Captain's Diary ... A Word to the Wise.

A British Cadet says he took up the seafaring career, to see the world, and it was said to be very high paying, too. But he has been at sea now for four months and so far all has seen is a concrete jungle in Jubail, Saudi Arabia and a Chemical terminal in Kuwait! He also says the wages are not what he expected and the conditions are better in a prison in the UK!

Oh! That sounds very bad.

There is something this young man appears to have missed, he is still an apprentice. Therefore, he is not entitled to all the luxuries on a ship. He will eventually get everything on his way up the ladder when he is certified and gains more experience.

I fully agree with him, working conditions at sea are very difficult, just like any other job in the world. But for a start he must endure and be tenacious. During my time, there was nothing called mandatory rest hours. The Chief officer got most of the work, we (cadets) had to do the work so that his crew did not have over time. In spite of all that I stayed the course and did my job and I am here today, a ship's Captain. I must also mention, most of the work that I did then I have since put into practice and it is what I learned from the Captains and Chief Officers that I worked under.  So,it goes both ways!

So, young man hold on.

India continues to hold Italian marines over fisherman shooting

What really happened is still to be found out!!!

Two armed ships guards were arrested following the fatal shooting of two Indian Fishermen. The guards from a Italian vessel had shot and killed two men who have been engaged in fishing south of Kanyakumari in India.

The vessel had been diverted to the port of Kochi and the Indian Authorities would investigation in to the matter.

The Italian government says their ship was attacked!



Associated Press Reports:

NEW DELHI –  Two Italian marines were sent back to an Indian jail Monday for another two weeks over the fatal shooting of two fishermen off India's southern coast.

Despite Italy's strong objections over India's detaining the marines, Chief Judicial Magistrate A.K. Gopakumar extended the marines' custody by 14 more days in the southern state of Kerala.

The marines, who were providing anti-piracy security aboard a cargo ship, are accused of shooting the fishermen Feb. 15 after mistaking them for pirates off India's southwest coast.

India says the fact that the shooting happened on an Indian boat gave it jurisdiction.

Italy says the men should be tried in Italy under international maritime rules and warns that India's approach sets a dangerous precedent putting Indian military officers on anti-piracy missions could face similar risk of prosecution in foreign jurisdictions.

The magistrate said he would consider the marines' plea for a television on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the ship they were working on, the Enrica Lexie, has been barred from leaving the coast.

Latore Massimiliano and Salvatore Girone were first detained Feb. 19 and have been held since March 5 in a special cell at the Central Prison in Thiruvanantapuram, separate from the general prison population.

Italy wanted them kept in a guest house, according to privileges granted in Italy to military personnel. But Kerala's Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said the Italians would be shown no leniency.

Several countries, including India, allow ship owners to use armed security guards to protect against pirate attacks, now a major threat to merchant ships in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea.

Italy says having military personnel aboard the cargo ship is governed by an Italian law conforming to U.N. anti-piracy resolutions, and that such personnel are part of the Italian state and therefore immune to the jurisdiction of foreign states.

A high-level Italian diplomatic mission was unable last month to persuade the Indians to relinquish custody. Italy has since engaged the European Union to lobby its case with New Delhi.

The Port of Acajutla

The Port of Acajutla is El Salvador’s main port. On the country’s northwestern Pacific coast, the deep-water Port of Acajutla handles huge volumes of El Salvador’s exports of coffee, sugar, and balsam. 

The Port of Acajutla is home to El Salvador’s biggest oil refinery that refines petroleum from Venezuela, a fertilizer plant, and several seafood- and shell-processing plants. Tourists are coming to the Port of Acajutla in increasing numbers to enjoy its beautiful beaches. In 2005, over 26 thousand people called the Port of Acajutla home.

The Port of Acajutla is not a large town with hundreds of tourist attractions to keep restless travelers busy. It is, however, a beautifully pleasant place with friendly people and a comfortable atmosphere. It is also an increasingly more popular seaside resort with people who want to enjoy its marvelous beaches.

Not a very good time for Cruise ships operated by Costa Crociere:

The Costa Allegra cruise ship which has been adrift at sea for three days without power has finally made it to dry land. 

 

The Costa Allegra cruise ship is towed through Victoria harbor, in the Seychelles Photo: AP

Cruise ship Costa Allegra has had to be towed to safety following the fire broke out and the ship had been without power. This had happened in March,2012, about 200 nm miles SW of Seychelles in the Indian Ocean.

The ship had been towed to Port Victoria. Instead of using the two tugs went in there for assistance the Captian had opted to use a fishing vessel to tow his ship to Port Victoria.

The action of the Captain had allegedly delayed the arrival of the ship in the port by about 15 hours, extending the misery of the passengers and crew:no air conditioning, no  working showers in toilets and no hot food.

Good news is no any casualties, except that one woman has had a broken ankle.How did that happen???

Nevertheless, she is said to be under good care and will be home soon."

On arrival at the port passengers have been taken to local hotels and had been offered flights home.

What a great Island it must be;some passengers have extended their stay in Seychelles.

More Details Here

Captain's Diary ... Back to Sea

When I came onboard on May 15th, the out-going Master, Captain M. Krup, gave me a rousing welcome. My first look at him; he looked very tired.  After five months out to see no wonder he is tired!

It was about lunch time but I wanted to have a cup of tea. From the tea that the steward brought, I knew, I already had a problem on my hands.  Capt. Krup’s report confirmed my thoughts. By the looks of him  he seems a bit over weight and carrying his own weight seems a problem.

Captain Krup handed over the ship’s documents, etc.,  and everything was in  fine order.  After signing a few documents I finally took over my command. Captain Krup left the ship around 8.00 Pm and we sailed out at 10.30 PM.

Back to sea…it was a clear night with an unobstructed view of  the milky- way-galaxy. We made our way across the ocean  taking a westerly course and then south towards the destination of Acajutla the only port in El Salvador.

While in transit to the Gulf of Tehuantepec we encountered choppy seas .

To be continued...

Captain's Diary ... Thought of the day ...

It is customary on ships, on Sunday's (not every Sunday) to make an inspection of the accommodation, which includes the cabins.

A few years ago, on a ship that I commanded, I was on my Sunday rounds. And in of the crew cabins I found a poster and it read:

" Sea is my Country

  Ship is my Home

  Duty is my life

  Who is my wife"

Yes, my crew member has written it after a lot thought, I am sure...

Captain's Diary ... Arrival

It was not easy to leave my family and join my ship at Lazaro Cardenas  but, this is the  profession I love and I take my responsibilities as a Ship's Captain seriously.  I left home around 9.00PM US-EST on May 14th. I used the usual cab, driven by Hector, who has been serving us for the last four years.

I flew to Mexico city by AeroMexico. Once I boarded the airplane I felt that I was already in Mexico. Such a wonderful place of friendly men and women and I especially enjoy their music.  I'm always happy to return.

After a bumpy five hour flight the plane touched down at Mexico city airport, on-time.

The agent was there to meet me. At the airport I met up with two other crew members who were travelling from Sri Lanka to join the same ship. I was happy to have some company. Thereafter, we took the connecting flight to Lazaro Cardenas.

There was a surprise waiting for us at the airport. Unfortunately it was not a pretty Mexican girl waiting to greet us!! The baggage of my two crew members had not arrived on the same airplane.

Well, well well... I haven't even boarded my ship and I've already started work. I requested that the agents get the missing bags on the evening flight the same day. And they did it! Bravo!

I came on board.   At the gangway was the familiar face of a crew member watching the main entrance point to the vessel.  He sailed with me on the same ship last year.


to be continued.

Piracy A Major Drain for World Economy

David Black

 

More than 170 of those vessels were hijacked, with some 3,400 seafarers taken hostage and 25 of them killed, according to Intercargo, a global merchant-ship owners' group.

For the pirates, it is big business, earning them US$160 million (Dh587.6m) last year in ransom for the return of ships, cargo and crew.

For the world economy, it is a major drain, with piracy off the Horn of Africa alone costing an estimated $7 billion a year.

This is made up of: paying ransoms and insurance premiums; the extra fuel for faster steaming or rerouting ships; security measures from armed guards to fabricating safe citadels for crews; and funding the presence of naval forces.

About 40 per cent of the 42,500 ships that criss-cross the region each year now use armed guards, compared to 15 per cent a year ago, according to Protection Vessels International, one of more than 150 marine security companies with clients operating in high-risk areas.

However, the cost of stationing armed guards on a ship can range between $18,000 and $60,000 to cross the danger zone. If your vessel is a large container ship, the cost of steaming through the area at maximum speed can add $200,000 in extra fuel to a voyage.

These are critical figures for an industry in sharp decline since 2008, suffering under the double blows of falling cargo rates and too many ships. The container ship industry lost $11.4bn last year, according to SeaIntel Maritime Analysis, a consultant based in Copenhagen.

reason for the decline, he says, is increased naval activity. Also, no ship with armed guards aboard has been hijacked by Somali pirates.

But stationing more warships in the region is prohibitively expensive, and putting guns on ships is not without its own risks. The international community agrees.

 Read More

Rough Seas in the North Sea!

The pictures were taken from the ship during very rough seas on December 7, 2011 in the North Sea.At that time the ship that I was in command was on a voyage from Aberdeen, Scotland to Lisbon, Portugal.

During heavy rolling the chief engineer had a fall in the engine room and suffered head injury.

Fortunately, it was manageable with on board medicine and he recovered soon. God protects the seafarers!