Richard's regular news letter
Former Cadet Richard - Now OOW
Most of the education offered by the Institute of Chartered
Shipbrokers, embraces those already in the shipping industry. They
work in shipbroking offices, in port agency or in companies on the
fringe of the maritime world.
The Education Trust Fund has gone further than that by
sponsoring someone working at the coalface of shipping. He is a
cadet working aboard ships. The cadet, who has just completed his
indentures and has passed his Class 3 certificate of competency, is
Richard, aged 20 and is now eligible to perform the duties of a
watch keeping officer on board ocean-going ships.
He was attracted to the sea from an early age. As a keen sailor
and member of his local sea cadet group he had previously gained an
RYA Commercial Masters Coastal License and during a 2 month cruise
around the Cape of Good Hope, he got a taste for life at sea and a
career in the Merchant Navy beckoned.
All these tasks he was busy learning during his three-year
cadetship or apprenticeship. During this time he served on cargo
ships, including one that carried bananas from the West Indies to
Europe. He also served on board a passenger ship performing cruises
around the Scottish Islands of the Inner and Outer Hebrides and up
to the North of Norway. Another spell was spent on a ferry between
England and Ireland.
He is able to stand a watch on the bridge for eight hours a day,
usually from 0800 to 1200 and 2000 to midnight. He is capable of
navigating the ship, making course alterations and keeping the
Master informed of any unforeseen problems. He is usually posted on
the afterdeck to oversee the mooring and unmooring of the ship when
arriving or departing its berth.
Below is a regular news letter from Richard.
Second Sea Phase Report
During my second sea phase, I serviced on board three ships all
with different contract lengths, and types of ships.
My first ship was MV Discovery she is a small to medium sized
cruise ship carrying roughly 600/700 passengers and 300 crew,
mainly cruising around Norway and the Baltics.
I joined the ship a week after finishing at Warsash Maritime
Academy in Harwich were the ship had its turnaround days at this
stage in the season. After all the familiarization training I got
stuck right in with the bridge teams work, as we set sail for an
capitals of the Baltic cruise.
When on board I have visited a large number of European countries
including Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Russia, Poland,
Iceland and Norway, some of which we berthed at several different
ports within the country. I think one of my highlights was going up
to the White Sea in northern Russia, as at this latitude in the
summer the sun never sets! This experience is unique as it was not
dark for eight or nine days, coming onto the bridge for my midnight
watch was just like walking onto the bridge at midday.
On board I was practicing my celestial navigation as well as
passage planning helping the 2ndofficer, to improve my
skills, as soon I will be having to do this as my job. Due to the
type of ship safety is a lot higher in priority so have been
improving on many of those aspects working with the safety officer
and the other 2nd officers.
My time on Discovery was cut short as unfortunately the company
emailed me and said I would be disembarking after two months rather
than the four they had initially said. I was disappointed to start
with then thought I will be moving onto another ship and learning
even more on her, so this is for the better.
My next ship appointment was on board MV Arklow Wave a 13000 GT
General Cargo ship carrying bulk cargos all around Europe and
sometimes America and Canada. I boarded at Aughinish in Ireland,
where they were loading Alumina a powder used to make aluminium
then sailed Marseille, France. Loading had only taken 2 days,
however discharging took a little longer… 18 days! This meant
whilst in port a lot of maintenance was completed and I managed to
get all my maintenance tasks signed off.
For the rest of my four months on board we never stayed in port
that long the maximum length was about 4 days, these ports were all
over Europe from Spain to Netherlands to Lithuania. The ship was in
the English Channel when the first of the big storms hit the south
coast, it slowed us down so much that instead of the 12 knots we
normally make, we were only making 1! I was understudying the
2nd officer for nearly all the time I was on Arklow
Wave, and got to know the job very well, by the end of my contract
I was taking the watch and doing all his safety rounds. The captain
must have picked this up as he offered me a job when I qualify on
board the ship, this makes me feel I am nearly at the stage to
become an officer. After 4 months and 4 days my longest contact of
my cadetship I left the ship and flew home from Lithuania.
My last ever ship as an cadet was the Stena Europe, which is a
ferry going from Fishguard, Wales to Rosslare, Ireland twice daily.
Travel to ship was hampered by problems caused by the floods
as there were so many delays on the train system, after spending
the whole day traveling a normally 6 hour journey I arrived at the
B&B for a quick sleep before heading down to the ship.
I enjoyed the work I was doing on board as its basically
understudying the officers, giving me the confidence to perform a
watch with little or no input from the officers.
Another really interesting part of the job on a ferry is the load
and unload of the vehicles as there is no set loading plan so you
have to think on your feet and ensure all is correct. I found this
a challenge but one that I loved and by the end my time there I
could load the ship with no input from the officer.
Overall, I think this ship has greatly helped my preparation for
my oral exam in July, as the captain every day would quiz us on all
aspects of shipping and navigation.
Walking down the gangway of Stena Europe was a weird but great
feeling as the next time I am on board a ship it will be as a
qualified officer!
Thursday 20/03/2014 - Nearly there
I left ship on Monday after just over a month onboard, which was
a great experience, showing me that that type of ship could be for
me. So now the next time I step onto a ship I should be a qualified
officer after successfully completing my orals!
Now however I have a couple of months in Warsash to complete to
prepare me for that day, this will involve a lot of time with my
head in books and revising 3 years of stuff.
The light is starting to get very bright at the end of this long
tunnel, it's going to be a tough 2-3 months but hopefully well
worth it!
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Sunday 02/03/2014 - Stena Europe the last ship as a cadet
Disembarking MV Arklow Wave just before Christmas was great as I
could spend the holiday period with family and loved ones, I had
been told my next ship appointment would be roughly February time.
This gave me a good opportunity to catch up on some paperwork and
revision, plus some down time to relax after 4 months onboard
ship.
My appointment was finally confirmed as I would be joining Stena
Europe, which is a ferry going from Fishguard, Wales to Rosslare,
Ireland twice daily. Travel to ship was hampered by problems
caused by the floods as there were so many delays on the train
system, after spending the whole day traveling a normally 6 hour
journey I arrived at the B&B for a quick sleep before heading
down to the ship.
I've been onboard now for a couple weeks and got into its
routine, I am enjoying the work I am doing as its basically
understudying the officers, giving me the confidence to perform a
watch with little or no input from the officers.
Another really interesting part of the job on a ferry is the load
and unload of the vehicles as there is no set loading plan so you
have to think on your feet and ensure all is correct. I found this
a challenge but one that I loved and I'm getting the hang of it
now.
Overall I think this ship is greatly helping my preparation for
my oral exam in July, another 2 weeks left and then home and back
to Warsash for finally time!
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Wed 18/12 - Home at last
After 4 months and 4 days I disembarked Arklow Wave in Lithuania
with a job offer when I qualify in July, plus a lot of experience
of all aspects of being a 2nd Officer. I'm now home for
Christmas and New Year, then hopefully joining my last ship as a
cadet nearing the end of January.
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Thursday 31/10 - Another Month Done
This month began with us in Ghent, Belgium loading Ammonium
Sulphate, and bound for Motril, Spain. As there were no loading
operations over the weekend, it was a good opportunity to go and
see what the city was like, however I decided to walk… an hour and
half later I wasn't so sure it was the right decision! But I did
found a great Irish bar and spent the rest of the evening chatting
and playing pool with the bar staff. When crossing the Bay of
Biscay it gave me a good chance to get some celestial navigation
completed, I got our position only 2 miles away from the GPS
position which I was very happy with!
We left Motril with no orders except to head north. After 5 days
we were instructed to sail to Gdansk, Poland to pick up Rye a type
of grain, then sail to Marin in Northern Spain. We arrived today
after being slowed down in the English Channel riding out the
recent storm that hit the South of England an experience not to be
missed! I am pleased this ship is giving me the opportunity and
experiences to continue gaining all the skills I require to be an
officer.
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Sunday 29/09/2013 - Arklow Wave Update
I have now been on board Arklow Wave for about 6 weeks this has
been a totally different experience to any of my last ships. I
boarded at Aughinish in Ireland (see picture above), where they
were loading Alumina a powder used to make aluminium we then set
sail for Marseille France. Loading had only taken 2 days, however
discharging took a little longer… 18 days! This meant whilst in
port we completed a lot of maintenance and I managed to get all my
maintenance tasks signed off. Due to being in port myself and the
other cadet had time to explore all of the city and local beaches,
as the weather was too good not to! Our next port was Barcelona
where we received our next cargo of potash, this is also where the
other cadet left, but not before a visit to one of the largest
aquariums in Europe!
We then had a week's sail up to Amsterdam, during which time
with supervision I was taking the 2nd officers watches,
this was very beneficial and a glimpse of what it will be like when
I qualify.
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Fri 16/08/13 - My Fifth Ship
After only 3 weeks off I have joined my new ship the Arkwave
which is a Dry Bulk Carrier, trading all around Europe and
sometimes America and Canada. I am really looking forward to my
time on board, I have been told I will be on for about 4 months. I
will send you a progress report next month, keep a look out for
it!
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Fri 19/07/2013 - Change of Plans
Well the 3/4 months I was meant to be on has now changed
slightly... Sadly I will be getting off in 4 days! I received an
email from my company saying unfortunately I will have to disembark
sooner than I thought. So after having a great 2 months on-board I
will be leaving. The bridge team were as surprised as me and say
they will miss me, but I'm sure the next cadet will quickly fit in
and have as good a time as I have had. I have been to some
wonderful places and cannot wait to see what my next ship
appointment will be!
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Mon 24/06/2013 - On board Discovery
I have been on MV Discovery for roughly a month now, she is a
small to medium sized cruise ship carrying roughly 600/700
passengers and 300 crew, mainly cruising around Norway and the
Baltics. At the minute we are sat alongside Arkhangelsk, in
Northern Russia, where the sun never sets! It has now not been dark
for 5 days and will not be, for at least another 8, this is due to
being at such high latitude, an amazing experience!
So far we have visited Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Finland,
Russia, Poland, Iceland and Norway so have been racking up my
countries I have been to!
I have been practicing my celestial navigation as well as
passage planning helping the 2nd officer on board. Due
to the type of ship safety is a lot higher in priority so have been
improving on many of those aspects.
I have another 3 months on-board as my disembarkation date is
the end of September, hopefully they will be just as good as the
first one.
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Fri 22/03/2013 17:01
Joining Honourable Company of Master Mariners
Today I travelled to London to visit HQS Wellington, which is
permanently moored alongside on the river Thames, I was attending a
ceremony to join 'The Honourable Company of Master Mariners' as an
Associate Member. This means I am a member of an organisation, made
up of current and ex Captains, therefore giving me new
opportunities and access to a vast amount of knowledge, I have been
assigned a mentor, who is an ex-captain and is now MD of
Geest Line. There was a short ceremony where approx. 10 associate
members were sworn in, followed by a curry lunch on board, which
was really nice!
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Mon 15/04/2013 13:20
College phase 3
I have now been back at Warsash maritime academy for around 6
and half months, studying a range of topics, from advanced
stability to electronic navigation equipment like ECDIS. As
expected this phase has been harder than phase one, as you now have
sea going knowledge, however it has been going well. Had exams in
January and passed them all except one which I am retaking soon.
The time has been going very quickly, so soon I will be back at sea
again! I can't wait!
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Wed 05/12/2012 21:00
This evening I attended a reception for maritime London which is
20 years old, which the I.C.S sponsors me through. About 8 cadets
all sponsored via Maritime London travelled up to Lloyds building
in central London. We met several of the founding members and most
of the sponsor companies of Maritime London were there. A photo of
all the cadets was taken and is in the Nautilus telegraph monthly
paper. After a few hours of socialising and having a couple of
glasses of wine we started leaving and all the cadets got back onto
the minibus which brought us up, to travel back to Warsash after an
enjoyable evening.
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Wed 10/11/2012 09:05
Today I went to up to London to be in the Lord Mayors Parade on
the Maritime London's float, I arrived at the float about 10am and
was standing talking to other people who either work for companies
in maritime London or maritime London its self. A few other cadets
were there another one from Warsash and two other from Fleetwood
which is a college near Blackpool. After a while we all boarded the
float and started off in the precession. This lasted for about an
hour or so through the street of London, after which we stopped and
had lunch before we started the trip back to the start. The float
in front of us was 'Visit Yorkshire' they had four people dressed
up as granny's driving around in mini trolleys which keep us
entertained for most of the parade! We arrived back at the start
roughly 3pm at which time we all packed up the float and I started
travelling back down to Warsash. I had good time and had a laugh
with everyone on board, it was great to meet other cadets from a
different college to see how things differ.
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Mon 03/09/2012 16:31
After another month or so on leave, I made my way across again
to Ireland where I picked up my next ship the MV Hebridean
Princess. This is the world's smallest luxury cruise ship at only
70m long, can carry a max of 50 passengers. The ship has been
chartered by the Queen twice plus has a very high class of
passenger. On board I was assisting the officers on bridge watches
while at sea and when alongside there other duties which needed
carrying out. I did a total of 3 cruises, spending the first one
traveling back up the coast of Ireland stopping at the Isle of Man
to their normal cruising area, which is the west coast Scottish
isles. When the ship anchored off the coast of the island I would
help the deck crew launch the tenders and crew/drive them, these
were used to transport the passengers to the shore for tours. The
ship rarely stayed alongside overnight so the crew hardly ever got
ashore for longer than an hour or so, but when we did it was good
to socialise with everyone when not on ship. I was on board for
roughly a month and I had to leave due to starting back at Warsash
nine days after getting home. I disembarked in Oban which is
Hebridean Princess's home port, then travelled back to Sheffield
via Glasgow.
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Mon 02/07/2012 11:20
After about a month leave at home I joined my second ship in
Galway, Ireland. I left home 24 hours before arriving on board,
spending a night in Dublin. This ship ILV Granuaile was a 79m
Lighthouse tender which operates all the way round the coast of
Ireland maintaining all lighthouses and Navigational aids. The day
I joined the commissioner of the Irish Lights commission was on
board as they had just put a new type of buoy in the water. We
spent the next month serving different types of buoys, and one
lighthouse refuelling. I was on deck helping with serving the
buoys, but also on the bridge when sailing around the coast. I
learnt a lot of the seamanship required to pass some of my exams
when back at college, due to the boson being very experienced. I
had to leave the ship early however as they had a contract doing
some surveying work in Liverpool bay, and had 17 Italians joining
the ship so didn't have a berth for me. So I left the ship about a
month after joining in Dublin before flying home.
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Fri 01/06/2012 15:24
Today I came down to visit the trustees of Maritime London at
the Lloyds Building and had a tour around the building. We went in
a room that has been transformed from the old building to the new
one. It was like walking through time. The building looked like an
old posh house.
We talked about what Lloyds do and what the roles of brokers and
underwriters involve. Then I went across to Steamship Mutual, a
member of International Group of P & I clubs where I had a
presentation about what they do. I then went for lunch with the
other Maritime London Cadets and the new CEO Maritime London.
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Thu 28/05/2012 17:24
This month has seen 3 new people joining the ship: a new
Captain, an Engine Cadet and a student, but unfortunately this
means some people have left, one being the other deck cadet Max.
Capt. Van Der Hoek who has sailed this route several times became
our new boss but luckily I got on very well with him and even went
scuba diving in Barbados with him, which was a great experience and
really nice to get diving again after a few months not able to.
The student Peter, who is part of a team studying the amount of
CO2 in oceans today from the University of East Anglia was on board
as some equipment they have on board was giving inconsistent data,
so he was making sure it all was working ok. Kevin the Engine cadet
who took Max's place, Peter, John and I were off exploring the
islands a lot more with a tour around St. Georges, Grenada ending
with us sat on a pier chilling in the beautiful weather! When back
in Vieuxfort, St Lucia we had a few hours of fun jumping off the
back of the ship and jetty into the warm Caribbean Sea (wish I was
back there now!). One evening while loading a group of us decided
to go into Roseau, Dominica which ended up with me being asked if I
was Australian by a girl in Subway. That is the first time that's
happened to me!
On the crossing back to the UK we had another BBQ with another
spit roast pig, however this time we filled the swimming pool at
the back of the ship which made it more fun. After that night
though the reality set in that I was getting off when next in port
so I spent the last couple of days packing and getting all my paper
work signed. I had been Helmsman for most of this trip around the
Caribbean and also back into Portsmouth, however it wasn't all
smooth sailing… As I was steering the ship into Portsmouth we lost
the main engine meaning we were drifting near the entrance to the
harbour for 15/20 minutes before the engineers got the engine going
again, getting quite close to a couple of buoys. The rest of the
pilotage went fine after that thankfully. I got off the ship on the
Monday after 2 months and 26 days of great experiences and a lot of
fun. I hope my next ship will not disappoint!
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Tue 10/04/2012 01:18
My second month at sea has been just as exciting as the first
month. This voyage follows the exact same route as the previous
month however I was more involved in the cargo operations which was
a lot more interesting.
When we arriving back in Portsmouth after the first voyage I got
time to go ashore which was nice to relax away from the ship, but
the crew had found a good use for me being English as it was easier
for them to get me to go and find what they all want so I had a big
shopping list! Also in port the Chief Officer changed so I had a
new Pilipino Chief to be on watch with.
On the crossing to the Caribbean I started applying what I had
learnt at college for example I was working out the compass error
using the sun, planets, stars and moon. I was also still helping on
deck preparing the holds for the cargo.
While in the Caribbean now I was getting more involved in the
cargo operations assist the officer of the watch with making sure
all cargo and containers were loaded correctly and also taking pulp
temperatures of the bananas to check the quality, as if they are
too cold this can destroy them. On this trip I had some time to go
ashore, so myself and a couple of other cadets went to the beach in
St Lucia then had a couple of drinks and some food in a really nice
beach bar it was a fab afternoon. In the Dominican Republic we
decided to go ashore with some crew to a couple of bars, I find
this great to socialise with the crew outside of the ship.
The trip back
started off with really nice weather, I actually got burnt… oops!
But then it turned and we had winds blowing up to 40 knots with big
swell and waves. This made the ship roll a lot sometimes up to 20°,
which made it hard for the other cadet to sleep, however I liked it
as it reminded me that I was at sea and could easily sleep. This
did not please the others at all! However after a couple days the
weather passed and then we arrived in Portsmouth, now only 1 month
left.
I have really enjoyed my first 2 months and find it an exciting
and challenging life. I hope this is a good snap shot of the rest
of my sea time and then the rest of my career at sea!
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Tue 13/03/2012 19:25
Phase 1 - College
I started my cadetship by attending Warsash Maritime Academy
(WMA) in Southampton at the beginning of September 2011. I am the
first member of my family to go to join the merchant navy so I was
nervous but also very excited and couldn't wait to start.
I was at the Academy for roughly 4 months, leaving to start
phase 2 which is my first sea phase in January 2012. In my time at
WMA we covered quite a wide selection of topics including Celestial
and Terrestrial Navigation, Ship Operations, Chart work and
Stability.
This gave me a general over view of what I will have to do as an
officer when I qualify in 2014. There have been challenging times
at WMA but always enjoyable while learning important skills for a
career at sea. Just before leaving I completed some mandatory short
courses which included fire fighting, first aid.
Now off to sea for 4 months!
Phase 2 - First month at sea
I joined my first ship MV Benguela Stream on Monday
13th February 2012 in Portsmouth. She is a reefer cargo
ship traveling between Europe and the Caribbean every month. Her
main cargo is bananas which is brought to the UK. I Arrived on
board at approximately 1230hr after about four and half hours
traveling down from Sheffield. I was taken into the crew mess, in
there was another Maritime London cadet who had already been on the
vessel a month. The Seaman's Mission were also on board chatting
with crew and giving out hats and scarfs.
I spent Monday settling in then started work on Tuesday.
Departing from Portsmouth at roughly 2000hr laden with containers,
cars and palleted cargo, this was a strange feeling leaving on my
first ship for the first time. We headed across to the Le Havre,
France to load more cargo before setting off to the Caribbean. The
crossing takes about 7/8 days, in that time I was half on deck and
half on bridge watch. On deck I was helping to prepare the holds
for the cargo, tiding up the mast houses and carrying out
maintenance around the ship. When we arrived in the Caribbean out
first port of call was Fort de France, Martinique were we unloaded
but also loaded cargo to take to other islands. Which include: St
Lucia, Trinidad, Barbados, Grenada, St Vincent, Dominica. With our
final call being Manzanillo, Dominican Republic, this is where
nearly all the decks in the holds were loaded with bananas for the
UK. Leaving at 0500hr on 03/03/12 and arriving back in Portsmouth
roughly 2230hr on 11th March 2012.
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