6 minute read
LIFE AT SEA
LIFE AT SEA
A sailor’s journey: Overcoming life’s breaking point
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words by CHARLES DETABLAN photo courtesy of CHARLES DETABLAN
During my first voyage from Alexandria, Egypt to Benghazi, Libya which to ok 4 days, our Captain announced that we were entering the war zone area of Libya. I was surprised on our voyage and this is my first experience onboard to went into a war zone. Our captain Immediately gave a safety meeting to all crew because we have discharging operations and receive spare parts for the engine room. We must prepare of ourselves for any possible happenings when we arrive at the port. The day that we arrive at Benghazi, Libya , I was amazed and terrified of the place. We could see that the buildings and houses were almost destroyed by the bombs and there were many buildings on fire not far from us. We are all afraid of what might happen to us there. Our vessel is a tanker ship and we carry finished product gasoline. Whatever happens a bombing near us will really affect our ship. We are thankful that our operation is over in just 27 hours and nothing bad has happened to us.
After 8 months on board an accident happened during our voyage from Gibraltar, UK to Venezuela. While I was cleaning the engine room our number 2 generator suddenly exploded and some parts of the generator blocks are scattered just like a grenade. Luckily there’s no one near during the explosion only me and duty oiler was in there at the engine room. I hurried to went to our duty engineer to report the situation and he immediatley pressed the emergency stop of the generator to avoid any damages. Many debris and lube oil of the generator are scattered everywhere. Chief engineer and our captain announced , all deck and engine crew must help to clean the scattered debris and lube oil of the generator from 2nd floor to 1st floor of the engine room. Our engineers investigate and check the generator that exploded. The reason why our generator was exploded because it reaches the limit of running hours of one of the piston in the generator and discovered that all pistons in our number 2 generators are not genuine . After the incident our captain took immediate action and reported to our company for what happened. Our company sent a message to dismantle the entire generator because it is no longer usable and will be replaced with a new one. The following day the company sent a message to conduct a vetting inspection and port state visit after we unloaded from venezuela going back to Gibraltar. Our Chief engineer was suddenly surprised by the message. We must finish installing the new generator block and its all parts before arriving in Gibraltar. As we traveled through the middle of the Atlantic Ocean to Venezuela we began to dismantle parts of the number 2 generator. Our Chief engineer took the lead in dismantling the generator parts with me, 2nd engineer, electrician, and two oilers. While the 3rd and 4th engineers are assigned to overhaul the number 1 generator and replaced all the pistons because it will soon reach the running hours limit to also avoid damage and explosion. In that day we started to work 7:30AM until 10:00 P.M. to immediate ly finished disma ntled all the parts of the damaged generator.
As we arrived at the Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela the new spare of generator block was delivered and the company sent new crew to help us to install the new generator a superintendent, two fitters and 1 electrician. After we finished unloading operation we went straight to Gibraltar to conduct a Vetting inspection and port state visit. Vetting inspection is a grading system of a ship, enabling a potential charterer to compare between similar ships and choose the best for his needs. We need to pass the inspection to make a good record of our ship as well as the record of each crew. We have few days left to arrive at the Gibraltar we worked always overtime. Almost all the engine crews are very tired and no proper rest. One day while we’re installing the new generator block, my chief engi-
neer saw that my nose was bleeding. I was shocked by the blood came in my nose. Because of over fatigue and lack of sleep that’s the reason why my nose was bleeding. I have been rested by our chief engineer.
While resting in my cabin my tears started to drop as I realize that being a seafarer is not an easy profession. We need to stay focused and calm no matter how tired we are especially if we’re in the engine room. We should have the presence of mind to avoid unnecessary accidents on board by doing our best to avoid committing mistakes.
We finished the installation of the new generator on time before inspection. It took us almost a month to disassemble the damaged generator and install the new generator. We are happy because we passed and survived the vetting inspection and port state visit. Our chief engineer and captain congratulate us especially in the engine crew to persevere in our work. I am glad to experience that kind of situation. I’ve learned many things and renewed my drive to do well in all my tasks. Relationship with the rest of the crew indeed matters the most when you are onboard. You’ll enjoy your workplace and no longer noticed the difficulty of our work. My chief engineer is very kind and he said that I should l earn something else aside from cleaning the engine room. He was proud of me. He assigned me to be the assistant of the 2nd engineer and sometimes I did the maintenance of the auxiliary machineries alone. I was happy because our chief engineer and 2nd engineer trusted me. In the lighter side of being a seafarer, I was able to travel the world for free. I met different kinds of people, know their culture, and taste different kinds of food. My favorite place from those that I have visited is the Pyramid of Egypt. It’s like a once in a lifetime experience that you get a chance to go there with no expenses paid.
You’ll really have to work hard if you want something. You should never be afraid to commit mistakes because it is where we learn. Lastly, don’t give up. I am proud to go through all these experience and difficulties onboard because in the end, I find myself learning and evolving as a better person.
In the end, these experiences will serve as my strong foundation to become a successful seafarer.
