m oil tanker which was completely refurbished around 2010 at Dubai Dry-docks. More than likely the lifeboats were also renewed at the time while the olds ones eventually were sold and eventually left behind. 

Whatever the original plan was, it looks like they have not been touched and it is unclear what their future holds. 

These lifeboats are of the free fall and self-righting type. They are being dropped from a pretty high altitude at the top of the ship. It is therefore essential that the occupants are properly strapped in and protected. For those wondering what the "+" and the "-" are? It shows what is supposed to be above (+) and below the waterline (-) in order to quickly see if the boat is in the correct position. A demo of a launch from the mothership can be seen here. 

Image details:

  • DJI Mavic 2 Pro
  • ISO 100, 1/1600s, f4.0
  • Lightroom Classic to develop the RAW file
  • DxO ColorEfex 4 Pro for optimal contrast and to add the frame
More of my Aerial photography, both shot from drones and fixed wing aircraft can be found here. 

Remember:"Life is a shipwreck but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboat". Voltaire.

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