eighth ship- gem of paradip

This was my second ship with ETASMC. I signed the contract and was all set to join the ship in Singapore. I was in the office, waiting for the ticket. The ticket came so late that I had just enough time to come home, pick up my baggage and leave for the airport. The chief engineer was also joining with me. Both of us boarded the flight and reached Singapore. From the airport, we went to the boat terminal by car and from there to the ship, which was in anchorage, by boat. The ship was taking provision and bunkers when we reached. Soon, we picked up anchor and proceeded towards of Gulf of Thailand.

We anchored in the port limits of Koshichang and were supposed to load cement clinker there. The loading, which was from small barges, took around 5 days to be completed. The cargo stevedores and other people stayed on board, cooking their own food, eating it and sleeping on their hammocks. It was nice to see them leading such a life. After completion of cargo works, we sailed to Ghana. We were tied up to buoys in the port of Takoradi. Discharging took place into small barges which cam alongside. We part discharges there and went to another place called Tema. Here the ship’s crew operated the cranes for discharging, which is not usual.We completed discharging and went to a port, Lome, in the neighbouring country, Togo. We loaded there and came back to Tema again. After discharging, we went to Owendo, in Gabon, for loading manganese ore. After loading the ship went to Dunkirque, in France.Raji joined here, with other joiners.

From Dunkirque we sailed out to Aviles in Spain. We loaded cargo there and went to Bremen, Germany to discharge the cargo. We managed to go out for some time in Bremen. I bought a beautiful cutlery set there. Our next port was Murmansk, in Russia. The port was at latitude of about 70˚, the highest latitude, I have ever been to. After nearing the coasts of Norway, we had daylight for about 22 hours a day. The sun just seemed to set and within few hours it was back in the horizon. It was a fantastic experience.

As soon as we berthed in Murmansk, the Russian immigration authorities came on board. They checked everybody’s passports and CDCs. As Raji was not having a CDC and a Russian visa, they instructed her not to attempt to go out. Because of that, I was also on board. We went to Gijon, Spain for discharging. After completion of discharging, we went to Dakar in Senegal (West Africa) for loading. This was a place well known for notorious activities and very few people went out. During unberthing, tugs were assisting us. A rope parted suddenly and because of that, the ship lost control and banged on the jetty. There was a huge dent on the shipside. Luckily, there were no cracks on the ship’s plating. Surveyors were called for and they inspected the damage. They had recommended that the plating must be cropped and renewed at the earliest. Since the ship was going to dry dock very soon, that was not a big issue.

We sailed from there to Capetown for fueling. I saw the table mountain when the ship was berthing. It was a nice view of the Table Mountains, with a cloud top. We went to Vizag, which has become so frequent for me. On arrival Vizag, I had completed more than 5 months and since the ship was going for drydock, I opted to be relieved there. I signed off there with Raji and flew back to madras.

TOTAL TIME SPENT ON BOARD:5 months and 15 days

PORTS VISITED: IN INDIA- Vizag

FOREIGN- Singapore, Kohsichang(Thailand), Takoradi(Ghana), Tema(Ghana), Lome(Togo), Owendo(Gabon), Dunkirque(France), Aviles(Spain), Bremen(Germany), Murmansk(Russia), Gijon(Spain), Dakar(Senegal), Cape Town(South Africa)