Sailing in the high seas: My rendezvous with maritime culture

Unlike my counterparts who sailed on other vessels as a supernumerary, I do not share any common family background of defense or mariners. My family consists of mainly engineers and performing artists. Being a journalist and a kathak performer, merchant navy was a way apart from my kind of life. I accidentally got an insight about this profession due to my boy friend and now my husband. Staying with him and accompanying him to MMD, marine club, watching him preparing for competency exams, obtaining COC for every exam passed and so forth developed a curiosity in my mind to gather more knowledge to understand this shipping profession in a better way.

Before getting married to my husband who is presently serving as third engineer onboard, I knew only three things about the profession that first being a Bengali have heard a lot about the renowned marine engineering college in Kolkata and second this profession is highly rewarding in terms of money. Other than these two perceptions I was a complete layman in this field. The third thing, although sounds funny but is widely perceived amongst college girls that young sailors are very flirtatious in nature although I tend to differ, but this is a separate debate.

Before marriage I heard a lot of stories from him about the deck and engine departments, types of ships, the cargoes they carry, port authorities, SOLAS and MARPOL regulations and how the seafarers work round the clock to sail the ship through different channels, canals and rough weather and so on.

But I got the unique opportunity to experience this exclusive world of high seas after marriage. I owe my sincere thanks to GESCO who gave me an unparallel opportunity to witness the maritime life from my own eyes by allowing me to join my spouse as a supernumerary on vessel MT JAG LATA.

The moment I landed up in tanker terminal of Houston port, a single glance at the humongous ships was simply breath taking. It took away all the jet lag I had from my previous day’s journey. Ship’s mammoth structure boasts the intelligence and scientific achievement of human brain. MT Jag Lata was a beautiful aframax tanker ship berthed right in front of the terminal. The ship’s hull was painted partially in black and red colour. I reached the ship by gangway. My joy knew no bound after meeting my husband but I was equally excited to see the beautiful interiors and decor of the merchant ship. It’s not as luxurious like a cruise ship but it has it’s own elegance and charm.

The accommodation was divided in three decks and so were the room sizes as per the seniority basis. Separate smoke rooms were there for both crew and officers to carry out recreational activities. Even separate dining areas’ adjoining the galley was there for the ship staff. People were so courteous and gracious that not for a moment I felt that I am not a part of the ship. From Captain to the steward everybody welcomed me whole-heartedly and I felt so special. It did not take me long to get acclimatized with the new environment.

Since there was ample time to spend in the absence of outside communication other than mailing system, most of the days I spent in practicing dance, reading novels, watching movies, going around the ship and meeting people onboard. Fire alarms, advancement, and retardation of clock as per the time zones are some of the routine jobs. Mock drills and safety movies are common practices to keep the staff all time ready for any immediate emergency or future catastrophe aboard.

Speaking to people coming from different parts of the country gave me an idea about their aspirations and ambitions. Some incidentally came into this profession, others came after leaving shore jobs but now they were all enjoying their work and were part of the seafarer fraternity.

The most memorable moment was when I got the chance to visit the wheel room of the ship. The ship was heading towards Bahamas. The heavenly beauty of the ocean was mesmerizing. The shades of blue created by nature simply magnetized me. The light blue sky and the deep blue, clear water of ocean was a combination hard to find. For a moment I felt myself so tiny in the nature’s creation of larger objects and an ideal place for concepts of attaining nirvana and salvation. The clouds were forming and the cool breeze swept off my feet. I was lost and hypnotized in the unearthly charm of the ocean. I also spotted a rainbow during Venezuela anchorage at the starboard side of the ship. The deck officers keep an eye on the traffic, cargo operations 24*7 under the aegis of the Master and carry out all sort of navigational and berthing activities. The bridge is never unmanned.

The daily news access system for mariners onboard is an excellent way of keeping oneself connected to latest happenings around the world. The best part is the collection of edits and columns, which supplied the necessary fodder to my journalistic head throughout my stay on the vessel.

The engine room of the ship is also as unique as the bridge. The gigantic engine room had demon-sized pistons, boilers, purifiers and generators all controlled from the Engine Control room. The engineers work day and night rigorously to maintain the machineries. I found them always on their toes to attend any sort of demanding situation. Their dedication and hard work is unmatched.

The most striking feature in the ship was the environment friendly garbage segregation system and cleanliness. Everywhere one may find notices regarding the ways for disposing off the garbage in different coloured bins and most importantly the dumping of plastics in a holistic manner. Strict regulations are adhered aboard. Safety meetings are called frequently to tackle the waste management issue and clear the seacoast and special areas from any sort of environmental damage. Violation of any rules may invite huge penalty and will be taken as a criminal offence as per MARPOL and SOLAS regulations. The ballast water intake, strict no to throwing any scrap in sea water and taking necessary measures to avoid oil spills in international water are the most significant concerns of maritime industry. I was quite impressed by the eco-friendly attitude of the shipping industry and international water regulations. If they can amend and follow the rules, we must also learn from shipping industry to minimize the ecological damage to flora and fauna in our countries too, which is a burning issue in today’s world.

The Indian food served onboard is simply delicious and healthy. Hats off to the cook who work since morning till evening serving three to four courses of sumptuous meal without any delay.

Over the years, like mobile language, ship crew too has evolved the usage of a typical lingo for addressing different staff in accordance to their designation. For instance, Captain is known as ‘Buddha’ as he is considered the most experienced person onboard, Chief engineer as ‘Bada Sahab’, electrical officer as ‘Batti Sahab’ and third and fourth engineers or officers as ‘teen sahab’ and ‘chaar sahab’, pumpman as ‘pumpy’ and the list goes on.

Rolling and pitching is a routine phenomenon and it took me some time to grow my sea legs. People eagerly waiting for the mails from their home, rush for buying calling cards as soon as ship hits the port to call and hear the voices of the near and dear ones are really touching scenes, signing off is an occasion to rejoice, evening movies is a sort of social gathering and shore leaves are total bliss and a relief from hectic routine of maneuvering and machinery upkeep. Ship parties pave the way for celebration of birthday functions, get together and farewell. Signing off and on is an integral part of the shipping life and the seafarers seem to be quite accustomed to it.

I loved speaking to people sharing their happiness as well as their sorrows and vice versa. Some of them became my very good friends. I did not feel any boredom throughout my stay. Everyday there was something new to learn.

A merchant mariner’s life is quite adventurous and full of challenges. These men in uniform with never say die spirit and efficient team work carry out the Herculean task of sailing a ship through the fiercest weather and smoothly keep the global logistics supply chain management intact. Yet, I found them smiling and giggling with joy at the most toughest time. This stay and close interaction with sailors aboard Jag Lata opened new avenues for me, which I never explored before. It has brought significant changes to my mindset.

The close rendezvous with the high seas created many positive changes in my outlook, broadened my horizons of thinking and taught me that I have a long way to go in understanding the complex term ‘life’ in relation with nature in an optimistic way. To sum up in a line, I will forever cherish this memorable trip of my life.