Back to Sea with a Different Company

I signed of my last ship in Mumbai around the 30th of June that year. Few weeks after I arrived home, I sent a message to my company indicating I was ready to re-join. There was no response to my message, therefore, I sent another one. There was no response to that, either. Then, I thought to myself, how could they re-employ me because, I have not acted in the interest of the company.

As the writing was on the wall, without waiting any longer, I started to look for jobs with various other companies in Singapore and Hong Kong, but I did not get a proper response from any of them. It was very frustrating to stay at home. Seeing my plight, my father too, tried with some of the people who operated shipping agencies in Colombo to help me get a job.  During that time, unfortunately the supply of Merchant Shipping Officers were higher than the demand. So, I really had to wait for a breakthrough!

I lived with my parents, therefore, I had a place to live and I was well taken care of.  My social life, however was severely hampered due to the ongoing financial situation. It was around this time, my brother who worked overseas, came home on vacation. He usually came during Christmas but, may be for my luck, came earlier. What he told me was that, many of the expatriate staff has requested for leave during Christmas and, he volunteered to take his vacation early and hold fort during the festive season.

During the three weeks my brother was at home, along with some friends we went on a few trips. I was really happy that I had something to do instead of only looking for jobs and calling shipping companies in that region.  During our trips we visited Kandy, Anuradhapura, Sigiriya, Dambulla, etc., 

Finally, my father came to my rescue; following the news he had received that there was ship in the port of Colombo who was urgently looking for a second officer. He had contacted a Director of that Shipping Company, and following this I was called for an interview. It was the 1st of December that year. I was interviewed by a Captain who was the Director of the Company. He was a very Senior Master Mariner and a well-respected person in the Sri Lankan shipping sphere. After a long but informal interview, he recommended me for the job. A day after meeting with him I was signed-on as      the Second Officer on board the ship "San George."  I was paid a reasonable wage. I was happy to be back at work after nearly six months. This ship was on a regular run between Colombo, Kuwait and Bombay. "San George" was owned by a Greek Company and was chartered by a Sri Lankan Shipping Company. On board, except the Captain and the Chief Engineer, all the other Officers and ratings were Sri Lankans.



Temple of the Sacred Tooth relic, Kandy, Sri Lanka

                                                         Sigiriya Rock Fortress



                                                 Ruwanveliseya Stupa, Anuradha pura.

                                                                                                           

                                                               Madhu Church, Mannar.




Some of the 18 Hairpin Bends on Madugoda to Mahiyanga road

Missing from the blogger for few days.

Dear friends,

My Blog was  off for few days due to a technical problem. Please accept my apologies.

John

Captain E.J.Smith Master of RMS Titanic

Born
27 January 1850
Hanley, Staffordshire, England
Died15 April 1912 (aged 62)
Atlantic Ocean
Cause of deathDrowned in the ship; body never recovered
Resting place41°43′32″N 49°56′49″W
NationalityBritish
OccupationShip Captain
EmployerWhite Star Line
Known forCaptain of R.M.S. Titanic
Spouse(s)Sarah Eleanor Pennington (1887–1912; his death)
ChildrenHelen Melville Smith
(1898–1973) (aged 75)
Parent(s)Edward Smith
Catherine Hancock (nee Marsh)
Notes

Ranks:

Commander  RNR

Captain – White Star Line

Honorific Rank of Commodore, as the White Star Line's most senior Captain

I take a sudden decision to sign-off the ship

Although we believed the ship would be taken to Dubai for repairs, the owners have thought otherwise; repairs be carried out in Mumbai. 

Following instructions received from the owners, the ship proceeded to Mumbai for Dry Docking in order to carry out repairs. The Ship arrived in Mumbai after about seven days of sailing from Aden under the Monsoonal weather conditions. After about three days it was dry docked and we were informed that a formal inquiry will be conducted by the Mercantile Marine Department Surveyor in Bombay and also by the Class Surveyor. The Captain got very worried following receipt of the news of the formal inquiry. He came to my cabin and sat down in my day bunk and told me "I have six children and I do not want to lose this job. Please help me out in this situation". Then I told him "Sir, I really do not know how I could help you but whatever I could do I would certainly do for you”.

Captain, then called the chief officer, and asked him to help him. He immediately agreed and we had a meeting in the Captain’s day room. It was the first time he offered a drink to Chief Officer and I. Whatever had happened in the past, the Chief Officer was with me to help the Captain.

That night, I did not get any sleep. However, I decided to sign-off and proceed home. Early in the morning, I met with the captain and chief officer and informed them about my decision.  Thereafter, I sent in the request through the Master to the owners. It was granted and my repatriation was arranged.  Also, I told the captain, I took this decision as I did not want to lie to the surveyors, especially the MMD surveyor. Therefore, I was ready to sacrifice my job.

Around 9.00 a.m. the following day the Surveyors boarded the ship with the Senior Superintendent of the Company. While the Surveyors were interviewing the Captain, the Agent came on board, and I left the ship with him, and proceeded to airport.  The Superintendent was not happy to let me go but there was nothing much he could do about it. The Captain met me at the gangway as I was leaving and he was full of tears, embraced me and thanked me. But inside me I knew that my leaving was not going to do much good to him as there was more than required evidence to prove that the ship had gone off course and contacted a submerged reef.

I called my father from Mumbai airport and told him, I would be arriving in Colombo in about four hours. He was very surprised about the early sign-off, and said he will meet me at the airport. All the travelling expenses were deducted from my balance of wages and I had very little money left with me when I reached home.

My father, mother and sister were there at the Colombo Airport. They were very happy to see me back. They also asked the question why I had come so suddenly! My father was really sick when I came home as he had very high blood pressure and was under treatment.

Once my father was in a position to listen to me, I told him why I had to leave the ship and come home much earlier. He did not make any comments but by observing his facial expressions, and knowing my father’s way of thinking; I knew he was not in favor of my action, and did not endorse the same!


3 photos of port of Mumbai

                                                        Mazagon docks in Mumbai

Ship running aground in Jeddah

With a full load of cargo on board "Regent Venture" we crossed the Suez Canal and entered the Red Sea. The first port of call for discharging was Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. I was used to the style of British and Indian Captains. They were very confident in all areas of their job. Unfortunately, I did not see that quality in the Master on board. He panicked and started to shout at all of us on the bridge when approaching ports. Another thing that I observed was being from the same nationality the Captain and Chief Officer were not on talking terms.

The Chief Officer also had the Master’s license and had commanded vessels prior to joining this company. Because it was his first contract with our Company he had been employed as the Chief Officer. He was a competent officer.

There were two approaching routes to Jeddah, one from the North and the other from the South. Whichever it was, the approach to Jeddah was a tricky one, especially during night. The vessel approached Jeddah in the night, around 8.00 p.m. At my request, the Chief Officer remained on the bridge but he was only an observer. The Captain asked me what the Chief Officer was doing on the bridge after his duty hours. I told him that the Chief Officer had gone to Jeddah as Master a few times and I requested him to be around. He did not ask any further questions!

Thereafter, in their language the Captain spoke with the Chief Officer. The ship was approaching the port of Jeddah and the engines were on standby. Suddenly, for no reason the Captain made some course alterations. While doing that it was difficult to plot a good position and suddenly we felt that the ship hit something and listed to the Port side (Left side). Immediately the rudder was put to the opposite side and the ship up righted and steadied. At this time, I plotted the ship’s position and it came on the side of a reef. This was confirmed by the Chief Officer’s position. Also both the positions confirmed that the ship was out of the approach route. At this moment the Captain panicked and the Chief Officer took over. Under his instructions, the ship approached the Pilot Boarding Ground and the Pilot boarded. The time was around 10.00 p.m. The Captain informed the Pilot that he suspected that the ship hit a submerged object on the Northern approach route. Then the Pilot immediately informed the control tower. In the meantime, the Captain was trying convince the Pilot that the ship was always on the safe approach route. Under panic situations the Captain’s behavior was found to be very unprofessional. The Navy and Police Officers were waiting on the wharf at the time of berthing the ship. The Captain refused to accept the position given by the Chief Officer and myself. He showed everyone the positions he had recorded. An inquiry was held during this time and a Senior Naval Officer of the Saudi Navy checked the positions on the charts used. After taking down statements from the Captain and the Chief Officer they left.

As the cargo was being discharged, it was found that the No. 1 and 2 Cargo holds were filled with water to a height of about two meters. Following the detection of water in the holds, the ship was shifted to anchorage. As the ship was classed with Lloyds Register of Shipping, a LR Surveyor for Jeddah boarded the vessel. Following the survey, he advised the damaged cargo to be discharged and the ship to be dry docked for repairs within one month. We also had cargo for Aden. The damaged cargo was discharged in to barges at Jeddah anchorage. Temporary repairs were carried out on the Surveyor’s advice. On completion of temporary repairs, the ship sailed for Aden and discharged all the remaining cargo.
Old port of Jeddah

Aerial view of the port of Jeddah also showing many dangerous submerged reefs on the approach route.

My experiences durng the transit of Suez canal.

On completion of loading at the port of Koper in Yugoslavia the vessel sailed for Port Said. At Port Said, the vessel had to wait for a few hours to join the South Bound convoy in the Suez Canal. Each time we crossed the canal we came across all kinds of locals who came on board. They came in small boats and, there were hundreds of them right around the ship. All the crew in addition to their duties had to do security watches, because of the people on those boats.

I was the duty officer on board at that time, and two men came with some bags and asked me who I was? I said "I am the Second Officer." Then one of them said, "We are Suez Canal electricians, I hope you know how important is the job we have to perform on board". So I asked them what I could do for them?  That was definitely the biggest mistake I made. One of them said we want you to arrange two cabins with linen, some refreshments and other meals immediately, coffee as and when we want. It was a long list. When he was almost finishing his list, the Deputy Harbor Master who visited the ship was leaving and he overheard part of the conversation. He stopped there and spoke to them in Arabic. Then he turned towards me and advised me to take care of them but that it was not necessary to give everything that they were asking for. That made my day!

I arranged some snacks and coffee for the Electricians.

Just a few minutes later, one of them came back to me, and this time, he had a different request. He asked me for a place in the accommodation to display some of the articles which he had brought for sale. These people were really very funny characters, I thought! I told him he cannot open his shop inside the accommodation but he could do that on deck, somewhere.

Next what I saw was, he had opened up his shop with all his goodies in the junior officers’ accommodation.  It was very difficult to handle these people. Sometimes, I found it was a great waste of time, talking to them! Because there was no end to their requirements.

After each transit of the Suez Canal, there was not a single person on board who was not exhausted.
Old port of Port Said
                                                  Many small boats around the Naval ship

                
Showing the Suez Canal many years ago