Past few days went by in deciding which company I should join to sail back and finally went back to Anglo Eastern,my good old company from yesteryears.
sailing should begin again in a month's time, but this time it'll be for just 4 months n not more than that.
Corn on my right leg refuses to leave me,been trying the corn caps,i hope that should take care of that. The new gaadi had her 1st servicing done too and sis lans to visit india for a month in the coming week, that wud mean more visits to dad.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
People say people change
People change with time,yes they do....i say,maybe they do or they just pretend to change with times. Since coming back home from sail I visited mom a few times, dad was the same way, didnt want to look at me and even if he did by mistake ignored my presence. Now its been 2 years since our marriage and sis says its about time he should CHANGE, he should acknowledge my presence and give up his anger. After a lot of brainstorming done by her, it did have an effect. The next time I went to see mom, he spoke with me and so he did with wifey. If he's really changed is beyond me as he has taken this step upon being told, but nevertheless I spoke to him after about 2 years. There wasnt much of bitterness in his voice but its not difficult to read your own father's mind.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Rendezvous with self
Me: So how does it feel coming back home after such a long time?
Me Again: (Smiles) It feels good, its really been a long time, the last time I sailed for this long was 5 years back,at that time I was single and now it DID feel difficult but getting back is always good.
M: Heard you got your promotion in this trip?
MA: Yeah,it was long awaited, moreover I had to wait for 4 months till the previous guy had to sign off during my tenure.
M:Was it different taking over the role of chief officer?
MA: Yes it was, its a big change in responsibility. In my previous rank I was involved with a very limited area of work but as C/O the responsibilities change drastically,you are involved with every small and big operations that are part of our daily routines on board. From being a navigating officer you are transformed to the managerial post where you make the plans,implement them and make sure they are followed. Cargo being the most important of all turns out to be your baby, that involves making cargo plans,taking care of stability,dealing with shore guys to co ordinate hassle free cargo operations,any shortcomings on your part could lead to claims of huge amounts to the company .
Apart from the cargo part theres a hell lot of other things to take care of too. Being second in command makes you be a part of decision making when it comes to extreme situations, everyone looks upto you for what ever you decide. Yes,this rank gives you a lot of power but it gives you equal amount of responsibility to live upto.
M: Where there times when you got stuck in certain situations?
MA: I wouldnt deny i didnt get stuck anywhere, but I was lucky to have a very co-operative captain and he would guide me correctly out of it. It'll be difficult to narrate the incidents as they would get technical but to put it in simple words,he acted like my guiding star.
M: Did you miss your better half not being besides you?
MA: Yes I did, a lot of times. Her being around would have made things look simpler,the tensed situations would look easier but we had our own commitments to fulfill,besides I had to learn to face and deal with my own problems.
M: I have heard so much about the modern day pirates,any encounters with them?
MA: (Laughs) We were lucky to not have any encounters with them. It sounds all exciting when we sit here and talk or hear about them but when the conditions lead you to transit close to them the real issues come up. We did transit through the Gulf of Aden, but we took the help of Indian warship to escort us through the region. We were supposed to transit gulf of aden,the company was advised and they in turn advised that we should take help of the indian warships assisting other ships in transiting through. We were given the position to rendezvous the warship and wat a surprise...the position given by the company as RV posn was 28 miles off.....v were corrected by other ships tht v were going in the wrong direction...wen the company was told of their fuck up,they realise tht they had given us old co-ordinates of the vessel,sumthing tht was 7 mnths old.....here v were getting ourselves prepared to prevent any pirate attack n the company sitting there sends us to the wrong place!!!!!it was embarassing for n indian flagged vessel to not b aware of the indian warship's position wen the company in mumbai is supposed to have the latest info on the same.... the transit of 2 days was peaceful,all my appreciation n respect to the warship accompaning us,they were as professional as they cud b n the whole transit has increased my respect n regard to the indian navy....everyone involved in tht ship deserved standing ovation for the good work n the bravery tht they showed in being the first to encounter any suscpicious boat arnd us 5 ships involved in the transit....my salute to the brave soldiers who have been in this region for soo long n r carrying out operations to assist us in carrying out ours...m proud of u guys...u made me proud to call myself n indian.
M: Any incident in particular that scared you enough during the tenure?
MA: (Raises eyebrows) There was a time when we were involved with repair of one of the equipments of our cargo tanks. We were left with no other option but to enter in. The tank was full of buatne vapours with no sign of oxygen to support life. The person entering inside would have to wear SCBA-Self Contained Breathing Apparatus,this has a capacity of providing fresh air for 30 mins approximately,which would mean the time spent inside the tank should at no time go beyond 30 mins and if theres a slip or fall inside then things would have been different and would involve mere rescue operation. Well, I volunteered for it,enetered in,it was cold because of butane vapours. All went well,got the work done by 15 mins and I was out finally. The whole incident would have been fatal if there were ifs and buts involved, but then i here and it wasnt that bad.
M: What plans for the vacation?
MA: Will spend time with spouse, got loads of plans planned with her, got a lot of places to visit and yes will sleep a lot.
Me Again: (Smiles) It feels good, its really been a long time, the last time I sailed for this long was 5 years back,at that time I was single and now it DID feel difficult but getting back is always good.
M: Heard you got your promotion in this trip?
MA: Yeah,it was long awaited, moreover I had to wait for 4 months till the previous guy had to sign off during my tenure.
M:Was it different taking over the role of chief officer?
MA: Yes it was, its a big change in responsibility. In my previous rank I was involved with a very limited area of work but as C/O the responsibilities change drastically,you are involved with every small and big operations that are part of our daily routines on board. From being a navigating officer you are transformed to the managerial post where you make the plans,implement them and make sure they are followed. Cargo being the most important of all turns out to be your baby, that involves making cargo plans,taking care of stability,dealing with shore guys to co ordinate hassle free cargo operations,any shortcomings on your part could lead to claims of huge amounts to the company .
Apart from the cargo part theres a hell lot of other things to take care of too. Being second in command makes you be a part of decision making when it comes to extreme situations, everyone looks upto you for what ever you decide. Yes,this rank gives you a lot of power but it gives you equal amount of responsibility to live upto.
M: Where there times when you got stuck in certain situations?
MA: I wouldnt deny i didnt get stuck anywhere, but I was lucky to have a very co-operative captain and he would guide me correctly out of it. It'll be difficult to narrate the incidents as they would get technical but to put it in simple words,he acted like my guiding star.
M: Did you miss your better half not being besides you?
MA: Yes I did, a lot of times. Her being around would have made things look simpler,the tensed situations would look easier but we had our own commitments to fulfill,besides I had to learn to face and deal with my own problems.
M: I have heard so much about the modern day pirates,any encounters with them?
MA: (Laughs) We were lucky to not have any encounters with them. It sounds all exciting when we sit here and talk or hear about them but when the conditions lead you to transit close to them the real issues come up. We did transit through the Gulf of Aden, but we took the help of Indian warship to escort us through the region. We were supposed to transit gulf of aden,the company was advised and they in turn advised that we should take help of the indian warships assisting other ships in transiting through. We were given the position to rendezvous the warship and wat a surprise...the position given by the company as RV posn was 28 miles off.....v were corrected by other ships tht v were going in the wrong direction...wen the company was told of their fuck up,they realise tht they had given us old co-ordinates of the vessel,sumthing tht was 7 mnths old.....here v were getting ourselves prepared to prevent any pirate attack n the company sitting there sends us to the wrong place!!!!!it was embarassing for n indian flagged vessel to not b aware of the indian warship's position wen the company in mumbai is supposed to have the latest info on the same.... the transit of 2 days was peaceful,all my appreciation n respect to the warship accompaning us,they were as professional as they cud b n the whole transit has increased my respect n regard to the indian navy....everyone involved in tht ship deserved standing ovation for the good work n the bravery tht they showed in being the first to encounter any suscpicious boat arnd us 5 ships involved in the transit....my salute to the brave soldiers who have been in this region for soo long n r carrying out operations to assist us in carrying out ours...m proud of u guys...u made me proud to call myself n indian.
M: Any incident in particular that scared you enough during the tenure?
MA: (Raises eyebrows) There was a time when we were involved with repair of one of the equipments of our cargo tanks. We were left with no other option but to enter in. The tank was full of buatne vapours with no sign of oxygen to support life. The person entering inside would have to wear SCBA-Self Contained Breathing Apparatus,this has a capacity of providing fresh air for 30 mins approximately,which would mean the time spent inside the tank should at no time go beyond 30 mins and if theres a slip or fall inside then things would have been different and would involve mere rescue operation. Well, I volunteered for it,enetered in,it was cold because of butane vapours. All went well,got the work done by 15 mins and I was out finally. The whole incident would have been fatal if there were ifs and buts involved, but then i here and it wasnt that bad.
M: What plans for the vacation?
MA: Will spend time with spouse, got loads of plans planned with her, got a lot of places to visit and yes will sleep a lot.
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