After I got down from my last ship, I decided to write the exam for becoming Chief Officer. As soon as I came home, I enquired about the starting of batches in NIPM and HIMT. HIMT informed that they would be starting a batch. Since HIMT was nearer to home, I decided that I would do the course in that institute. Just a day before commencement of the course, I got a call from HIMT saying that they can’t start a batch since they were one candidate short of the required number of candidates. I immediately rang up NIPM and asked them if they were starting the course. They told that they are starting and to come the next day with the required documents and fees. I packed my dress and books and went to Tiruvanmiyur, next day morning, with Raji. I left her there and went to Uthandi. I filled up the necessary forms, attached the required documents and paid the fees. Classes started from that day itself. Classes were from 1000 to 1300 and from 1400 to 1700. The classes were for a period of 3 months.
It was a pain to sit in the class room, listening to the lectures and taking down notes. We had to study for functions like Navigation, Cargo Handling and Stowage and Ship Operation & Care of Personnel. The subjects for phase 1 of the Mate’s course were Practical Navigation/ Chart Work, Cargo Work, Naval Architecture (Ship Stability/Ship Construction), Marine Meteorology/Ocean Currents/Ship’s Routeing and Safety/Damage Control/Maintenance, each of which came under different functions. Each paper required a different pass percentage from 50% to 70%. There was a system that a fail in a subject in a function means that the entire function has to be written again.
Even though I had studied these things during my last exams, it was a bit more advanced now. I used to stay in the week days in Tiruvanmiyur and come home on Friday evening, to go back again on Monday morning. I came back home on 25th December 2004 as usual, after completing my classes. Amma had arranged for a “Sumangali Prarthanai” on 26th. And that was the day when the Tsunami struck Madras. When I went to the institute on Monday, which was the next day after Tsunami, I came to know from my batch mates that the tsunami had caused sea water to enter the hostel areas, after breaking the compound wall.
Three months passed just like that and we had to appear for internal assessment examinations before appearing for the main examination. After clearing the internal assessment examinations, we had to apply for writing the examination in MMD. They would assess the sea time and if found eligible, one can appear for the written examinations.
I wrote the written exams in April first week. The results would come after 2 months. Meanwhile, I had joined the phase 2 classes in HIMT and was going for the classes from home. The timings were from 0700 to 1300. Many of my batch mates from NIPM came here, as the timings were convenient.
This phase had two functions- Navigation and Ship Operation & Care of Personnel. The subjects were Navigational Aids, Bridge Watch keeping, Engineering Knowledge, Naval Architecture (Ship Stability and construction) and Maritime Legislation. Luckily this time the old rule of appearing for the entire function if failed in a single paper ceased to exist.
Phase 1 results had come by the time I completed 2 months of phase 2 classes and I had passed in all the papers. Slowly phase 2 also came to an end and we had to appear for internal assessment examinations once again.
After completing phase 2 classes, I had to undergo 2 mandatory courses. They were Medical Care and Radar, ARPA & Navigation Simulator course. We were eligible to appear for oral examinations only after we have done these two courses. They were 10 days and 7 days courses. By the time these courses had finished, the exams were few days away.
I wrote the exams well and was hoping that I would clear them easily. The oral exams were in the next month and I started preparing for it. I had to refer to the internet many times to get the latest rules and regulations. Oral examination was a very tricky one. Nobody can predict what the examiner would ask. There were several examiners and each one asked in his own way.
We were supposed to know about all the subjects we had written and also about ship handling, various conventions, rules and regulations. It was really very tough preparing for the oral examinations. On the day of my oral examination, I came to know that the examiner was one of the toughest examiners, who rarely passes people. I had prepared whatever I could and hoped for the best.
I entered the room and he was sitting there with another examiner from MMD. He started asking me questions and upon my reply, cross questioned me on my replies. It was almost 1 ½ hours since the examination had started. My throat was so dry that words were difficult to come out. I was managing to answer with great difficulty. Soon, he asked me to wait outside.
I went out and was waiting for the result, with my heart beating so fast. I was called in another 5 minutes and he told that I had passed. Unable to believe, I asked him to repeat it again. He once again told me to carry on and that I have passed the exam.
This was a happy moment in my life. After all, passing this exam meant so much to me. Now I can board a ship as a chief officer. I called up home immediately and informed them. I went home so happily, after getting some sweets to share my happiness with Appa, Amma and Raji.
I went to MMD, the next day to apply for the certificate. I completed the formalities and came back home for a well deserved rest. I got the certificate in about 45 days. I was so thrilled to see the certificate. Now I was certified by the Government of India to sail on ships as a Chief Officer.
Monday, April 5, 2010
twelfth ship- brilliant corners
This was my second ship with Eurasia and this time also I had to join a Cape Size Bulk Carrier in Japan. After completing the formalities like signing of contract and getting my ticket, I flew to Singapore and from there to Tokyo-Narita Airport. The agent’s representative had come to pick me up and this journey to the port, Kawasaki took about 2 hours. The ship was discharging coal there. After part discharging there, the ship discharged the balance cargo in Fukuyama, which is about 36 hours away, in Japan Inland Sea. After completion of discharge, we went to Australia for loading. The load port was Newcastle.
Loading was very fast here and loading was completed in 40 hours. This ship had a maximum cargo capacity of 106,000 MT. The discharging used to take about 3 to 4 days and we used to discharge the entire cargo in one port or two ports, which depended upon the grade of the coal. Since the ship was 25 year old, there were problems here and there but being a Japanese built ship, the ship was good for her age. It was on a regular run from Japan to Australia. During the sailings, we used to have repairs carried out to renew steel which had rusted and thinned down. Since the ship was long and old, we used to stop the ship, in case of any typhoons in the Pacific Ocean and let it pass through.
Once during discharging, I was ballasting the ballast tanks. The seaman on deck noticed water inside a cargo hold and I stopped the pump immediately. Upon further investigation it was found that a welding had given way and water had started leaking inside the cargo hold from the tank. Luckily, the crack was not very big and we managed to weld it.
Transiting the Japan Inland Sea was every seafarer’s nightmare, since there were many fishing boats, passenger ships and various other small boats crossing the ships. There were so many small islands as well, which we had to keep clear. A pilot used to be there to guide us, but it required extra effort from the navigators on board.
After 3 loading operations, we went to dry dock, in Nantong, which is a port in China. We had to sail in the river for about 8 hours to reach the port. This river has so many ports along both the sides. Shanghai lies near the place where this river and sea meet. We went to the ship yard and our ship docked. As the ship was 25 years old, there were many rules and regulations which had to be followed. Many surveys had to be conducted to ensure that the ship was in sea worthy condition.
A team of technicians had been specially flown in from India to measure the thickness of the various plating in the ship, using ultra sound. If the thickness was less than that allowed, then that portion of plating had to be cropped and renewed, after which it is tested to ensure that everything s in order.
The technicians were working throughout the day so that they could complete the gauging of the entire ship in time. In the dry dock, surveyors from classification society inspected the ship and checked the thickness and recommended renewal in many parts inside the cargo holds and inside the ballast tanks. We had to ensure that the works were carried out as required and proper welding was done. So during the dry dock, it was our job to inspect each and every place every day, take photographs and take measurements of the steel being renewed.
It was a pain going inside the cargo holds, inside the tanks and various other spaces in the ship, everyday. Checking the dimensions and welding was a bigger pain. This was not needed to be done by us, but we were instructed by the superintendent. We had to take photos as well.
I went out on days when I had night off. It was a nice city, but food was a problem. So, I preferred to eat in the ship before going out. Language was another problem in China. But the shopkeepers near the port spoke some English. I used to go out, buy some chips and peanuts, make calls to home and come back.
The time in dry dock passed like this and soon we were out of dry dock. We sailed out to Newcastle, in Australia for loading. After completion of loading, the ship came to Mizushima (Japan), where I signed off along with the Captain’s family, Electrical Officer and Fitter.
All of us left the ship and reached Tokyo in the night in a car. Since our flight was in the next day morning, all of us were put up in a hotel for the night. Next day morning, we reached the airport and boarded a flight to Hongkong. From there I came to Bombay and stayed overnight there. I had my flight to Madras the next day early morning and reached home.
This was my last ship as second officer and also with this company.
TOTAL TIME SPENT ON BOARD: 6 months and 17 days
PORTS VISITED: IN INDIA- none
FOREIGN: Fukuyama, Mizushima & Kawasaki (Japan), Nantong (China), Newcastle, Hay Point, Dalrymple Bay& Gladstone (Australia)
Loading was very fast here and loading was completed in 40 hours. This ship had a maximum cargo capacity of 106,000 MT. The discharging used to take about 3 to 4 days and we used to discharge the entire cargo in one port or two ports, which depended upon the grade of the coal. Since the ship was 25 year old, there were problems here and there but being a Japanese built ship, the ship was good for her age. It was on a regular run from Japan to Australia. During the sailings, we used to have repairs carried out to renew steel which had rusted and thinned down. Since the ship was long and old, we used to stop the ship, in case of any typhoons in the Pacific Ocean and let it pass through.
Once during discharging, I was ballasting the ballast tanks. The seaman on deck noticed water inside a cargo hold and I stopped the pump immediately. Upon further investigation it was found that a welding had given way and water had started leaking inside the cargo hold from the tank. Luckily, the crack was not very big and we managed to weld it.
Transiting the Japan Inland Sea was every seafarer’s nightmare, since there were many fishing boats, passenger ships and various other small boats crossing the ships. There were so many small islands as well, which we had to keep clear. A pilot used to be there to guide us, but it required extra effort from the navigators on board.
After 3 loading operations, we went to dry dock, in Nantong, which is a port in China. We had to sail in the river for about 8 hours to reach the port. This river has so many ports along both the sides. Shanghai lies near the place where this river and sea meet. We went to the ship yard and our ship docked. As the ship was 25 years old, there were many rules and regulations which had to be followed. Many surveys had to be conducted to ensure that the ship was in sea worthy condition.
A team of technicians had been specially flown in from India to measure the thickness of the various plating in the ship, using ultra sound. If the thickness was less than that allowed, then that portion of plating had to be cropped and renewed, after which it is tested to ensure that everything s in order.
The technicians were working throughout the day so that they could complete the gauging of the entire ship in time. In the dry dock, surveyors from classification society inspected the ship and checked the thickness and recommended renewal in many parts inside the cargo holds and inside the ballast tanks. We had to ensure that the works were carried out as required and proper welding was done. So during the dry dock, it was our job to inspect each and every place every day, take photographs and take measurements of the steel being renewed.
It was a pain going inside the cargo holds, inside the tanks and various other spaces in the ship, everyday. Checking the dimensions and welding was a bigger pain. This was not needed to be done by us, but we were instructed by the superintendent. We had to take photos as well.
I went out on days when I had night off. It was a nice city, but food was a problem. So, I preferred to eat in the ship before going out. Language was another problem in China. But the shopkeepers near the port spoke some English. I used to go out, buy some chips and peanuts, make calls to home and come back.
The time in dry dock passed like this and soon we were out of dry dock. We sailed out to Newcastle, in Australia for loading. After completion of loading, the ship came to Mizushima (Japan), where I signed off along with the Captain’s family, Electrical Officer and Fitter.
All of us left the ship and reached Tokyo in the night in a car. Since our flight was in the next day morning, all of us were put up in a hotel for the night. Next day morning, we reached the airport and boarded a flight to Hongkong. From there I came to Bombay and stayed overnight there. I had my flight to Madras the next day early morning and reached home.
This was my last ship as second officer and also with this company.
TOTAL TIME SPENT ON BOARD: 6 months and 17 days
PORTS VISITED: IN INDIA- none
FOREIGN: Fukuyama, Mizushima & Kawasaki (Japan), Nantong (China), Newcastle, Hay Point, Dalrymple Bay& Gladstone (Australia)
eleventh ship- dias
This was my first ship in a foreign based company. The ship management company was Eurasia and the crew manning company was Paramount, both of them based in Hongkong with branches all over the world. I went to Bombay for medicals, getting the US visa and signing the contract. As my US visa got delayed, I was allotted a different ship. I came back to Madras, since that ship was scheduled to reach a couple of days late at a port near Jakarta. I signed the contract in Madras office and got the tickets for the flights.
I flew to Bombay from Madras. Next flight was from Bombay to Singapore. There was a waiting time of about 7 hours in Singapore. The airport authorities had displayed that there was a small sightseeing trip for passengers who had to wait for their connecting flight. I got my name enlisted there and went out on their bus to see Sentosa Island. It was a nice place to see. I didn’t have my camera with me and so missed out the opportunity of taking photographs. We came back after completing the tour and I had some more time left to spend before boarding the next flight. I did some window shopping and finally boarded the flight to Jakarta. This was a flight of very less duration. We reached Jakarta in about 40 minutes. After clearing the customs and immigration, we waited for the agent to arrive. There were about 15 of us, including the officers and crew. Finally the agent arrived and all of us left for the port, Cigading, in the bus. We took us 6 hours to reach the port. The traffic was so bad, even worse than Madras! Finally we reached the ship. The signing off crew was ready to disembark. There was no proper handing over, since the ship was being sold. The Filipino crew and officers refused to clear even the smallest doubt. They left after some time, leaving us to find out things for ourselves. The ship was discharging cargo in this port. It was the biggest ship, I had ever sailed in. It had 9 cargo holds and could carry up to 135,000 metric tonnes of cargo. I had the additional job of radio accounting, as there was no radio officer on board. I had to prepare and send routine messages as well, to the owners, managers, charterers and other parties.
Something more about this ship, which I never experienced in any of my ships before this. All ships usually have a fresh water generator, which produces enough water for our consumption. But in this ship, that was faulty and the engineers could not get it working due to non availability of spares. So fresh water was being rationed on board. It was stored in drums, in all decks and the crew used to take water for use from those drums. Further, the hot water pipelines were of some poor PVC material. When hot water was started, these pipe lines used to leak. Because of that, hot water was kept shut, to avoid wastage and to prevent any electrical short circuit. It was fine during summer months, but was very difficult during winter.
We left the port after completion of discharging and went to Singapore for bunkering and provisions. From there the ship sailed to Dampier, in Western Australia. The loading was so fast that they completed loading the entire cargo in 27 hours. We sailed out to Qingdao (China) for discharging the cargo. The discharging was not all that fast and it took about 4 days to complete it. We sailed out to Newcastle (Australia) from there. During the voyage, we had to clean all the nine cargo holds and get them ready to load coal. We berthed in Newcastle, but were idle there as we had some problems with the ship’s generator. We had called for a technician to attend to the problem. We were there in the lay berth for 8 days before we berthed in the other berth. Loading was pretty fast here as well. It completed in 36 hours. We shifted to the anchorage were awaiting the spares for the generator to reach us. As soon as the spares arrived, we sailed out.
Our next port was Lazaro Cardenas (Mexico). We completed discharging there and went to La Libertdad (Ecuador) for bunkering. Our load port was fixed as San Nicolas, in Peru. That was an open port, with no protection from the sea and wind. There were no navigational aids as well. During berthing, there were no tugs to assist us. It was a painful process of bringing the ship alongside the berth with the mooring ropes. At berth, it was even worse. The ship used to surge because of the wind and current. Lots of ropes parted during the loading. The entire loading was completed in 4 days and we were glad it was over. Our next port was Beilun, in China.
The sailing took us more than a month. We had to sail across Pacific Ocean. I had the opportunity to cross the International Date Line twice in this ship. When we go from east to west, we retard a day and when we sail from west to east, we advance a day. After discharging the cargo in the port, we headed to Shanhaiguan shipyard which is further north for dry docking. This shipyard was very near the Great Wall of China. Many went out to see that Wonder. I was unlucky, as my watch timings did not permit me to visit.
It was early winter when we went there. The temperature was sub zero already and we didn’t have hot water to bathe. Such was our plight in that ship. After a few days in the dry dock, it started snowing and the ship was covered with snow everywhere. I had to go inside the ballast tanks and cargo holds to check the works which were going on. It was so difficult to go down the ladders in that temperature to do the checking.
My contract was almost over by that time and I was hoping that I would be relieved soon. My reliever came after 20 days in the dry dock. I was happy that I got relieved. I travelled by car from the port to Beijing, which took about 5 hours. I was lucky enough to pass a tunnel through the Great Wall of China and managed to catch a glimpse of the manmade marvel. I had a flight to Bangkok from there. From Bangkok I flew to Bombay. After changing terminals, took a flight to Madras and reached home.
TOTAL TIME SPENT ON BOARD: 5 months and 24 days
PORT VISITED: FOREIGN- Cigading (Indonesia), Dampier(Australia), Lazaro Cardenas(Mexico), La Libertad (Equador), San Nicolas (Peru), Beilun and Shanhaiguan (China)
INDIA- None
I flew to Bombay from Madras. Next flight was from Bombay to Singapore. There was a waiting time of about 7 hours in Singapore. The airport authorities had displayed that there was a small sightseeing trip for passengers who had to wait for their connecting flight. I got my name enlisted there and went out on their bus to see Sentosa Island. It was a nice place to see. I didn’t have my camera with me and so missed out the opportunity of taking photographs. We came back after completing the tour and I had some more time left to spend before boarding the next flight. I did some window shopping and finally boarded the flight to Jakarta. This was a flight of very less duration. We reached Jakarta in about 40 minutes. After clearing the customs and immigration, we waited for the agent to arrive. There were about 15 of us, including the officers and crew. Finally the agent arrived and all of us left for the port, Cigading, in the bus. We took us 6 hours to reach the port. The traffic was so bad, even worse than Madras! Finally we reached the ship. The signing off crew was ready to disembark. There was no proper handing over, since the ship was being sold. The Filipino crew and officers refused to clear even the smallest doubt. They left after some time, leaving us to find out things for ourselves. The ship was discharging cargo in this port. It was the biggest ship, I had ever sailed in. It had 9 cargo holds and could carry up to 135,000 metric tonnes of cargo. I had the additional job of radio accounting, as there was no radio officer on board. I had to prepare and send routine messages as well, to the owners, managers, charterers and other parties.
Something more about this ship, which I never experienced in any of my ships before this. All ships usually have a fresh water generator, which produces enough water for our consumption. But in this ship, that was faulty and the engineers could not get it working due to non availability of spares. So fresh water was being rationed on board. It was stored in drums, in all decks and the crew used to take water for use from those drums. Further, the hot water pipelines were of some poor PVC material. When hot water was started, these pipe lines used to leak. Because of that, hot water was kept shut, to avoid wastage and to prevent any electrical short circuit. It was fine during summer months, but was very difficult during winter.
We left the port after completion of discharging and went to Singapore for bunkering and provisions. From there the ship sailed to Dampier, in Western Australia. The loading was so fast that they completed loading the entire cargo in 27 hours. We sailed out to Qingdao (China) for discharging the cargo. The discharging was not all that fast and it took about 4 days to complete it. We sailed out to Newcastle (Australia) from there. During the voyage, we had to clean all the nine cargo holds and get them ready to load coal. We berthed in Newcastle, but were idle there as we had some problems with the ship’s generator. We had called for a technician to attend to the problem. We were there in the lay berth for 8 days before we berthed in the other berth. Loading was pretty fast here as well. It completed in 36 hours. We shifted to the anchorage were awaiting the spares for the generator to reach us. As soon as the spares arrived, we sailed out.
Our next port was Lazaro Cardenas (Mexico). We completed discharging there and went to La Libertdad (Ecuador) for bunkering. Our load port was fixed as San Nicolas, in Peru. That was an open port, with no protection from the sea and wind. There were no navigational aids as well. During berthing, there were no tugs to assist us. It was a painful process of bringing the ship alongside the berth with the mooring ropes. At berth, it was even worse. The ship used to surge because of the wind and current. Lots of ropes parted during the loading. The entire loading was completed in 4 days and we were glad it was over. Our next port was Beilun, in China.
The sailing took us more than a month. We had to sail across Pacific Ocean. I had the opportunity to cross the International Date Line twice in this ship. When we go from east to west, we retard a day and when we sail from west to east, we advance a day. After discharging the cargo in the port, we headed to Shanhaiguan shipyard which is further north for dry docking. This shipyard was very near the Great Wall of China. Many went out to see that Wonder. I was unlucky, as my watch timings did not permit me to visit.
It was early winter when we went there. The temperature was sub zero already and we didn’t have hot water to bathe. Such was our plight in that ship. After a few days in the dry dock, it started snowing and the ship was covered with snow everywhere. I had to go inside the ballast tanks and cargo holds to check the works which were going on. It was so difficult to go down the ladders in that temperature to do the checking.
My contract was almost over by that time and I was hoping that I would be relieved soon. My reliever came after 20 days in the dry dock. I was happy that I got relieved. I travelled by car from the port to Beijing, which took about 5 hours. I was lucky enough to pass a tunnel through the Great Wall of China and managed to catch a glimpse of the manmade marvel. I had a flight to Bangkok from there. From Bangkok I flew to Bombay. After changing terminals, took a flight to Madras and reached home.
TOTAL TIME SPENT ON BOARD: 5 months and 24 days
PORT VISITED: FOREIGN- Cigading (Indonesia), Dampier(Australia), Lazaro Cardenas(Mexico), La Libertad (Equador), San Nicolas (Peru), Beilun and Shanhaiguan (China)
INDIA- None
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