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.
Madhu Church, Mannar.
Temple of the Sacred Tooth relic, Kandy, Sri Lanka
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
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 |
|---|---|
| Died | 15 April 1912 (aged 62) Atlantic Ocean |
| Cause of death | Drowned in the ship; body never recovered |
| Resting place | 41°43′32″N 49°56′49″W |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Ship Captain |
| Employer | White Star Line |
| Known for | Captain of R.M.S. Titanic |
| Spouse(s) | Sarah Eleanor Pennington (1887–1912; his death) |
| Children | Helen 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
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
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