The Merchant Marine Express

The equipment in the galley has been keeping the galley staff from having a non eventful trip! Listing the equipment which needs help; the ice maker, one of the refrigerators, a dishwasher, one stove section, and one oven all have been on the blink, ever since departing the states. The galley has no fryer, to begin with, so the cook has resorted to baking what needed to be fried. Certain planned meals have been replaced with simple sandwiches and chips. Quick thinking on the part of the Steward has kept the crew happy, though. Baked cookies, cakes and pies have brought smiles to everyone’s face.

Ice was delivered to the tune of five hundred pounds during this last port visit, but I have yet to see any as evidence of this as I keep looking in the juice pitchers. I’m waiting for a ration of canned tuna to be handed out to the crew in lieu of a decently prepared meal, truthfully.

The Engine department has not been a happy bunch, either. The small group of engineers, including the Engine Utilities, or Oilers, are busy in their duties trying to catch up with projects within the machinery space. Both the First Assistant Engineer and Third Assistant Engineer are new to this
ship, but both the Chief Engineer and Second Assistant Engineer are returning engineers. With the established projects already on their agenda, the rapidly increasingly laundry list of items to be repaired both within the aforementioned galley list and new jobs out on deck, the challenge
presented to the engine room is at the level of overbearing.

The Bridge’s ambient temperature has leveled out at an uncomfortable eighty-degrees Fahrenheit as the air conditioner is barely making any progress in removing any heat as the electronics including the Radars are causing such a tropical climate. In some cases, opening either side door leading out to the bridge wings allow for a cross draft, but this is rare.

Those who said that sailing the high seas was glamorous might have only partook onboard a Caribbean Cruise for a brief week or similarly, on some glamorous Panama Canal transit. With freshly painted decks, finely polished or lacquered woods and fabulously displayed five course meals, this only happens on cruises for passengers as this is the primary means of making money for the desperate yet determined cruise lines.

Merchant ships, on the other hand whose hulls are commonly a mixture of rust, salt, and awkward smells which cannot be described in a positive way, but only accepted and the ongoing process to replace what has broken or is in the process of falling off is how mariners deal with this deficiency. Companies offering their cargo to the shipping company and In turn, the company seeks what minimal labor to enable such a ship to be in service. Shipyards are there to inspect mostly what major components require overhauling. Otherwise, the ship’s compliment of twenty-one crew is all that works on most ships The inner hull goes without special attention, mostly.

Have a great day, folks!

Tags: MV American Tern