The Merchant Marine Express

In shipping, there are a lot of different sorts of crazy individuals who want to risk making a life, at sea. And, onboard any ship, you typically have three departments separating duties and tasks between them. The Deck Department along with the Engineering and Steward Department, consist of licensed and unlicensed personnel.

Starting with an Ordinary Seaman (OS), who begins at the bottom of the ranks in the deck department, which, they’re at the entry level position, with the lowest grade of pay. An OS’s primary job is conducting sanitary by sweeping and mopping decks and also helps out more senior, Able-bodied Seaman (AB) with their deck projects. Chipping rusted scales off the deck of old paint and reapplying primer paint, followed by one or two fresh coats of the usual dull gray or black final coat, this step repeated over and over, time and time again on various surfaces- both on deck and aloft. And sometimes these ordinary seamen can be found hanging precariously from an overhead catwalk or over the side of the ship using a bosun’s chairs and safety harnesses, ropes and pulleys in order to keep from haphazardly falling back onto the deck or into the sea.
Their counter parts from the Steward department are the Stewards Assistant (SA) and from the Engineering department- the Wiper, are all entry level positions and many of the crew who come out to take these slots are fresh recruits from the Seafarer’s Union Hall who may still be found wearing their training t-shirts and duffel bags issued with the union’s logo.
An SA helps the Steward, who is head of the department and is responsible for hospitality and feeding the crew. State rooms, which need new linens or inside passages near the ships galley that require mopping and scrubbing are primarily handled by this department. On our ship, each mess, or eating area, has an SA assigned and they’re tasked to prepare the salads and make ready the water and juices for the upcoming meal. The food hasn’t been all that great, and you can tell that the SA’s are getting tireds of hearing the repeated complaints of food being sub par. After all, it makes all the difference for morale of all onboard, if the food is decent.
Since the PETERSBURG rarely goes to sea, the engineering department, or just commonly known as the “engine department’, continuously works at maintaining vital engines and machinery in the engine room. On-going maintenance is critical, especially for a ship that lies still for the better part of the year and the aforementioned wipers harmoniously clean up grease, take garbage out to shore dumpsters, and do other menial tasks instructed by Engineering Officers. It’s not much to ask for especially when the liability is pawned off onto the Engineering Officers.
Now with that being said, we’ve had some interesting turn of events, lately. You see, life onboard is not for just anyone. It is well known that tasks and projects are passed down from Supervisors and officers to their subordinates, with many of the duties only specific to the job position. However, an unruly crewmember that has never shipped out may protest a job or blatantly refuse and head directly for their room- not understanding the full scope of their duties. And in some cases, it happens more often, a crewmember may fake an injury or claim a family emergency just to ‘jump ship’ and head home early.
Well, we’ve been having not-so-good of luck with new personnel leaving without notice, by claiming excuses from family emergencies or claiming to have tripped on a valve wheel and hurting themselves. Well, the Captain’s been busy trying to fill their positions, and he’s not too happy. And these crew members, who have been requesting to leave, haven’t necessarily been the lowest in Rank, either. Just the other day, the Chief Cook quit, claiming the Steward didn’t supply him with enough Saran Wrap and had his bag packed in less than twenty-minutes just as we were about to shove off, and head out to sea for a day. Also, yesterday, a seemingly eager Wiper quit unexpectedly after joining the vessel just two days ago. His claim wasn’t very clear for quitting, yet his motivation for working was displaced by some situation more important at home. It was rumored that his girlfriend, who was on the island, got sick to the point he needed to spend time with her. But no one will really know what his reason for leaving so soon.
We, as mariners, know the risks involved, and the requisite time required of being away from land and the isolation from family and friends. But when a job calls, we try to do our best, without the normal environment of supermarkets, theatres, visits from friends, and the comfort of being home. It’s not the life for everyone, yet once you’re committed into doing something, try and endure the time. Don’t quit.
By the way,there was a substantial earthquake which shook our ship, the other day. Apparently this was an aftershock from the Japan quake a week earlier, an quincidentally, occured an hour of the San Francisco quake. It happened about four hours into my Watch and all you could feel was the abrupt shaking as the tremor moved through out the ship- from fore to aft! The shaking sustained for ten seconds and as quickly as it happened- it was gone. It felt like some train running past as you sat from a few feet away. So I quickly notified the 3rd Engineer and checked for anything that might have been damaged from the initial quake. And, as the captain was ashore at the time- he called the cel phone which I carry while on duty and said he was witness to the rumbling, as well. I think he was more concerned about his ship, more than anything else! No damage done as I made an assessment-walking about and inspecting areas onboard which might have been affected.
Have a good day!
- Nadir Bousseloub

Tags: S.S Petersburg, Voyages