The Merchant Marine Express

We’ve managed to somehow end up sixty-five miles south-west of our last anchored location in Galveston, as we’re now anchored off the coast of this small seaside community of Freeport, Texas!

We dropped anchor last night, five miles off the coast and after motoring the five hours it required for the transit. We will call this region our home for a short while, nonetheless.This latest move is for the sole purpose of renewing our ship’s FCC License for our Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS)which is the Satellite based system, onboard. Here, we will meet up with an official who will come by launch boat and will evaluate our system and hopefully give it his ‘blessing’ and be in compliance. We’re not worried!

There seems to be nothing on the horizon for cargo orders, and yet the occasion for a ‘yard period’ is fast approaching and which may place our vessel in some lay berth in New Orleans, Louisiana by early October. Our ship is dire need of some obligatory repairs that only a shoreside gang of repair personnel can tend to. The only positive thing regarding this ‘out-of-service’ period is the pierside location, as well as a chance to stand on firm ground, for once.

Our starboard lifeboat is the latest victim which seems to scream ‘help’ and is among the list of repair items during the aforementioned yard period. A couple of shivs, which are like tiny train wheels and which the davit cables creep onto in order for the lifeboats to descend to the water, all while affixed at various points along the davit, have been found to be damaged and pose an integrity issue to the davits, themselves. This happened while exercising the lifeboats during our weekly Abandoned Ship Drill. I could only imagine what was going on in Third Mate, Travis’ mind, who was in charge of monitoring the actions of this starboard boat as it threw shrapnel out on deck while being lowered to the embarkation level during the Drill. A couple of tons of fiberglass and metal descending with parts flying would
make anyone question what just happened and mostly be curious as to its safety.

Every day since anchoring, the routine has mostly been to stand the watch, as Watch Officer,all being in isolation while on the Bridge. The AB who is the Officer Of the Watch’s (OOW) watch partner is tasked to check on the anchor’s lead and report on its strain. A response, for instance, via the handheld radio between the Watch may go something like this, “Mate on Watch, the starboard anchor chain is leading 3 points off the starboard bow with moderate strain!” Besides this short, yet, informative call to the Watch, my radio mostly sits idle and silent.

The ship’s cluster of VHF radios located on the Bridge, all are tuned to various channel frequencies, occasionally come to life with chatter from vessels awaiting berthing orders or from pilots who are summoning their prospective ships to board , and ultimately command while entering or exiting port.

Most of the mates on the ships out at anchor who are responding to the Houston/Galveston Pilots have strong foreign accents and, at times, the commands are hastily repeated by the Texas dispatcher. It would remind me of one large English lesson in maritime lingo; some may say it’s an English as a Second Language (ESL) course, in the making. Don’t be fooled by this, as English is the universal language of mariners.

All continents are represented as mariners from all over the world, converge onto this bay to load or discharge their valuable cargo. Distinct accents from northern and eastern Europe, Asia, and the Americas are detected by my trained ears. This may be verified by the registry embossed on the sterns of these massive ships, as well. All ships are vying for a spot, and to conduct port operations as quickly as possible in order to return to the comfort of the seas and the familiarity that it brings. But for now, the gentle sway of our ship as the small swells from the south-east push our ship back and forth at intervals of no more than every fifteen seconds remind each and every one of us that our ship is anchored, awaiting cargo.

So for now, the crew members onboard the Chemical Explorer go about their daily life on deck or in other parts within the ship’s super structure as I, or the two other Mates stand the Watch on the Bridge, at any given time of day. This may be considered the ‘command post’ as the phone rings constantly with updates, or acknowledgement from crew as permission may be requested for various jobs. Only a few of various officers including engineers, alike, come to visit this central office as this proverbial ‘executive suite’ may have the latest information of what the future brings to the ship. Fresh coffee is offered during the union breaks, as this strong blend will keep anyone awake for hours. Relating to the knowledge of what lies ahead for the ship and to its own business, I always joke at other crew members that the Third Mate is the “last to know” as we tend to be the most “junior” of officers in the pecking order and may not be included in the information chain on recent changes of events as the captain has been briefed by the company office or the agent. The Steward, in fact has been known to foresee the future of a ship and what its future holds before the third mate knows! I’m not sure how that is, but it is!

One bit of trivia if I may add. “Standing the Watch” is a phrase we use often, and which you’ve read in my journals. Typically, a Watch Officer “stands” while on watch and never really ’sits down’ during the four hour period. It’s a “no-no” to sit in the captain’s chair during the watch period and by standing, you get the sense of the ability to spring into action if the call arises. We have a myriad of controls and screens and radios spread out within the forty foot by ten foot office we call the Bridge that we have to monitor, as well. Comfortable shoes are a must as the deck offers only minimal support through the thin linoleum. And the stance usually is by bracing between firmly planted legs with crossed arms looking forward out the large windows within the wheelhouse.

Have a great work week!

Tags: Chemical Explorer