Those rings of cake covered in icing fresh off the delivery truck and ready to sit on your tray at breakfast so you can cut through the strength of Navy coffee. MMMMMMM….

NOT!!!!!!!

This thing is not to eat it is to hold the waste from you fuel oil waste tank. That tank holds all the waste water from your fuel system. It comes from sample connections, the fuel oil separator, and just general usage of the fuel system. It contains, waste fuel mixed with water and even some lube oil. It’s just junk, but the Navy can recycle it.

It is a large floating tank that is open on the bottom. A small tug brings it over and ties it to you ship. You run a hose down to the doughnut and pump in your waste water tank into it. Since fuel is lighter than water simple physics takes over and the doughnut fills with your waste. When you are done pumping your tank to tug comes back and picks it up and you are done.

The only problem with this set up is this. Somebody from your ship needs to get onto the doughnut and put the hose into it and make sure it is secure. That is not as easy as it sounds. Then add into the equation that Norfolk harbor is nasty it makes things worse. When a sailor falls into the harbor they are fished out right away and taken straight to base medical and given a shot. The water is so nasty.

Of course the junior guy in the oil lab had to be the one to climb down the Jacobs ladder to the doughnut and hook up the hose to it, which was me. So, I had to put on one of those big orange puffy life vests and a hard hat. Then climb down the side of the ship and have the hose lowered to me. Normally this is not a problem, but when the Tender on the other side of the slip is leaving it makes things rough. But, I did not fall in!

This is defiantly one time when a chief’s doughnut hook is totally worthless.