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Indian Merchant Navy Officers and Crew are found employed on ships from different Country's owned by International Owners and paid wages in various currencies. Akin to the sport of Cricket, so also in Shipping, most of the "Maritime Rules and Regulations" were initially legislated in England, the pioneers of "International Maritime trade".
Today, in 2008 India produces one of the largest number of sea-farers and crew, yet the mingling of "International Cultures" in exchanging personal views or life-styles seems at a minimal barring shipboard duty's.
I accidentally found a shipping site www.shipnostalgia.com while using google search engine for shipping tycoon Mr Ravi Tikkoo and was astounded at the interaction between British ships employees and ex-employees.
I registered onto the site and found to my surprise and embarrassment of being the only Indian nationality on the website posting blogs, a surprise since "B.P Tankers" , a popular employee company alone employs a huge Indian shipping staff as also the "Cruise ships" which employ a lot of Indian crew.
I happened to connect to my Dad's (Ex-Cargo Supervisor , B.I Shipping[ Mackinnon Mackenzie , Kenya]) retired sailing staff and was amazed to learn that a retired Deck officer recognised his staff even after 35 to 30 years,remembering my late dad and his co-staff, an era where "Shippies" irrespective of rank or nationality co-existed as a sailing family.
Whats the reason for an absense of "Indian Bloggers" on the International shipping wesites? Are we most comfortable blogging on "INDIAN WEBSITES" amongst Indian Readers?
Thanks to the invention of the "INTERNET", geographical boundaries have been abolished and any foreigner can view "ww.SeaFolks.Com" and vice-versa.
Please visitwww.shipnostalgia.com to get a feel of the pioneers of the shipping Industry and an "International opinion" without blinkered fobia's.
Regards,
Rudolph.A.Furtado
Tags: sea
World recognised best-selling author Jeffrey Archer commented in an interview in Mumbai that out of every aspiring thousand authors only one author gets published., ridiculous odds of success to failure ratio.
Thanks to "BLOGGING" an "INTERNET INVENTION", at least all "BLOGGERS " from the Merchant Navy can fulfill their writing ambitions, including yours truely, proving that professional life doesn't end in the "Engine-Room" or "Navigation Deck" .
Who knows, a great writer might originate from the sailing fraternity? According to my personal experience and interaction with other mariners, the experiences of sea-farers could be the subject of thrillers , tragedies and human achievements.
Ultimately blogging is the surest therapy for self-realisation and inter-mingling of ideas leading to a better understanding of one's own strengths and weaknesses.
Are "Celebrations" and "Party's" on board ships in the present era of "SEAFARERS"on par with the "Ancient Mariner " Party's prior to "Containerisation" and "U.M.S Operational systems" of Ships ? I am speaking as an "Ancient Mariner" of the 1980's generation of sea-farers and at present shore based in "Offshore operations".
I have been to various "GRAVING DOCKS" in the World including "Hughes", "Ritchie" and at present in 2008, "Maryweather Dry docks" of Mumbai.
Has "Mary Weather dry dock" been "INTENTIONALLY" allowed to "De-generate" from being one of India's oldest "Dry-Dock" to becoming a "De-funct Industry" on the verge of demolition into a "CONTAINER TERMINAL, A LA MUMBAI MILLS SAGA"?
The facilities for toilets and bathing is absolutely pathetic akin to normal "Paid Muncipal road toilets" and not meant for the sailing fraternity ,definitely an elite working force with top wages and service to the Nation.
Read an article in "Marine Engineers Review Feb-2008" issue and noted a comment which stated that "Mariners" of the present generation are treated unfairly, both amongst local civilians as well as "Marine Law Courts" and "Mary weather Dry Docks" is an absolute proof of the "POOR STATUS" of the "Mariner".
"Money by itself is powerless unless blended with passion and civility".
"Ship Piracy" in Somalia could cost Lloyd's Insurers $'s 50 million in the year 2008, besides, the cost of ship Insurance for V/Ls passing through the Gulf Of Aden have soared 10 fold over 2007! Scenario is worse than the Iran-Iraq war premiums of 1980's, something unimaginable as the "GULF OF ADEN" route is the commonest passage in International shipping corridors, beginning with gigantic "Oil tankers,Containers and Bulk Carriers" to puny fishing trawlers. Most affected are Indian and Filipino sailors as they comprise the bulk of shipping crew taken hostages in an "INTERNATIONAL GAME" with the Owners, Charterers and Manning Agents being mere "Non-Resident hostages".
Monetarily "Somali Shipping Piracy" affects manny Country's hence its strange that most "Naval superpowers" including India are treating "Shipping Piracy" as a "Child's Game" compared to War, "A Man's Game"! Being a seasoned sea-farer myself i understand the plight of "Hijacked officers and Crew", especially if the "Hijack drama" drags on for weeks or worst months, could be worse than "RIGOROUS IMPRISONMENT".
Life in Somalia's pirate town
| By Mary Harper BBC Africa analyst |
Whenever word comes out that pirates have taken yet another ship in the Somali region of Puntland, extraordinary things start to happen.
There is a great rush to the port of Eyl, where most of the hijacked vessels are kept by the well-armed pirate gangs.
People put on ties and smart clothes. They arrive in land cruisers with their laptops, one saying he is the pirates' accountant, another that he is their chief negotiator.
With yet more foreign vessels seized off the coast of Somalia this week, it could be said that hijackings in the region have become epidemic.
Insurance premiums for ships sailing through the busy Gulf of Aden have increased tenfold over the past year because of the pirates, most of whom come from the semi-autonomous region of Puntland.
In Eyl, there is a lot of money to be made, and everybody is anxious for a cut.
Entire industry
The going rate for ransom payments is between $300,000 and $1.5m (£168,000-£838,000).
A recent visitor to the town explained how, even though the number of pirates who actually take part in a hijacking is relatively small, the whole modern industry of piracy involves many more people.
"The number of people who make the first attack is small, normally from seven to 10," he said.
"They go out in powerful speedboats armed with heavy weapons. But once they seize the ship, about 50 pirates stay on board the vessel. And about 50 more wait on shore in case anything goes wrong."
Given all the other people involved in the piracy industry, including those who feed the hostages, it has become a mainstay of the Puntland economy.
Eyl has become a town tailor-made for pirates - and their hostages.
Special restaurants have even been set up to prepare food for the crews of the hijacked ships.
As the pirates want ransom payments, they try to look after their hostages.
When commandos from France freed two French sailors seized by pirates off the Somali coast this week, President Nicolas Sarkozy said he had given the go-ahead for the operation when it was clear the pirates were headed for Eyl - it would have been too dangerous to try to free them from there.
The town is a safe-haven where very little is done to stop the pirates - leading to the suggestion that some, at least, in the Puntland administration and beyond have links with them.
Many of them come from the same clan - the Majarteen clan of the president of Somalia's transitional federal government, Abdullahi Yusuf.
Money to spend
The coastal region of Puntland is booming.
Fancy houses are being built, expensive cars are being bought - all of this in a country that has not had a functioning central government for nearly 20 years.
Observers say pirates made about $30m from ransom payments last year - far more than the annual budget of Puntland, which is about $20m.
When the president of Puntland, Adde Musa, was asked about the reported wealth of pirates and their associates, he said: "It's more than true".
Now that they are making so much money, these 21st Century pirates can afford increasingly sophisticated weapons and speedboats.
This means that unless more is done to stop them, they will continue to plunder the busy shipping lanes through the Gulf of Aden.
They even target ships carrying aid to feed their compatriots - up to a third of the population.
Warships from France, Canada and Malaysia, among others, now patrol the Somali coast to try and fend off pirate attacks.
An official at the International Maritime Organisation explained how the well-armed pirates are becoming increasingly bold.
More than 30% of the world's oil is transported through the Gulf of Aden, and even though the pirates lack the means to hijack huge tankers, there are reports that they have fired at them.
"It is only a matter of time before something horrible happens," said the official.
"If the pirates strike a hole in the tanker, and there's an oil spill, there could be a huge environmental disaster".
It is likely that piracy will continue to be a problem off the coast of Somalia as long as the violence and chaos continues on land.
Conflict can be very good for certain types of business, and piracy is certainly one of them.
Weapons are easy to obtain and there is no functioning authority to stop them, either on land or at sea.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/7623329.stm
Published: 2008/09/18 15:10:52 GMT
Hijacking of the "Stolt Valor" has once again focussed on the negative aspects of the "Indian shipping Industry", portraying the "Owners" as heartless "Non-Resident Sailors" and the "Sailors" as "Mercenaries", disposable people in a fiercly competitive "Hire/Fire Employment Industry".Every Industry has its "Corruption Index" and in the "Shipping Industry" its reasonably high due to various factors , a secret , as closely guarded by some sea-farers as is the "OMERTA " of the infamous "Godfather Movies".
Its only during "V.I.P Disasters" like the recently forgotten "M.V.Rezaak" sinking , or the present "M.V Stolt Valor" hijacking that eyebrows are raised at the Prime Ministerial level in India about the neglect and plight of sea-farers by the Industry Owners and the Government.
"Stolt Valor" is a specialised 5 year old "Chemical Tanker" and its "Captain" and "Chief Engineer"could be in the $'s 8000 +(approx Rs 3,60,000/Month[TAX-FREE]) salaried category, a salary higher than most "Captains of small-scale Industry's" in India,the elite of the shipping profession, hence, the ransom of $'s 2 Million indicating the total "Ship Crew Value" estimated by the "Hijackers".
At the extreme end are ships like "M.V.Rezaak",employing a majority of "Non-C.D.C Crew" kept afloat due to the "OMERTA" laws, only creating news when they either sink or are involved in "Shipping Accidents".
Sea-farers who don't possess the necessary "Directorate General of Indian shipping Documents" or "MEDICAL FITNESS CERTIFICATES"are indirect victims of their own professional handicaps and hence are either "Underpaid" or forced to sail on "Unseaworthy ships" by the "Owners" or "Shipmanagement Companies".
This problem is most prevelant amongst the "CREW" than the "OFFICERS RANKS" , ultimately ,employment being the priority over "Personal safety" or "Shipping wages parity".
The "Shipping Industry" has been the pioneer of introducing the "CONTRACTUAL EMPLOYMENT SYSTEM" in India, hence few "Sailors" in the 21st century ever retire at the normal age of "65 years" or remain loyal to a particular company throughout their "Sailing Career". The Mantra of the average sea-going sailor is to try becoming either a "Lakhpati" or "Crorepati" in the shortest possible "Sailing Tenure", akin to a Cricketeer trying to get the maximum advertisement revenue during his short International cricketing career.
Its time that the average Indian sea-farer is recognised as a professional most involved in "International Trade" as well as "Foreign Exchange Income Earner", a noble profession requiring the toughest "Physical Fitness" as well as "Intellectual competence" rather tan a "Fly-By-Night Mercenary".
I myself come from a family having over 60 years of "SEA-FARING",and the "SOURCE" of our wealth was and is "SHIPPING". Having met, mingled , read and gossiped among various people from the "Shipping Industry" i would suggest reading articles by Capt A.K.Bansal (L.L.B Hons,London,Master Mariner, Bar-At-Law,Fellow, Indian Council of Arbitrators) for a scholastic reason for the problems plaguing the Indian Sea-farer in 2008 as well as its practical solutions.
P.S: I might be on a "HIT-LIST" of "Non-EMPLOYMENT"!?
After ages visited the Mumbai Officers Marine club on 7/10/08(Tuesday) with my Mazdock colleague, reminiscing the "Good and bad Old Days!?", also pleased to observe that the club has undergone a superb "Face-Lift".Pledged our "Sea-Farer's Thoughts" by signing a "Petition" to the Prime Minister for the release of "Stolk Valour" crew by pirates. There was a neat list of "sea-Faring jobs" on the "Bulletin board" and honestly, the "Officer's Marine Club" at Ballard Pier(Mumbai) is closely approachig Calcutta's club in etiquette and facilities, only luxury missing is a "Swimming Pool".
Hope a "Swimming Pool" is built on the premises in the future as there is ample space . Akin to "Defence Services Clubs",its time that the "Merchant Navy Officer's Clubs" maintains a status befitting its importance and the public service of the universal "MERCHANT MARINER".
Friends and Fellow Mariners,
The "Stolk Valor" hijacking "Media News" seems to have gone "Cold" and my deepest sympathies to the "crew" of the vessel for being considered a "Dispensable commodity". Have we Sea-farer's brought these "State-of -affairs" on ourselves by our own petty squables and professional rivalries? Strange,"Sea-fare's" which form the elite professionals of the Indian work-force are given an absolutely callous view by the 'media" as well as "Government".
As they say, "Out of sight means out of mind", in a few weeks "Stolt Valor" will be part of "Shipping Disaster history", another casualty in the world's second largest populated Country.Hope i am proved wrong.
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Hi Folks, I am Rudolph.A.Furtado, a sea-dog of 25years of sailing the seven seas, beginning in 1983 as a "Panchoo 5/E/O" and landing ashore as a "C/E/O" in 2008". Is this the first "Merchant Navy Site
