A TRUSTED COLLEAGUE GIVES SECURITY IN A NEW WORLD

There can be a lot of questions that need answering when young seafarers start a life of work at sea. 22-year-old Amanda Jespersgaard gets feedback, support, and security from 40-year-old Karina Kærvang Jensen, who gets to share her own experiences and enthusiasm for shipping in return.

By Kirstine Thye Skovhøj, Journalist

22-year-old Amanda Jespersgaard is excited. Since she landed an internship with MAERSK SUPPLY SERVICE she has been looking forward to hearing which ship she is joining and where in the world it will be. It is a dark winter Thursday night at her home in Aalborg, Denmark when she gets the call. Three days later her internship begins, and she must be ready to sign on to MAERSK LIFTER – an offshore tug/supply ship – in Montrose, Scotland.

Finally, she can finish packing her bag, and finally she knows which ship she will be spending the following 11 weeks on. Amanda Jespersgaard has never been out travelling on her own before. That is why she appreciates that she is joining the ship together with a female cadet from SVENDBORG MARITIME SCHOOL.

“We flew to Aberdeen and drove in a big taxi bus from the airport to the harbour. It was time for the crew to change, which meant we were quite a few people joining the ship at the same time.”

The big ship was like an immovable giant in front her in the chilly winter night, she clearly remembers. “Just at that very moment it occurred to me what I had gotten myself into. There was no way back. I had to meet lots of new

people and learn lots of new things. I was extremely excited and tense, but I also had a good feeling. I had been at school for half a year, where I had heard lots about what I was now finally about to experience for myself,” Amanda Jespersgaard says. The next hour went by with dragging all her carefully packed luggage on board, greeting the captain, and opening the door into the cabin that would be her home for the coming weeks. “I was very surprised. The cabin had a desk, a bed, a sofa, and a very nice bathroom – much better conditions than I had dared hope for.”

As well as her luggage, Amanda Jespersgaard brought half a year of schooling from MARTEC, a maritime school in Frederikshavn where she is studying Maritime Transport and Nautical Science. She also had a stream of good advice from her mentor Karina Kærvang Jensen, who works as a Decarbonisation Integration Manager at MAERSK SUPPLY SERVICE in Copenhagen.

Karina Kærvang Jensen works with energy-optimizing the MAERSK fleet and creates projects to reduce their carbon footprint and contribute to MAERSK SUPPLY SERVICE’s green profile.

The two seafarers were matched by DANISH SHIPPING´s mentoring agreement, which Amanda Jespersgaard discovered

I pictured myself ” being alone and not knowing what to do and wondering: Have they remembered that I am joining the ship today?”

Karina Kærvang Jensen was 20 when she first signed on. She clearly remembers the strong emotions associated with starting a whole new life at sea. The picture is from one of Karina’s first trips to sea on board the gas tanker HENRIETTE MAERSK, where she was a trainee. Photo: private On board the ARNOLD MAERSK as a ship’s officer. As part of DANISH SHIPPING’s mentoring scheme, Karina Kærvang Jensen shares the many experiences she has gained in the maritime industry.

when she contacted DANISH SHIPPING to get help finding shipping companies that offer internships. “It was a great idea for me to get a mentor because I have never been out sailing before. The questions I had for Karina were very concrete and simple and also big and profound: How much shampoo to bring? How is everyday life at sea?” Amanda says and continues:

“I felt very nervous about the part of the journey where you step out of the airport and have to find your way to the ship. I pictured myself being alone and not knowing what to do and wondering: Have they even remembered that I am joining the ship today?”

COMFORT FROM A FELLOW SEAFARER

Karina Kærvang Jensen and Amanda Jespersgaard each live in different parts of Denmark and have not met in person yet. Until now, they have had online meetings and phone calls, and they’ve been communicating through messages and emails. it’s great that I always have the option of reaching out to my mentor.”

For the inexperienced cadet, it gives comfort and security to know she has a direct line to her experienced mentor before signing on to the ship, and also during her first stay aboard MAERSK LIFTER. “To have Karina as a mentor gives me the opportunity to get my questions answered straight away. They are not necessarily the same questions as when you are at school before your internship.”

During her first signing, the two of them had an agreement that Amanda should let Karina know how she was getting on after two to three weeks of her new life at sea.

“I wrote her an email and told her how I was, and that I had settled in. All along, we had the agreement that if I experienced something difficult, felt lonely, or something else, then I could call Karina anytime. That gives a great sense of security because you don’t always want to call your parents. It’s nice to have a third party – a trusted colleague. Having that has really given me great comfort; EXPERIENCES GETTING PASSED ON

Karina Kærvang Jensen clearly remembers the first time she joined a ship as a 20-year-old. She still remembers the strong feelings associated with signing on to the ship; how she tried not to get too overwhelmed; fearing meeting the captain; slowly getting to know the jargon, and discovering that the theory you learn behind the school desk doesn’t always fit with reality.

From her own time as a cadet and later as a Maritime Officer at MAERSK LINE and SCANDLINES, Karina Kærvang Jensen brings her lived experiences to bear on the conversations she has with her young mentee. She underlines the importance of being open and cooperative, at the same time as being true to yourself.

“As a young seafarer – whether you are a woman or a man – it is very important to earn respect through the way you treat your colleagues on board. You meet many E

Amanda Jespersgaard has not yet met her mentor, Karina Kærvang Jensen. But their email dialogues have had a big impact on her since she first boarded a ship. Photo: private

different nationalities and cultures, and for some cultures it can be quite surprising to meet a female seafarer,” Karina Kærvang Jensen says and elaborates:

“Some see the shipping industry as quite old fashioned, and male dominated. Luckily, more young people and more young women are entering our field of work. I quickly found out that you get respect when you have clear boundaries, stick to who you are, and work hard.”

CULTIVATE THE COMMUNITY AND BE YOURSELF

Mentor Karina Kærvang Jensen sees it as her mission to support the effort to get more young people to join the Danish shipping industry. This is why she both volunteers as a mentor and is also a part of the international network Women In Shipping (WIS).

“As a mentor, I can help make the transition from school to ship softer. I think that for some younger people, the combination of theory and the very practical approach can be challenging, as can the need for a seafarer to have a very problem-solving mindset and be able to cooperate with everybody on board. Those things are also strengths of the education and will open many doors – not only at sea.” Because of this, she has done all she can to prepare Amanda Jespersgaard for how important it is that you, as a seafarer, enter the community onboard with an open mindset and the will to make things work:

“On a ship you are forced to be with the people who are there. You must be able to cooperate because you are very dependent on each other. You quickly learn to be a problem-solver,”

Karina Kærvang Jensen underlines that because cooperating is crucial, it is also important that you do the best you can – both socially and professionally. “Don’t hide in your cabin – put yourself out there and mix with your colleagues. That is also a way of preventing loneliness. It is okay to talk about other things than work and to connect on a deeper level. Say yes! Go ashore with your colleagues, say yes to assignments, try something new. That has been some of the experiences I’ve done that has been most important for me to pass on to Amanda,” Karina Kærvang Jensen says.

PART OF THE HERD

Besides Amanda Jespersgaard using her experienced mentor to answer questions about how much shampoo to bring, and talking about professional insecurities and surprises, they also talk about the food and eating culture that prevails onboard, the special jargon, and the very important English working language.

Amanda Jespersgaard signed on to a ship where the crew is very used to having cadets on board. Even though she had to become a part of a permanent crew, she never felt it was a struggle to become part of the tribe.

“Every one of them was very good at being open and inviting. The group was not so cohesive that they could not let anybody else in. I became part of a permanent crew where they all know each other very well and are very good at having a great and cosy time together.”

Slowly, she became part of all the set routines, and she created her own too, such as working out before dinner, playing cards with some of her colleagues after dinner, and meeting up for movie nights. Her colleagues were mainly Danes, with the others being seafarers from Scotland, England, Poland, and Croatia.

“I was a bit nervous about speaking English. I don’t think I’m especially good, but after a week I found myself quite confident speaking English.”

Today, Karina Kærvang Jensen has traded life at sea for a job as manager at MAERSK SUPPLY SERVICE in Copenhagen. One of her messages to young seafarers is that a maritime education offers a wealth of opportunities both at sea and on land. Photo: private

TOTALLY GREEN

Amanda Jespersgaard has also used Karina Kærvang Jensen when she has been worried about whether she will ever accomplish all the professional challenges she will be put through during her education. To the experienced mentor, it’s a concern that is very easy to relate to and remember from her own time as a new seafarer:

“You have to learn a lot on your first trips. You must go through the whole ship, and it can be quite a mouthful to get all the details right. What can we load? What are dangerous goods? Where is the fire extinguishing equipment? How is the fuel system working? And so on. I have told Amanda that if she has any concerns about the theoretical terms, she must do her best to take it easy. I know that she will meet a lot of colleagues on board who will be very keen and happy to help her. But I do understand very well that it can seem almost unmanageable,” she says and underlines:

“It is very important to know what you can and cannot do as a newcomer. I was not very good at all the practical workshoprelated tasks when I first started. There are a lot of technical terms and slang terms that are used when describing tools and tasks, and you don’t want to come across as stupid. But it is important to ask questions about what you don’t understand. Because if you don’t do it in time, then suddenly it gets difficult to be honest about the fact that you don’t know it.”

PASS IT ON AND RECEIVE

The young cadet is now looking forward to the shipping company letting her know which ship she is joining next. And even though Amanda Jespersens first trip as a seafarer is well accomplished, she will stay in close contact with her mentor.

“I think our relationship will develop into having even more focus on the professional and theoretical part. Now I have been out for the first time – a first time where I was especially nervous about some very practical things,” she says and continues:

“I encourage others to get a mentor because it gives you extra safety and comfort. You can get answers to all your weird questions almost as soon as they occur.”

Karina Kærvang Jensen shares Amanda’s thoughts about how their mentor-mentee relationship will develop into a more professional focus: “The more practical experience Amanda gets, the better and more giving our conversations will become. It is very clear to me that even on her first trip she has already gained a lot of new tools in her professional backpack. It is extremely rewarding to me to be a mentor to a young person with a whole life in front of her. I will also be her mentor during her periods at school, and her sparring partner on her school-related assignments if she wants,“ she says and ends: “Life as an aspirant can be a big and life-changing experience that is why we need to support the new generation of seafarers, so they enjoy it and benefit from it.”

MAERSK LIFTER

is an Offshore Tug/Supply Ship build in 2009. Primarily sailing in The North Sea. The 16 crew members are from Denmark, Scotland, England, Poland, and Croatia.

Flag: Denmark Shipping company: MAERSK SUPPLY SERVICE Gross Tonnage: 6821 Length x width: 90 x 24 m