I joined this ship, ‘Ravidas’ in Madras and the ship was loading granite blocks for Italy. The cargo work was almost over and securing of the blocks was going on. Within a couple of hours, the ship was ready to sail. I finished the departure stations and went to sleep. This was my first ship as second officer. Even though I did not have the certificate as second officer, I had to do the second officer’s job on board. At sea, my watches were from 0000 to 0400 and 1200 to 1600. Apart from this I had to look after the ship’s medicines, nautical publications and also had to do the voyage planning. In ports, my watch was from 1800 to 0600. As my first ship, was a sister ship of this ship, I did not find any problem in getting used to the ship. But this ship had cranes, whereas Tulsidas did not have the cranes.
Few years ago, this ship had met with a collision, near the south coast of Srilanka, which caused a major damage to the ship, near no. 3 cargo hold. The ship was towed and repaired and now it looked as good as new.
I came to know from other crew members that the previous second officer was not doing his duties properly and was caught sleeping when on duty by the Captain. Because of that, the second officer made an excuse to get down and so was hospitalised for nothing. I started a new phase in my career as second officer. This ship was also doing the UK run, which was so familiar to me, now.
Life was good as a second officer. I did not have to go on deck to work, apart from the port watches. The Captain was very friendly. He had an electric cooker in his cabin and often asked to make sambar in his cabin. The Ch. Off was a couple of batches senior to me and we were almost like friends. The other officers were also quite friendly and we used to have a nice time watching movies together in the evenings.
Time flew so fast in this ship, because of the good crowd we had on board. Once, when the ship, had gone to a place called Civitavecchia, in Italy, the port had some holidays. I went to Pisa along with 3 other officers. I saw the leaning tower of Pisa. It looked amazing. The journey was made in trains and buses. Without knowing a single word of Italian, we went all the way to Pisa and came back.
When the ship came back to Bombay, after a voyage to UK, I went to MMD, Bombay and got my Second Mate’s Certificate and I was a full-fledged second officer now. I informed Appa and Amma of the same. I bought sweets and distributed it to the ship’s crew. I also bought some sweets for Appa and Amma, as the ship was to call Madras after Bombay.
Another time, as soon as we crossed Suez Canal and entered Mediterranean Sea, the sea became rough and the ship started rolling up to 45˚ on either side. Since the ship, was carrying general cargo, this rolling is dangerous for the cargo and the ship. We tried altering the course, but the rolling continued. It was like that till we entered Atlantic Ocean. Luckily, the cargo remained as it was and no damage had taken place.
There was a volcano, in Mediterranean Sea, which had very recently erupted and we altered course to go near the mountain to see the volcano. The eruption had subsided, but we could see smoke coming out.
The ship went to Norway and Sweden, during one of the voyages. The passage was so beautiful, with small islands on both sides, covered with greenery. The port in Norway was very close to the town. It was hardly 5 minutes walk from the ship. I used to go out almost every day for a stroll. It was almost similar in Sweden. Nature at its best can be seen in such places. During the winter, we were in England and the port was closed for Christmas. We had nothing to do, as it was snowing heavily. This was the first time I was seeing snow, even though I was seeing sub-zero temperatures right from my first ship. The whole ship was covered with snow and so was the jetty. We young officers decided to make the most of the snow. So we went to the jetty and made a snowman, decorated it with cap, tie and other things and took lots of photographs. That’s one memorable thing in my life.
After a couple of voyages to UK, the ship was routed to Far East, a place I never had been. We completed discharging in Haldia and then started loading for Japan. I was off watch and was sleeping. All of a sudden, the Captain called me and told me that Calcutta office had got a call from Madras office, saying that I have to contact home urgently. I was shocked, not knowing what to do. I went to the town, called up home and spoke to Appa. He said that they had seen a girl for me in Tiruvanmiyur and that they liked the girl. Appa gave the phone number of their home and asked me to call her father and speak to him. Not knowing what to speak, I called up that number and told that I was Prakash and told that Appa had asked me to call. I don’t remember what I spoke, but the call was for a few minutes only. Then, I called up Appa and told him that I had talked to them. Appa told that he had posted a letter along with a photo of the girl. I told him that I will see the photo and let him know my decision.
The ship sailed for Japan via Singapore. I got Appa’s letter there in Singapore and I saw Raji’s photo. When I went out in Singapore, I called up Appa and informed him that I like the girl’s photo and that he can proceed further. I bought a watch for Amma, a gold chain for Appa, the Sony music system, which I had all these years and a world band radio. From Singapore the ship went to several ports in Japan. I saw the city of Kobe recovering from the earthquake. It was a sight to see the vast rumbles of concrete being cleared there. I also went to Osaka, where I saw the world trade center. I went up all the way to the 57th floor and saw the sprawling city of Osaka. The ship also went to Taiwan, before coming back to India.
The ship berthed in Bombay and I was happy. The reason was Appa and Amma would be there in Bombay, the next day, along with Raji and her parents. I had told Appa that I would come to the station to receive them. I finished my port watch and left for Dadar station, only to find the train running late. The train arrived about 3 hours late. I saw Appa, Amma get down from the train. Following them were Raji and her parents. I saw Raji for the first time in my life. I was very much excited on seeing all of them. But I had to leave for ship. With a heavy heart, I left for the ship. I told Appa that I would come to Mulund the next day and that all of us would go to Thane to see Raji.
I could not wait for the next day morning. After finishing my watch, I left for Mulund and reached there by an auto. All of us went to Thane to Raji’s Mama’s place to see her. We saw all of them there and I managed to talk a little to Raji in private. Extremely happy, all of us returned back to Mulund. I had told Appa and Amma that I liked the girl and to go ahead with other formalities.
I returned back to the ship, extremely tired, but excited and happy. Next day, Appa and Amma, Raji and her parents were supposed to come to the ship. But due to bus strike, Appa and Amma could not make it. I waited for them in VT station and they reached there. I took them to the ship and showed them around. I introduced them to the Captain and other officers on board. The ship sailed out of Bombay the next day. These three days in Bombay were so tiring and hectic, but unforgettable moments. I had met my life partner and that too in an innovative way.
We went to Kandla, loaded part of the cargo and then came to Tuticorin. The ship was in anchorage and was expected to be in anchorage for another 10 days. When I was casually speaking to the Captain, he told me that if I wanted, I could go home and come back before the ship sails. I was happy on hearing that. We were running short of fresh water and so we had asked for water. A barge(small boat ) came alongside us to supply water. The Captain called me as soon as the barge had come and asked me to get ready to go home. I got down in the barge and they took me to the fishing harbour. I went outside the gate and I got a lift from a guy and went to the bus stand. A bus for Madras was coming out and I jumped inside the bus. I was home next day morning.
Appa called up Raji’s father and told him that the next day was auspicious day and that we can have the engagement on that day. Appa rang up all relatives and friends and informed them regarding the engagement. How fast things developed! I was going to be engaged and that also all of a sudden. Next day evening, Raji, her parents, sisters and few of their relatives came to our home and the engagement took place in a simple manner.
Appa had developed hernia and the doctor had advised him to get operated as soon as possible. With my presence, Appa had the operation done and he was home, the next day after operation. Vidya , Pasupathi and Pavitra went back to Bangalore via Pondicherry.
We celebrated Diwali nicely. It was nice to be back home and spend some days at home after 10 months. I went to Tiruvanmiyur to see Raji, before going back to Tuticorin. The ship left for Mangalore few hours after I reached the ship. I conveyed my sincerest thanks to the Captain for letting me go home.
We completed the loading in Mangalore and then went to Marina Di Carrara, a place in Italy. I went out there, ate the real Italian Pizza and later called up home and Raji’s home. Raji informed me that her grandmother had passed away. Vidya’s mother-in-law had also passed away. We went to Bilbao, in Spain and from there to various ports in Europe. I bought a diamond ring for Raji in Antwerp. This period of life was so interesting. I used to write letters to Raji and she used to reply back. Every port, I used to go out to make phone calls.
After completing discharging and loading, we came back to India. We were in Bombay inner anchorage, discharging cargo. We used to have boat service for the crew to go ashore. I went out, one day, after completing my watch. Since Raji’s birthday was nearing I thought of giving her a present. I bought a churidhar and couriered it to her. Since I had requested for relief, I had my reliever on board. I had also asked the Captain to relieve me after some days so that I can complete the time for my next exams. Captain was more than happy to have me on board.
We went to Madras from Bombay and I got a chance to visit Appa/Amma again. During one of those days, the clothes for the marriage were purchased. Raji came home and we showed her all those things, which we had bought. Again, I lost my sleep, but was very happy. We left Madras and our next port was Vizag. I told Captain that I would like to get down, to which he reluctantly agreed. He was saying to me to get Raji on board and that he would get us married on board (Captains have the power to get people married and that is legally valid). I knew that he was saying it just like that. But it showed the immense love he had for me. Such Captains are very rare to find now. We arrived and anchored in Vizag. I hosted a sign off cum marriage party for all the ship’s officers and crew. That was one memorable party I had in my entire sea career. We berthed after five days and those five days were the longest five days in my life. As soon as we berthed, I told Captain that I have to go home. With lot s of reluctance, he arranged for me to sign off. I cleared customs and immigration and was put in a hotel foe the night. I rang up home and told that I would be coming back to Madras the next day morning by flight. Next day morning, I reached Madras and everybody was waiting for me. Raji was there too, to welcome me. My parents and her parents must have let out a huge sigh of relief to see me back, two days before the wedding.
With this ship, I ended my career with Shipping Corporation of India.
TIME SPENT ON BOARD: 11 months and 25 days
PORTS VISITED: IN INDIA- Bombay, Madras, Calcutta, Haldia, Vizag, Kandla, Mangalore
FOREIGN: Suez & Port Said(Egypt), Marina Di Carrara(Italy), Hamburg(Germany), Uddevalla(Norway), Arendal(Norway), Antwerp(Belgium), Bilbao(Spain), Swansea & Middlesbrough(U.K), Singapore, Kaohsiung(Taiwan), Kure, Uno, Kokura, Kashima, Kobe & Osaka(Japan)
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
fifth ship- nancowry
After getting medical fitness from the doctor in MIOT, I reported to Madras office and got medical fitness from the company doctor. I was asked to report to Bombay Office. I went to the office and was checked up by the chief medical officer. After he declared me medically fit to join ship, I was posted on a passenger cum general cargo ship, M.V. Nancowry. I had to join the ship in Madras and so I flew back to Madras again. Appa and Amma had left for Bangalore, as they didn’t expect me back in Madras. I went to Madras office and reported to them. The ship was due for arrival and so I had to wait for a day or so. I went to Sugavanam Mama’s home in Mylapore and celebrated Bhogi with them. Later that day, the ship had arrived and I joined the ship.
The ship was doing regular run between Madras and Port Blair. I took over as third officer from the guy who was TNO in my previous ship and now AWKO. This was a completely different type of ship. The second officer was the same guy who was in my previous ship and so I was feeling kind of comfortable. The ship had the capacity to carry 1200 passengers and had two cargo holds. On the way to Port Blair, we used to carry onions, potatoes, provision items, etc required for the people there. On its way back to Madras, we used to carry scrap items, mostly. The number of passengers was less when I was there on board, but I heard people saying that it used to be full during the vacation periods.
Apart from the normal crew, who worked on board, there were about 100 persons, who worked for the private caterers(who cooked for the passengers, cleaned the passenger spaces and served meals to them). There was an officer, who was known as welfare officer. It was he who attended to the passengers’ complaints/suggestions/welfare. The purser officer, was also a familiar person, since he had sailed with me in my second ship. There were two assistant welfare officers, who assisted the welfare officer. There was a doctor on board as well, assisted by a nurse, since a doctor is a necessity in passenger ships. Since the run was between Madras and Port Blair, most of the crew were from Madras or Port Blair and so Tamil was more freely spoken on board.
The passengers had different types of accommodation like bunk class, third class, second class, first class and deluxe. The charges were about Rs.400/- for the bunk class and were about Rs.2500/- for the deluxe class. We had separate accommodation for the ship’s crew and officers. The passengers were not allowed to come into our accommodation spaces. They could come to the bridge and see us navigating, if we gave permission. As my watch was from 0800 to 1200, during sailing, I used to have people coming and seeing the bridge. The dining spaces were also different for us and the passengers. There was a swimming pool for the passengers, with a bar. Since the ship was in Indian coastal run, there were no alcoholic beverages available.
The ship had 10 lifeboats and many life rafts. I was again, in charge of the LSA/FFA items on board. There were lots of fire extinguishers as well. The ship had sprinkler system installed to combat fire. The doors in between decks were self closing, to prevent fire from spreading. All these things were not familiar to me. I took some time to know the ship, its equipments and their working. Besides, we had ramps, as well, for loading provisions and other utility items required for passengers.
The voyage from Madras to Port Blair took 56 hours, in good weather. Sometimes, the ship used to go to another island, Car Nicobar, to alight passengers. The passengers used to disembark when the ship was anchored there, since there were no facilities for berthing.
Port Blair was a small port and the ships which come there are those ones, which ply in between the various islands of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Port Blair is not so big city, but it is like mini India. I went out along with other guys, but missed the show in Cellular Jail, due to my watch timings.
In this ship, we have to lower and manoeuvre the lifeboat every time in the ports before a nautical surveyor. I had to get into the boat, as it was my responsibility to make sure that the boats were in perfect condition.
The passenger ship has to have its underwater portion examined once a year and it was due, when I was on board. The docking wad done in Madras and the bottom was examined. When, the inspection was over, the ship was getting ready to leave the dock. The dock was getting flooded with water and the ship had begun to float, but not fully. The Pilot gave a wrong instruction to the tug and because of which the ship’s bottom came into contact with the huge blocks placed below and it got holed there. The ship came out, but had to dock again.
I used to go home, when the ship was in Madras. That day, when this happened, I had told Amma that I would be back in the evening and that I wanted ‘Adai’ for dinner. It was almost towards the end of my watch, when I was called by the Captain. With him was a person from Madras office. That person told me that I had to go and join a ship, Ravidas, which was berthed nearby and was due to sail later that night to UK. The second officer on board that ship was not well and he had to be hospitalised. A ship cannot sail without a second officer and Bombay Office had sent instructions to Madras office to have either me or the second officer with me transferred to that ship. To my bad luck that second officer had gone out and so it had to be me who had to go to Ravidas. I immediately packed up my things and on the way to that ship, rang up home and informed Appa/Amma that I was being transferred to another ship and that the ship was leaving India that night.
Such things do happen in sea life and one has to be prepared to face them.
What happened in Ravidas? That will be in the next part...
TOTAL TIME SPENT ON BOARD: 1 month and 26 days
PORT VISITED: IN INDIA- Madras, Port Blair
FOREIGN- NONE
The ship was doing regular run between Madras and Port Blair. I took over as third officer from the guy who was TNO in my previous ship and now AWKO. This was a completely different type of ship. The second officer was the same guy who was in my previous ship and so I was feeling kind of comfortable. The ship had the capacity to carry 1200 passengers and had two cargo holds. On the way to Port Blair, we used to carry onions, potatoes, provision items, etc required for the people there. On its way back to Madras, we used to carry scrap items, mostly. The number of passengers was less when I was there on board, but I heard people saying that it used to be full during the vacation periods.
Apart from the normal crew, who worked on board, there were about 100 persons, who worked for the private caterers(who cooked for the passengers, cleaned the passenger spaces and served meals to them). There was an officer, who was known as welfare officer. It was he who attended to the passengers’ complaints/suggestions/welfare. The purser officer, was also a familiar person, since he had sailed with me in my second ship. There were two assistant welfare officers, who assisted the welfare officer. There was a doctor on board as well, assisted by a nurse, since a doctor is a necessity in passenger ships. Since the run was between Madras and Port Blair, most of the crew were from Madras or Port Blair and so Tamil was more freely spoken on board.
The passengers had different types of accommodation like bunk class, third class, second class, first class and deluxe. The charges were about Rs.400/- for the bunk class and were about Rs.2500/- for the deluxe class. We had separate accommodation for the ship’s crew and officers. The passengers were not allowed to come into our accommodation spaces. They could come to the bridge and see us navigating, if we gave permission. As my watch was from 0800 to 1200, during sailing, I used to have people coming and seeing the bridge. The dining spaces were also different for us and the passengers. There was a swimming pool for the passengers, with a bar. Since the ship was in Indian coastal run, there were no alcoholic beverages available.
The ship had 10 lifeboats and many life rafts. I was again, in charge of the LSA/FFA items on board. There were lots of fire extinguishers as well. The ship had sprinkler system installed to combat fire. The doors in between decks were self closing, to prevent fire from spreading. All these things were not familiar to me. I took some time to know the ship, its equipments and their working. Besides, we had ramps, as well, for loading provisions and other utility items required for passengers.
The voyage from Madras to Port Blair took 56 hours, in good weather. Sometimes, the ship used to go to another island, Car Nicobar, to alight passengers. The passengers used to disembark when the ship was anchored there, since there were no facilities for berthing.
Port Blair was a small port and the ships which come there are those ones, which ply in between the various islands of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Port Blair is not so big city, but it is like mini India. I went out along with other guys, but missed the show in Cellular Jail, due to my watch timings.
In this ship, we have to lower and manoeuvre the lifeboat every time in the ports before a nautical surveyor. I had to get into the boat, as it was my responsibility to make sure that the boats were in perfect condition.
The passenger ship has to have its underwater portion examined once a year and it was due, when I was on board. The docking wad done in Madras and the bottom was examined. When, the inspection was over, the ship was getting ready to leave the dock. The dock was getting flooded with water and the ship had begun to float, but not fully. The Pilot gave a wrong instruction to the tug and because of which the ship’s bottom came into contact with the huge blocks placed below and it got holed there. The ship came out, but had to dock again.
I used to go home, when the ship was in Madras. That day, when this happened, I had told Amma that I would be back in the evening and that I wanted ‘Adai’ for dinner. It was almost towards the end of my watch, when I was called by the Captain. With him was a person from Madras office. That person told me that I had to go and join a ship, Ravidas, which was berthed nearby and was due to sail later that night to UK. The second officer on board that ship was not well and he had to be hospitalised. A ship cannot sail without a second officer and Bombay Office had sent instructions to Madras office to have either me or the second officer with me transferred to that ship. To my bad luck that second officer had gone out and so it had to be me who had to go to Ravidas. I immediately packed up my things and on the way to that ship, rang up home and informed Appa/Amma that I was being transferred to another ship and that the ship was leaving India that night.
Such things do happen in sea life and one has to be prepared to face them.
What happened in Ravidas? That will be in the next part...
TOTAL TIME SPENT ON BOARD: 1 month and 26 days
PORT VISITED: IN INDIA- Madras, Port Blair
FOREIGN- NONE
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
post accident
The hospital was in an old building and it was in the first floor. The ward boys came down and took me in the narrow and steep steps to the clinic. It was a Sunday and there was no doctor there. I was given a pain killer tablet to reduce the pain by the nurse, whereas I was asking for a pain killing injection. The nurse told me that she can’t give the injection, unless the doctor says so.
X-rays were taken. The boiler suit was cut and removed. My other belongings like my pen, watch and pocket diary were removed and kept elsewhere. The doctor had come by this time and I was injected some pain killer and sedative. The next day morning ,I was taken to the operation theatre. I didn’t know what happened after that.
When I woke up, I was in a room, covered by a blanket. I could sense that my right wrist was bandaged and my left shoulder was strapped. There were guys from the ship around me. I asked them not to inform my parents about the accident, but the office had already informed home.
Amma and Pasupathi(my brother-in-law) flew to Bombay that day evening. On seeing my condition, Amma started crying. Pasupathi went to the nearby shop and got me a t-shirt and pants, which I have with me till date.
According to the discharge summary, which that doctor gave, I had a fracture of the lower end radius (extra articular) with a fracture of the ulnar styloid on the right side and a fracture neck of humerus on the left. I was operated and a percutaneous ‘K’ wire fixation for the radius and a tension band wiring for the ulnar styloid was done. The left shoulder was strapped.
Next day morning, we went to the ship and collected my baggage and I bid adieu to my colleagues on board. When we were walking on the main deck, I showed Amma and Pasupathi, the cargo hold where I had fallen into. Pasupathi immediately broke into tears. I can still remember that, after all these years. I cleared the customs and came back to the hospital to keep the baggage. After that, we went to the office, to collect the balance of wages in the ship and to collect flight tickets to Madras. The Fleet Personnel Manager saw me and exclaimed that I was lucky to get through this serious accident with just a couple of fractures. I must thank God for saving my life. Back home, Appa was talking to Rangan Mama (ardent devotee of Satya Sai Baba and his close friend) and Rangan Mama was saying that Baba had helped me in getting away with this fractures. It could have cost my life or I may become incapacitated for the rest of my life.
We reached home after the flight and I was so happy to be back home to see Appa, Vidya and little Pavitra.
I went to Madras Office, got a letter from them and went to MIOT (which was there inside Vijaya Health Centre) and met Dr. Ramdass. He advised admission for further treatment. I refused and told him that, if needed, I shall come from home. He told me to come every day for physiotherapy.
I started going to the hospital for physiotherapy for my left shoulder. After 6 weeks, the POP in my right wrist was removed and I started doing physiotherapy for the right wrist also. But, I could not turn my wrist fully and had pain while doing so. I told the doctors regarding this and they advised me to get admitted for investigation. I got myself admitted and they performed surgery again on my right wrist, removing the ‘K’ wire and the tension band wiring. Again, I had my right wrist under POP. After 4 weeks or so, the POP was removed and I started doing physiotherapy. The wrist had healed well this time and I could use my right hand as before. The left shoulder was still having the residual stiffness. This stiffness would reduce with time is what they had told. But they had also told me that it will not be 100% back to normalcy.
It was almost 6 months before the doctors declared me fit to join ship.
Its more than 15 years, since that accident now. I am still working in ships, even after that major accident. I cannot lift my left hand to the fullest extent, but do manage to do all my works on board.
God favours the brave and with me it is perfectly correct.
X-rays were taken. The boiler suit was cut and removed. My other belongings like my pen, watch and pocket diary were removed and kept elsewhere. The doctor had come by this time and I was injected some pain killer and sedative. The next day morning ,I was taken to the operation theatre. I didn’t know what happened after that.
When I woke up, I was in a room, covered by a blanket. I could sense that my right wrist was bandaged and my left shoulder was strapped. There were guys from the ship around me. I asked them not to inform my parents about the accident, but the office had already informed home.
Amma and Pasupathi(my brother-in-law) flew to Bombay that day evening. On seeing my condition, Amma started crying. Pasupathi went to the nearby shop and got me a t-shirt and pants, which I have with me till date.
According to the discharge summary, which that doctor gave, I had a fracture of the lower end radius (extra articular) with a fracture of the ulnar styloid on the right side and a fracture neck of humerus on the left. I was operated and a percutaneous ‘K’ wire fixation for the radius and a tension band wiring for the ulnar styloid was done. The left shoulder was strapped.
Next day morning, we went to the ship and collected my baggage and I bid adieu to my colleagues on board. When we were walking on the main deck, I showed Amma and Pasupathi, the cargo hold where I had fallen into. Pasupathi immediately broke into tears. I can still remember that, after all these years. I cleared the customs and came back to the hospital to keep the baggage. After that, we went to the office, to collect the balance of wages in the ship and to collect flight tickets to Madras. The Fleet Personnel Manager saw me and exclaimed that I was lucky to get through this serious accident with just a couple of fractures. I must thank God for saving my life. Back home, Appa was talking to Rangan Mama (ardent devotee of Satya Sai Baba and his close friend) and Rangan Mama was saying that Baba had helped me in getting away with this fractures. It could have cost my life or I may become incapacitated for the rest of my life.
We reached home after the flight and I was so happy to be back home to see Appa, Vidya and little Pavitra.
I went to Madras Office, got a letter from them and went to MIOT (which was there inside Vijaya Health Centre) and met Dr. Ramdass. He advised admission for further treatment. I refused and told him that, if needed, I shall come from home. He told me to come every day for physiotherapy.
I started going to the hospital for physiotherapy for my left shoulder. After 6 weeks, the POP in my right wrist was removed and I started doing physiotherapy for the right wrist also. But, I could not turn my wrist fully and had pain while doing so. I told the doctors regarding this and they advised me to get admitted for investigation. I got myself admitted and they performed surgery again on my right wrist, removing the ‘K’ wire and the tension band wiring. Again, I had my right wrist under POP. After 4 weeks or so, the POP was removed and I started doing physiotherapy. The wrist had healed well this time and I could use my right hand as before. The left shoulder was still having the residual stiffness. This stiffness would reduce with time is what they had told. But they had also told me that it will not be 100% back to normalcy.
It was almost 6 months before the doctors declared me fit to join ship.
Its more than 15 years, since that accident now. I am still working in ships, even after that major accident. I cannot lift my left hand to the fullest extent, but do manage to do all my works on board.
God favours the brave and with me it is perfectly correct.
fourth ship- state of orissa
I reported to the office after completion of the holidays. I was given accommodation in a hotel near the harbour and asked to come to the office everyday till they allocate me a ship. I did paper work there, which was mostly filing. This lasted for about a week or so. I was posted on a general cargo ship,” M.V. State of Orissa”. The ship was on the UK route, which was not a new thing for me.
After completing the joining formalities, I joined the ship, my first ship as an officer.As a third officer, I was responsible for the Life Saving Appliances-Fire Fighting Appliances (LSA-FFA) of the ship. At sea, I had to do watches from 0800 to 1200 and 2000 to 2400. Apart from this, I had to spend at least 4 hrs everyday towards the maintenance of LSA/FFA. In port, I had to do watch-keeping from 0600 to 1800.
Since, I was used to doing all these, right from my first ship; I found it easy to do my routine jobs. The ship was discharging general cargo in Bombay. We completed discharging and left for Madras. I used to finish my port watches and come home to spend the night. After Madras, the ship went to Calcutta. Completed discharging there and loaded cargo for UK. We came to Madras, loaded some more cargo and left for Suez. After crossing Suez Canal, the ship headed towards UK.
After we discharged/loaded in ports there, we sailed to India via Suez, to discharge and load in India. Things were normal till the winter time. When we were sailing towards Suez, with cargo loaded for India, the ship was in Bay of Biscay and we encountered very heavy seas and the ship was rolling upto 40˚ on either side. Due to the rolling, the lashing of pipes stowed in no.1 cargo hold tween deck broke and the pipes got free. The pipes smashed drums of chemicals kept on either side. The chemicals were dangerous in nature and had spilled all over the cargo hold. The Master had to report the incident to Office and the ship was diverted to Bilbao (Spain). We were berthed there and a superintendent from London Office came to assess the situation and to sort things out. The port workers refused to enter the cargo hold because of the dangerous nature of the cargo and so did the ship’s crew. The chief Officer, 2/O, myself, 4/O and cadet were inside the hold to remove the drums and pipes. The ship’s crew operated the cranes. The pipes were taken out first. Then the drums were removed, including the damaged drums. The gas inside the cargo hold was just too much for us, making breathing very difficult. Somehow we managed to remove the drums. The chemical was transferred to new drums and re-stowed again. Proper lashing was taken and the pipes were kept in position and they were also lashed. Thanks to our lucky stars, that nothing serious had happened.
Just a couple of months before, another cargo ship which had encountered bad weather and the lashing of cargo got loose, damaged the hull and the ship sunk in Bay of Biscay. Only a few of the crew members managed to escape.
When the ship reached India, an enquiry was held on board and all officers had to give written statements, as to what had happened. After discharging the cargo in Bombay, Madras and Calcutta, the ship came back to Madras for dry-docking.
It was about 30 days of stay in Madras. I used to come home, almost every day after finishing my watch-keeping. I got pass for Appa and Amma and showed them the ship. The dry-docking went as usual. This was my third dry-docking experience. It was a nice experience to do a dry dock in Madras.
Once, we loaded onions in bags for Colombo from Bombay. This was the first time I was seeing anything edible being loaded in a ship. Srilanka was facing severe shortage of onions during the new year of 1994.
During one of our trips to UK, I went to London for sightseeing. The ship was in Swansea and we had port holidays. Five of us went to London in train from Swansea. It was about 2 hours to London. We reached London- Paddington station and from there took a bus, which was especially for sightseeing. After completing the sightseeing by bus we went to Madame Tussad’s. It was an amazing experience over there. We saw statues of many celebrities there and took photos standing next to them.
I had completed more than one year by the time the ship reached Bombay and had applied for relief. Office had informed that I would be signing off, when the ship berths. The safety equipment survey was due upon berthing and I had all the things nicely arranged and labelled in the bridge. It was monsoon time in Bombay and the ship was at anchor, inside the inner anchorage. I got a call early in the morning at around 0700 from the 4th officer. This was not normal and I rushed to the bridge. When I went to the bridge, I saw the Capt, Ch. Off, 4th Off and Cadet already there and they seemed to be tense. I saw around the ship and had a clue as to what had happened.The ship had dragged anchor and was aground. Other ships around us were heading in a different direction.
The Ch.Off asked me to take the sounding (depth of water) around the ship and also to check the drafts. I took the cadet and one senior crew member along with me and took the soundings and drafts. As soon as I saw the drafts, I was very sure that the ship had run aground. I informed the same to Master and Ch.Off. Master informed the office regarding this and also informed Bombay Port Control. I was on the bridge, checking the bearings, ship’s heading and the distance to land at regular intervals. Shortly, a pilot came on board and a tug came some time after. As it was flood tide, the ship started to float. Ch.Off was forward, trying to heave up the anchor. The tug gave a push and the ship was fully floating. But during the push, the bottom of the ship came into contact with a rock in the bottom and the fuel tank there was ruptured. We could see oil coming out of the air pipes.
The port control asked the ship to shift anchorage to some other position far off. We reanchored there and had to clean the oil so that it doesn’t enter the sea. Crew members refused to work. It was pouring very heavily at that time. It was us officers, who did the cleaning job.
Next day, early morning, the port control, asked us to proceed to the pilot boarding area, as we had to berth. I was very happy, that I would be getting off, in a day or two. We picked up anchor, proceeded towards the pilot boarding ground and the pilot took us inside the docks. Once, we berthed, I had to be on watch, since it was day time. We were expecting other surveys like load line and safety construction too and so workshop people boarded the ship.
Cargo work resumed in some cargo holds. The workshop guys wanted to test the rubber packing of no.3 cargo hold. So the hatch covers were closed, but forward part of tween deck was open, since cargo work has been taking place. I went inside the cargo hold with one of those guys, with a torch. The crew started hosing down on top and we were inside, checking for leaks. When they were hosing down the forward part of the hatch cover, the workshop guy wanted to go fwd to check for leaks and he started walking forward. He was not aware of the open tween deck and had he taken some more steps, he would have fallen down. Realising that he may fall down, I quickly went up to him and dragged him away. In the process, I lost my balance and I fell down into the lower hold. It was a free fall, about 35 feet into the cargo hold and I landed on top of some of the cargo boxes. By then, he had alerted the people on top and they opened the hatch covers to find me lying on top of the cargo. Somebody came inside and asked me, if I was ok. I told that I was fine, but could not move my hands. A stretcher was arranged and it was lowered inside the cargo hold. I was put on the stretcher and the crane started lifting me up. I was feeling lots of pain in both my arms, due to the jerky movements, that I started shouting. They stopped it and then tied ropes to the stretcher and slowly lifted me up. I was brought up to the main deck. The Ch. Off had come and he saw me. He asked me where I was feeling pain. I saw that my right wrist was badly deformed and that I had severe pain in my left shoulder. I told him that I was feeling pain in my right wrist and left shoulder and apart from that, I could not feel pain elsewhere. He asked me to move my legs, which I did. He must have realised that my hands were fractured. So he told somebody to bring some splint and some bandages. He tied my arms so that they can’t move.
I was taken out of the ship to a jeep of some workshop and they took me to some hospital (I don’t remember the name of the hospital). I was shouting in pain all the time. The hospital authorities refused admission as this was an accident case. The Ch.Off, contacted head office and they asked the Ch.Off to take me to a hospital in Charni Road.
What happened next? Read it in the next part...
TOTAL TIME SPENT ON BOARD: 1 year and 22 days
PORTS VISITED: IN INDIA- Bombay, Madras, Calcutta, Haldia, Paradip, Vizag
FOREIGN: Suez and Port Said(Egypt), Rotterdam(Holland), Antwerp(Belgium), Dundee(U.K), Bremen and Hamburg(Germany), Swansea(U.K), Dunkirque(France), Uddevalla(Sweden), Port de Bouc(France), Civitavecchia(Italy)
After completing the joining formalities, I joined the ship, my first ship as an officer.As a third officer, I was responsible for the Life Saving Appliances-Fire Fighting Appliances (LSA-FFA) of the ship. At sea, I had to do watches from 0800 to 1200 and 2000 to 2400. Apart from this, I had to spend at least 4 hrs everyday towards the maintenance of LSA/FFA. In port, I had to do watch-keeping from 0600 to 1800.
Since, I was used to doing all these, right from my first ship; I found it easy to do my routine jobs. The ship was discharging general cargo in Bombay. We completed discharging and left for Madras. I used to finish my port watches and come home to spend the night. After Madras, the ship went to Calcutta. Completed discharging there and loaded cargo for UK. We came to Madras, loaded some more cargo and left for Suez. After crossing Suez Canal, the ship headed towards UK.
After we discharged/loaded in ports there, we sailed to India via Suez, to discharge and load in India. Things were normal till the winter time. When we were sailing towards Suez, with cargo loaded for India, the ship was in Bay of Biscay and we encountered very heavy seas and the ship was rolling upto 40˚ on either side. Due to the rolling, the lashing of pipes stowed in no.1 cargo hold tween deck broke and the pipes got free. The pipes smashed drums of chemicals kept on either side. The chemicals were dangerous in nature and had spilled all over the cargo hold. The Master had to report the incident to Office and the ship was diverted to Bilbao (Spain). We were berthed there and a superintendent from London Office came to assess the situation and to sort things out. The port workers refused to enter the cargo hold because of the dangerous nature of the cargo and so did the ship’s crew. The chief Officer, 2/O, myself, 4/O and cadet were inside the hold to remove the drums and pipes. The ship’s crew operated the cranes. The pipes were taken out first. Then the drums were removed, including the damaged drums. The gas inside the cargo hold was just too much for us, making breathing very difficult. Somehow we managed to remove the drums. The chemical was transferred to new drums and re-stowed again. Proper lashing was taken and the pipes were kept in position and they were also lashed. Thanks to our lucky stars, that nothing serious had happened.
Just a couple of months before, another cargo ship which had encountered bad weather and the lashing of cargo got loose, damaged the hull and the ship sunk in Bay of Biscay. Only a few of the crew members managed to escape.
When the ship reached India, an enquiry was held on board and all officers had to give written statements, as to what had happened. After discharging the cargo in Bombay, Madras and Calcutta, the ship came back to Madras for dry-docking.
It was about 30 days of stay in Madras. I used to come home, almost every day after finishing my watch-keeping. I got pass for Appa and Amma and showed them the ship. The dry-docking went as usual. This was my third dry-docking experience. It was a nice experience to do a dry dock in Madras.
Once, we loaded onions in bags for Colombo from Bombay. This was the first time I was seeing anything edible being loaded in a ship. Srilanka was facing severe shortage of onions during the new year of 1994.
During one of our trips to UK, I went to London for sightseeing. The ship was in Swansea and we had port holidays. Five of us went to London in train from Swansea. It was about 2 hours to London. We reached London- Paddington station and from there took a bus, which was especially for sightseeing. After completing the sightseeing by bus we went to Madame Tussad’s. It was an amazing experience over there. We saw statues of many celebrities there and took photos standing next to them.
I had completed more than one year by the time the ship reached Bombay and had applied for relief. Office had informed that I would be signing off, when the ship berths. The safety equipment survey was due upon berthing and I had all the things nicely arranged and labelled in the bridge. It was monsoon time in Bombay and the ship was at anchor, inside the inner anchorage. I got a call early in the morning at around 0700 from the 4th officer. This was not normal and I rushed to the bridge. When I went to the bridge, I saw the Capt, Ch. Off, 4th Off and Cadet already there and they seemed to be tense. I saw around the ship and had a clue as to what had happened.The ship had dragged anchor and was aground. Other ships around us were heading in a different direction.
The Ch.Off asked me to take the sounding (depth of water) around the ship and also to check the drafts. I took the cadet and one senior crew member along with me and took the soundings and drafts. As soon as I saw the drafts, I was very sure that the ship had run aground. I informed the same to Master and Ch.Off. Master informed the office regarding this and also informed Bombay Port Control. I was on the bridge, checking the bearings, ship’s heading and the distance to land at regular intervals. Shortly, a pilot came on board and a tug came some time after. As it was flood tide, the ship started to float. Ch.Off was forward, trying to heave up the anchor. The tug gave a push and the ship was fully floating. But during the push, the bottom of the ship came into contact with a rock in the bottom and the fuel tank there was ruptured. We could see oil coming out of the air pipes.
The port control asked the ship to shift anchorage to some other position far off. We reanchored there and had to clean the oil so that it doesn’t enter the sea. Crew members refused to work. It was pouring very heavily at that time. It was us officers, who did the cleaning job.
Next day, early morning, the port control, asked us to proceed to the pilot boarding area, as we had to berth. I was very happy, that I would be getting off, in a day or two. We picked up anchor, proceeded towards the pilot boarding ground and the pilot took us inside the docks. Once, we berthed, I had to be on watch, since it was day time. We were expecting other surveys like load line and safety construction too and so workshop people boarded the ship.
Cargo work resumed in some cargo holds. The workshop guys wanted to test the rubber packing of no.3 cargo hold. So the hatch covers were closed, but forward part of tween deck was open, since cargo work has been taking place. I went inside the cargo hold with one of those guys, with a torch. The crew started hosing down on top and we were inside, checking for leaks. When they were hosing down the forward part of the hatch cover, the workshop guy wanted to go fwd to check for leaks and he started walking forward. He was not aware of the open tween deck and had he taken some more steps, he would have fallen down. Realising that he may fall down, I quickly went up to him and dragged him away. In the process, I lost my balance and I fell down into the lower hold. It was a free fall, about 35 feet into the cargo hold and I landed on top of some of the cargo boxes. By then, he had alerted the people on top and they opened the hatch covers to find me lying on top of the cargo. Somebody came inside and asked me, if I was ok. I told that I was fine, but could not move my hands. A stretcher was arranged and it was lowered inside the cargo hold. I was put on the stretcher and the crane started lifting me up. I was feeling lots of pain in both my arms, due to the jerky movements, that I started shouting. They stopped it and then tied ropes to the stretcher and slowly lifted me up. I was brought up to the main deck. The Ch. Off had come and he saw me. He asked me where I was feeling pain. I saw that my right wrist was badly deformed and that I had severe pain in my left shoulder. I told him that I was feeling pain in my right wrist and left shoulder and apart from that, I could not feel pain elsewhere. He asked me to move my legs, which I did. He must have realised that my hands were fractured. So he told somebody to bring some splint and some bandages. He tied my arms so that they can’t move.
I was taken out of the ship to a jeep of some workshop and they took me to some hospital (I don’t remember the name of the hospital). I was shouting in pain all the time. The hospital authorities refused admission as this was an accident case. The Ch.Off, contacted head office and they asked the Ch.Off to take me to a hospital in Charni Road.
What happened next? Read it in the next part...
TOTAL TIME SPENT ON BOARD: 1 year and 22 days
PORTS VISITED: IN INDIA- Bombay, Madras, Calcutta, Haldia, Paradip, Vizag
FOREIGN: Suez and Port Said(Egypt), Rotterdam(Holland), Antwerp(Belgium), Dundee(U.K), Bremen and Hamburg(Germany), Swansea(U.K), Dunkirque(France), Uddevalla(Sweden), Port de Bouc(France), Civitavecchia(Italy)
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