Tag Archives: interview

Video: Ever Wonder What It’s Like to Work On A Livestock Carrier?

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gCaptain Maritime & Offshore News | Ever Wonder What It’s Like to Work On A Livestock Carrier?.

Ocean Drover

Ocean Drover

This is an interesting video (click the link). I got it in my email from gcaptain the other day. It’s just a short clip of the Master and the Chief Mate of the livestock carrier Ocean Drover explaining what it’s like to work on a ship like that.

What I thought was especially interesting was that both the Master and the Chief Mate were women. I was pleasantly surprised to see that. Especially since they were both Italian (and young).

I didn’t know that Italy had many women mariners. It’s a major accomplishment for anyone in any country to work your way up to that level. I was happy to see that these women made it. 🙂

I am REALLY hoping that the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC 2006) is not going to reverse all the progress we (women) have made over the last 50 years. I am already seeing some effects out here that make me wary.

The law of unintended consequences is raising it’s head again (IMHO). The last few ships I have been on have had issues with space. They constantly seem to run out of rooms.

I don’t know if it’s just poor planning or if they REALLY need all these people onboard, (we have almost 200 on here at the moment), but it seems they’re always having to finagle to get people a room onboard. They are trying hard to keep males and females separated.  They also try hard to keep people working opposite tours in the same rooms so you’re not in there at the same time. Last hitch I had to move rooms 3 times in the space of 3 weeks!

The way this relates to the MLC 2006 is that apparently (I haven’t read the whole thing yet), there is a new rule that women and men can NOT share the same room! In the past, we have been able to share the same room (we are usually never in there at the same time), tho they usually did that as a last resort. We work on opposite schedules, so we never see each other.

Someone at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) seems to think that is a problem, so they fixed it. Problem now is that there just is not room onboard to keep dedicated female rooms. SO, to solve that issue (since there are still more men working offshore than women), they just send the women home.

This is the same excuse they used to use all the time back in the old days. Back then, it just was not true. They could have put us in any room and we just could have shared it with the men. Which is exactly what we used to do, IF we could manage to get onboard at all.

It was never really a problem for me personally (sharing rooms), tho I do have to comment that I have heard a lot of stories that make me just roll my eyes. I can’t believe some of the things some women have actually SUED over!! They have made it a HUGE big deal for any maritime company to hire ANY female (again!)!

I really wish people would just get their shit together and learn to treat each other with respect (men and women). Women who choose to work in the maritime industry need to learn how to deal with a little off-color language and grow a thick skin. It is not like working in an office building on the beach, and it should NOT be expected to be!

I’m sure I’ll be castigated by the politically correct nit-pickers of the world (thankfully most of them are still limited to the USA so I can still hope to escape them), but I am really getting sick of them ruining my (and ANY womans) chances of actually enjoying the lifestyle I have chosen for myself!

Now, the MLC has made male/female sharing a room (ever) against the law and so it is not going to happen any more. I can see a lot of women having a much harder time getting jobs in the maritime industry (again) because of this new rule. 🙁

So, instead of helping women, they hurt us (BADLY) instead!

I REALLY wish governments would just get out of the way and let us do our jobs!

How the Shipping Industry is the Secret Force Driving the World Economy

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How the Shipping Industry is the Secret Force Driving the World Economy | Ideas & Innovations | Smithsonian Magazine.

I thought this was pretty good, despite the reservations I have from only seeing this article. It’s an interview with author Rose George about her latest book: Ninety Percent of Everything. She somehow arranged to spend some time sailing around on the container ship Maersk Kendal. I’m going to have to find a copy of this book to read. 🙂

a container ship underway

a container ship underway

She makes a lot of good points. That people who aren’t personally involved with shipping are totally unaware of the industry. That those of us living in ‘first world’ countries don’t know any seafarers personally any more. That the ports have been moved so far away from the cities that most people don’t have any awareness of them anymore. That people on the beach have absolutely no idea what it’s like to be a seafarer.

I do think she got a lot of that correct. She sees how isolating it is out here now. She mentions the lack of communication and that the ships don’t provide internet or phone access to their crews (because of the expense). I do agree that it is an expense. I do not agree that it is an ‘extra’ expense. I don’t think it’s very much to pay a couple of thousand dollars a month when that would be something like 1% of expenses on most ships (if that). Isn’t it worth that for such a HUGE increase in crew morale?

a tank ship underway

a tank ship underway

I don’t really know if she’s right in her assessment of how much or how little sailors have a ‘sense of romanticism’. She mentions that she thinks the captain has more of it then he lets on, that he still secretly loves the sea.

She seems to think that most sailors are only out here for the money. I might agree that most sailors from the poorer parts of the world go to sea for the money. They probably went to sea because it paid better than anything they could find at home.

I would agree that the great majority of seafarers are not in a great position at sea. Some of the conditions sailors work under are just horrible. A lot of shipowners do flag foreign just so they can cut expenses.

They all say that the cost of the crew is their largest expense so they cut it any way they can. They cut the crew size, they lengthen the hitch (2 YEARS or more), they skimp on groceries, they skimp on medical care, they refuse to pay for visas so the crew can’t leave the ship in port, etc.

That’s not even to start on the issue of crew abandonment. Rose George seems to think the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC) will help. I’ve seen in the news there have already been 3 ships detained, but I have serious doubts it will actually help the crews.

In spite of conditions like that, I believe most seafarers do still enjoy sailing (at least sometimes). 😉

romanticism of life at sea

romanticism of life at sea

I know I still do. Most of the time. 😉

Nautical Institute- The Navigator

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A ‘real’ way of life: enjoying the rewards and challenges of a career at sea

In this series, The Navigator speaks to current navigational personnel about their motivations, careers to date and thoughts for the future. Under the spotlight this issue is Officer Cadet Thomas Chitseko, who is currently undergoing final preparations for his orals examinations.

What interested you in a career at sea?

Seafaring is a way of life: a vocation rather than a job. This appealed to me as, having tried a couple of 9-5 jobs, I realized that I wanted my work to be an integral part of my life, not something that I did in order to pay for my ‘real’ life at the weekends.The opportunities to travel and to spend my youth doing something other than looking at a computer screen were also strong motivators.

What career path has led to your current position?

I studied International Relations at the London School of Economics in the UK and worked in e-commerce and for a corporate communications consultancy for a while before coming to sea.

Where do you see your career going from here?

I hope to complete my training and take up an appointment as a Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) deck officer over the next twelve months. The unique role of the RFA provides developmental opportunities that tally closely with what I want to get out of my career at this stage.

What’s the most important aspect of being a watch-keeping officer?

It’s crucial that watch-keeping officers are instilled with a sense of professionalism corresponding with the responsibilities that they hold. The mission of The Navigator to develop and promote the professional identity of the modern OOW, is a vital one.

What are the greatest rewards of your life at sea?

I have enjoyed the opportunity to get ashore in some exotic places and to develop my understanding of the world. I’ve also met some interesting and entertaining old (and younger) salts at college and aboard the ships on which I have sailed. This said, it is the expectation of taking responsibility for driving ships, and the motivation that this provides to become a capable OOW, with all that this entails which, has been the greatest reward of my time at sea so far.

What do you think are the greatest challenges for future navigators?

Getting heard ashore. We are living at a time where technological advancement should be making navigation more safe and effective than it has ever been. However, partly due to the fragmentation of the maritime sector and substantially due to the distance imposed by working at sea itself, the feedback mechanisms for getting lessons from the coal-face of seafaring integrated into the regulations, training and technology that will shape the future of the industry are not, in my opinion, all that they could be.

PS-I didn’t write this post (above). I tried to link this to the website since they say feel free to share and I thought this was a good article in their publication “The Navigator”. I couldn’t get it to work or the photo to transfer. Sorry. The link to the Nautical Institute is www.nautinst.org you can find the Navigator there along with lots of other great information for seafarers and all the latest DP news

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