WHY DO I WEAR MY COVERALLS WET

67 days onboard Cape Tallin (M / T Cape Tallin Plus 67)
Enroute to New Orleans, United States of America



Much to the surprise of everyone , Vetting inspections of this ship will be done in the U.S. and this time it was announced a bit late. I'm not exactly sure on how the vetting inspections are done here in a crude oil product tanker but on what I recall about the Vetting inspections done on a chemical tanker when I was still a deck cadet, it was a tedious and laborious objective , and on what I recall I had to stencil from forward of the ship down to the aft part for two weeks and the work was from sunrise till sun down (unfortunately I was in Europe in that time and the sun doesn't come down till 10 pm during summer time). Nevertheless it's a horrible work from what I recall. A.B. Patrick says that vetting inspections on a product tanker aren't that meticulous as in a chemical tanker.



In other news related to work..



Not feeling absolutely well this time and I feel that I'm going to have a fever of some sort from heat exhaustion, Unfortunately I'm trapped onboard this ship for the next 6 months (half a year) and there's pretty much nothing I can do about it but work, work and work until I drop dead, bed rest is near next to impossible here unless I'm lucky that its weekends. The only remedy I had for now to keep me well is that I take antibiotics, painkillers and a few vitamins to hold me up, (fortunately I bought these along for the journey). Heat here is simply nailing me,



For the work we done (which resulted to my heat exhaustion), Me and the new pump man had to go down to the pump room to test two kinds of alarms. One is the gas detector alarm and the other is the emergency switch, Going down the pump here is honestly not a very good idea , as this is a poorly ventilated room and the heat from the engine room (or some other heat source inside this ship) is somewhat "Trapped" , Both me and the new pump man was heavily sweating from the heat inside within minutes upon entering. Had no idea why ventilation is very poor on this ship and compared to the previous ship I worked with, this one is worst so far. Good thing that I had with me is a flask of water and I doused my head with water just to keep myself cool.



We tested the gas detector in the pump room by simply filling up 1 / 8th of an empty mineral water bottle with thinner and then we simply inserted it on a small tube protruding on some machinery and within minutes the "alarm" went on. There are two gas detectors in this room , one in the starboard side and the other is in the port side.



Aside from test the alarm. We also tested the "High level" Alarm and "Overfill" alarm on the deck area, as well as the bilge alarm on the forecastle area ( inside the BOSUN'S store). If I had the spare time, I'd secretly take pictures of these sensors for educational purposes.



The following day.



The hot weather is simply not that comfortable at all and It resulted to me doing a work tactics to wear my coveralls wet to cool myself. The process involves wetting my coveralls and then spin dry it on the washing machine for a minute or two then wear it. the resulting "evaporating" effect of water on my coveralls is enough to cool me temporarily on the hot environment.



For the rest of the work , I was off painting the emergency towing appliance located in the port side with the color "Admiralty Gray" paint and painting a few railings as well on the manifold area, I did also painted a two boxes that serves as a pneumatic machines for the fire wire. Aside from that I also helped out the new Pump man in inspecting the isolation valves and replacing Teflon gaskets of it , I even accidentally bumped my head on one of the valves wheels over head ( damn I should have worn a safety helmet) . Wasn't really that serious but it doesn't hurt having my head hit the metal.



Another thing is that after working hours, I took a few pictures of the "High level alarm and Overfill Alarm sensor" on the deck area, I had uploaded it on my computer via blue tooth and wrote notes here using the Microsoft one note program. Unfortunately I didn't took pictures of the emergency stop in the pump room as temperatures there are exceeding hot , maybe I'd took those pictures next time or maybe when the temperatures are a bit cooler.



In other news , the rest of the crew were busy making a wooden ladder for the aluminum gangway we had onboard. BOSUN AMICAN along with A.B. Homer Mallorca was busy doing the carpentry work, others like O.S. Hall, A.B. "Patrick" and A.B. Bryan were busy cleaning the aft deck from grease with a chemical known as "Sea Clean". ( I found out later on from "Patrick" that Sea clean chemical is different from Metal Brite)



July 24, 2013 Wednesday……



Another terrible hot humid weather again, and keeps getting worse. This time the weather is so severe that I wore my coveralls wet - as in soaking wet to keep me cool. This is the part I really hate on U.S.A. , specifically in the "Southern" part. A lot of people might think that U.S.A. is a cold country probably as cold as Europe - well they're hell wrong about it and wait till they get to Houston, Texas U.S.A. on summer time (or nearby area). If my coveralls isn't wet with water then its wet by sweat from the dry heat, Seriously the weather here is very bad and if didn't drank lots of water or even wore my coveralls wet then I'm certain I'm going to faint from dehydration or heat stroke, either way.



It's a good thing that deck works today involves washing the deck area with sea water, at least getting myself wet on work provides some sort of comfort. Took us at least half a day to finish the said job order ( work in nautical terms), did learn a new chemical today and what it is exactly used for, the chemical "Cold Wash" was apparently and anti grease agent (like sea clean) but has of a less or a bleaching effect on using in the deck. After lunch I heard that there was a drill scheduled at 4pm, During the 1pm to 3pm I was busy hauling off garbage from the garbage collection area to the workshop for segregation and later painting "machinery green" to the air motors of both pilot access gangways and fire wire winches.



Before the drill most of the crew hanged out on the gymnasium just to chill the time, the gym looked more like a "seaman's club" from the people waiting and doing other stuff like ping pong, pool , boxing etc.



During the drill, I went well on the abandon ship duties, As for the Oil Pollution I did found out later on that my duties and task there was put the scupper plugs on the port side (on actual oil pollution emergency) then radio back then proceed to the foam monitor equipment nearby the Oil pollution area. On the Emergency Steering Drill It was pretty much the same old thing on how the emergency steering equipment operates like to my previous ships , the only difference is that Japanese made Ships are more comfortable to work with compared to Chinese One's. The Steering Gear room (like the pump room) has very poor ventilation and a person just simply standing inside the room would be sweating his / her cover alls within minutes.



After the few drills, we were ordered to wait to the CCR of the ship (Cargo Control Room), I hurriedly went to my cabin to change my shirt as it was soaking wet then proceeded to the CCR. Inside the CCR , we were debriefed by the New Chief mate and Captain Igors Slabada on the Do's and Don't in entering U.S. Ports. Notably on the gangway watch and the Garbage disposal related issues. Segregate the garbage, never leave the gangway watch unattended , etc. stuff like that. Captain Slaba told us that there's a possibility of "Berthing upon arrival" and that Vetting inspections will soon follow. He also added that he will be disembarking on this port also and it's a pleasure on working with us.

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS

Weather is not improving at all - in fact it's getting worse as this ship approaches New Orleans area in the United States. It's not surprising though, since summer season is at it's height on the north Atlantic region and core temperatures are quiet hot , as a matter of fact the temperatures here are similar to tropical countries (like the Philippines) for now and getting hotter (or even hotter) . In relation to work, its very difficult to work on a hot weather and I had to bring at least a canister of water with me every time I go out , as this ship lacks sufficient fresh water outlets to keep myself cool.



Last Saturday July 20th 2013, the whole crew was busy preparing for a grill party. First work we did was hauling off from the steering gear room the barbecue equipment stowed there, and the next thing we did was wash off the whole deck area on the accommodation with sea water. Then haul off the tables from gymnasium (ships gym) to the starboard side. We had trouble putting the canvass that will serve as a small shade probably because of the windy weather during that time.



Next after setting up the tables and cleaning the place, we lit the barbecue grill and burned a few wood pieces from wooden pallets at the aft part of the ship. I along with A.B. "Patrick" and A.B. "Mallorca" was temporary on watch of the fire, until we were later replaced by A.B. "Bryan" since there will be a drill at 1pm.



The fire drill was quiet short and I do know now my assigned task here when ever there will be a fire drill (or actual fire). My task was simply shut all the ventilation vents on the port side of this ship, get and bring the fire extinguisher on the site of the fire and go to the pump man and await further instructions, very simple right ?! On the lifeboat drill (abandon ship drill) my task was on the aft painter (rope) of the life boat then after the drill I have to tighten the wire on the forward part of the life boat to properly secure it in its place.



After the drill the grill barbecue started and as usual the whole grill was busy on the grill , Me and A.B. was busy rolling the whole pig to be roasted on the grill, O.S. Hall and the new oiler , along with new engine fitter was busy on the barbecue sticks being roasted. The new engine fitter took some time to take pictures and had mess man Ferdinand Penera carry the camera and A.B. "Patrick" took pictures , Unfortunately Captain Igors Slabada saw the picture taking and called "Patrick" and "Ferdinand" to the bridge and ordered that the pictures would be deleted. Some of the crew was dismayed on the captains action namely BOSUN AMICAN and the new engine fitter about the pictures being deleted. During dinner time their dismay was very obvious that the new engine fitter shouted to the russians the tagalog word "PUTANG INA NYO" (translated in english "you mother fuckers") . Of course the Russians never understood that word since their not familiar at tagalog at all.



After the dinner, I quietly slipped away from everybody's sight and returned to my cabin since I wasn't feeling well and was having an asthma attack (probably an allergy on the orange flavored soft drink like fanta which I drank during dinner time). I slept for at least 2 hours then , I was awoken by A.B. Homer Mallorca banging the door , when I opened he said that my presence is required the grill party. I replied I wont come, and Homer went away , A few minutes later Homer Banged the door again and I replied the same thing. Honestly I had to my reasons why I shouldn't join , one is that I had mentioned earlier I was having an asthma attack and haven't been fully recovered yet ( I forgot to bring my medications onboard and left it in the Philippines) , Second is personal reasons that I don't like drinking alongside with people I dislike (hint its the person I mention on my previous entry "belly of the beast") , I think its pure hypocrisy to drink with the people who think they are more *superior* and keep pushing around people. For me I don't talk to these kinds of people and don't make friends with them (and never will)



The following morning,



When I went to my cabin door , I saw a small note saying that I should clean the mess from the grill party yesterday and there's even a Foot note saying "BOSUN'S ORDERS" (see what I mean). That's fine with me that id clean up the mess , I'd be better off doing that, I immediately went to cleaning the place as early as 5 am (4:30 am). Putting the benches back and removing the covers for the tables wasn't that hard , unfortunately I did had a problem on the one table as I did not realized it was that heavy. Good thing A.B. Homer Mallorca was already awake at that early time and saw me dragging the said table, he helped me out on the rest of the stuff putting it back into place as well as putting back also the barbecue grill equipment back on the steering gear. We were finished on the work as early as 9am.



It's a good thing that it was rest day (Sunday) and I spent my time washing off clothes and fixing my working equipment, washing the scavenged gloves I saw on deck , as well as go to the gym. On the late evening I was fortunately that Mess man Ferdinand gave me a hair cut - it not that fancy but its more like a trim and I'm very happy that I got a haircut since having a long hair on a hot weather outside is not a very good idea. I asked Ferdinand on where did he learn the skill in cutting hair ( be a barber) he said he learned it when he was working on a passenger ship a few years back.

BELLY OF THE BEAST

Already finished checking out the isolation valves for COW IGS butter wash machines together with the new pump man and now I'm cutting out gaskets again on the Teflon sheets.



On the crew mess, I received and signed up the memo I got from Captain Igors Slabada about the specific duties of an Ordinary Seaman. I think this memo is based on the company SMS of career and not just pure made up rules imposed as there is a document number and reference number as well.



This is what is written on the memo



1. He has the required certification and qualification for the position he is employed for particularly with regard to the bridge watch keeping and tanker operation. His department head is the chief officer - latter will allocate the day to day work.

2. He will be engage with engaged with bridge watch keeping and assist the OOW with the lookout and steering and all other task that might arise

3. He is a member of the deck crew and participates in the safe operation of the vessel during cargo handling, mooring, preparations for sea and port, and etc.

4. He takes part in the maintenance of the deck department and any repairs of deck machinery and also when required in the other departments

5. He observes the safety regulations that apply and reports immediately any irregularity concerned to the safe operation of the vessel to the chief officer or to the OOW.

6. He has to make himself familiar with all the safety equipment and its handling. He has to know his duties in case of emergency and if any questions arise he will ask the safety officer, the department head.

7. He takes part n the safety training / drills and attends the viewing of the various training CD's and passing tests.

8. He must observe and strictly follow the pollution and prevention regulations in order to comply with MARPOL requirements and never dumps anything overboard without permission of the chief officer.

9. He attends on the job training and further information given by the Safety Officer regarding the safety Failure File.

10. He keeps his cabin clean and tidy and maintains cleanliness in all public rooms, in the storerooms and workshops and elsewhere on deck and accommodation.

11. He observes that no stores, spares or provision is wasted and that equipment and stores are handled with care.

12. When on duty he wears protective clothing that should be clean and tidy and handled with care.

13. During security emergency to obey SSO orders.

14. He must strictly follow the SMOKING regulations and pays attention that other crew member and visitors do the same.

15. He keeps a true and correct record of his overtimes and STCW working / rest hours and hands it over to the Chief Officer at the end of week for verification or when required

16. All other duties ordered by Chief Officer and Master.



Some of these rules are a bit exaggerated and just let your logic and practical thinking do the rest, some of the rules of course makes sense. Overall all these rules point only on Deck Maintenance - nothing more, nothing less



Anyway in other matters around the crew mess, the bond store recently gave out a box of can coca cola soft drinks and a box of Gatorade orange. The main reason of course is that it's already near expiration date, but when I looked over the coca cola can I noticed that it's still not on the expiry date and the date it will expire is still next year 2014.



In other news…



At the deck there is rumor, that this ship will not be berthing to Houston but will be on somewhere on Louisiana on the 26th, I haven't confirmed this yet at all and the details of course is subjected to change every now and then. Aside from that rumor there is also rumor that this will berth in Valenzuela (down south of Houston, way south and farther than Mexico), as this ship is still not scheduled yet to hit the dry docks. The only thing I can confirmed at is that this is the last loading and unloading operations for Cape Tallin before it gets repaired in the shipyard - the exact country that this ship will dry dock is also not yet confirmed as well.



July 19 2013 Friday….



Been helping out the new Pump man for a few days now , mostly his work consist of checking out the COW IGS machines and the latest was that we had to check isolations valves from 2 wings area of this ship, for now the isolation valves for 1 to 3 wings (out of 6 wings) have already been inspected and check, the remaining isolation valves and Cow IGS valves will be check out on the latter days.



Some of the crew were busy, entering the ballast tank and check it out if there's no leak , the new chief mate came in personally to check and found out that there is a small leak and apparently its dripping oil to the ballast water. I heard from them that for now they're going to remedy the situation by putting in a sealant for now until complete repairs will be made on the dry dock.



In the late afternoon after work, I was in the locker room along with A.B. "Patrick" and A.B. "Bryan" (the new A.B. that replaced Ronald) when BOSUN AMICAN came around and said that before I should came in to the locker room first I should ask permission first from him and not even the chief mate could enter the locker room without his permission or even relieve me from my work. I didn't like the tone of his voice and his arrogance; well for me he shouldn't wave his rank like that and showing off his arrogance because one day people could throw him overboard. Aside from that he shouldn't brag that he's more "Superior" to the chief mate. Well if he has the balls then why not tell that to the chief mate himself and let see who gets sent home first. Bastard son of a bitch!!! A.B. "Patrick" didn't like also what he said and gave me an advice on how to counter that bastard.



In other news, I'm back again scavenging for supplies on the deck whenever (or during at work) I have the free time. For the moment I got a few leather gloves during my rounds on the forward and aft of the ship, and I'd wash them later on secretly via the washing machine. Speaking of which I already figured out what's the main reason why the leather gloves and working equipment are a scarcity here onboard , Believe it or not from what I discovered it's not the CSM management , nor the captain or the chief mate. Its BOSUN AMICAN who's hoarding off the working supplies, yes that's what I found out - explains it all why there was a working supplies provision that came around in Amsterdam and yet there is still up to now no working supplies yet coming on the circulation and I myself haven't received any new gloves at all. (See blog entry "calm before the storm" June or July 2013 entry)



That fucking bastard! He's holding off the supplies like a blockade, Hard to believe but there are still greedy people out there onboard and worst part is that he's a Filipino - these kind of people makes me sick. Bloody fucking cruel of him letting his own men scurrying for supplies on deck and him hoarding off the supplies meant for the crew, probably this depriving monster thinks he owns the supplies eh?? Fuck! Worst part is that he thinks he's more "Superior" to other people even to the chief mate! Bah!



Oh well it's amazing that these sleazy bastard lasted for years in the working in and out on different ships without someone attempting to smack his face. He's been here for only two months and yet a lot people have been complaining about him and I myself including on his shitty behavior. Let's hope he doesn't make any more serious offenses or else retaliation on him will be much more serious. For now he makes an antagonist impression on me and sad to say I'd have my hands full dealing with him for the next 6 months since he came onboard along with me two months ago. A complication I have to deal with.

A PIDGEON THAT NEVER FLIES

Cape Tallin enroute to Houston, Texas U.S.A. , Some where in the Atlantic, time zone is UTC -03:00



Was off the hook in cleaning the distilled water tank located on the steering gear room and instead was put on the task in helping out the new pump man in changing the isolation valves for the COW IGS machines (a.k.a butter wash machines) and replacing the old gaskets, For the moment where still in the 3 wings area (cargo hold area no.3 port and starboard side , Left and right for short). One thing I find funny on the said task is that I'm cutting out gaskets in Teflon plastics sheets, Honestly I don't see any point on why am I making Teflon gaskets and making that much effort , I mean during my previous ship we don't exactly "Made" Teflon gaskets at all and instead buy them from IMPA and received them via the provisions. I guess Career and CSM Management is very stiff when it comes to its crew eh ? Oh well anyway it doesn't really matter at all if that would be the case, I'm just disappointed that we have to "make" them instead of ordering one. Hopefully I only get to sail with this company for two ships only and after that I'm moving on, regardless of the situation.



In other news we recently had a fire drill and familiarization here at cape tallin , the drill isn't exactly a "Drill" at all and that its more like a re-organization of sorts and we were informed by our Russian Chief Mate of our new task whenever if there will be a fire. As to document or record what a fire drill is onboard , I slipped in my spy pen camera to record it on video. Everything was going fine and I was recording it when Mess man Ferdinand notice my spy cam and told a few people that I'm currently recording, I told him to be quiet but he kept on mumbling and as a result 3rd engineer Cranz and the New Pump man discovered that I have a spy pen as well. Not a very good sign really and to avoid further discovery from other people I just made an alibi that my spy pen ran out of batteries to 3rd engineer Cranz , The New Pump man and Mess man Ferdinand and hid it under my right pocket.



One thing I really hate about having Filipino's onboard is that the word "Confidentiality" is poorly understood here and that sooner or later some big mouth guy will spread something of what he knows and in my case I'm annoyed that Mess man Ferdinand cramps my style and that he should have kept his mouth shut about me having a spy pen. Honestly I'm the kind of person who values confidentiality and privacy , I dislike people that have big mouths.



In other news around onboard , I'm still continue the gym program "Patrick" gave me with and being at the gym really helps on my strength and stamina (though I couldn't say if my muscles will ever get built up) , I do my gym every other day as not to injure myself and even have my very own gym gloves ( the one I bought at TOBY's sporting store 2 years ago and brought it along). I plan to do gym exercises late at night to avoid prying eyes from some of the crew, unfortunately one gym session had me going to the gym a bit early as in 6:30 pm and as result 3rd mate Corales saw me doing gym sessions. To avoid any more further questions I hurriedly finished the gym session.



Going back to matters on the deck ….



I admire the pigeon that always stayed near the paint room , and even thought at the moment were currently in the mid Atlantic area it was always there and stays on that area, it never flew far off and was always staying there patiently. Some of the crew gave it food and water , and took it as a "Pet", the pigeon is very friendly and doesn't get startled when people are around - probably it indicates that this pigeon is already domesticated and is already used to having interactions with humans for some time .



Believe it or not it relieves stress seeing a pet around the deck area and having it as a pet, Unfortunately I should know better that we can't keep and take care of the pigeon on the long run and sooner or later this bird has to go. Its ok for now to keep the pigeon until the trans-Atlantic transit.



In other news on deck….



There has been a rumor that this ship will not yet get to go to the ship yard for repairs (Dry dock) and said that there is a possibility that after Houston this ship will be at Valenzuela and probably to Asia (best bet is china, since this is a Chinese made ship). For the moment I don't know the exact details but what I did heard from Patrick is that this ship will be in a "lightering condition" In Houston to remove some of its cargo as its overloaded from Houston standards . Expect another ship to ship operations in Houston, only this time its unloading and not loading.

EXONERATION

Cape Tallin , Position : In the North Atlantic enroute to U.S.A. E.T.A. July 28 2013



After sometime that he was suspected that he used the IMMARSAT phone , it was finally revealed that A.B. "Patrick" did not used it at all. He's innocent - it was Mess man Ferdinand Penera who used it. Captain Igors Slabada verified the number that registered to the IMMARSAT to Career Ship management and Captain Galang ( Career Superintendent ) said that the number was from our Mess man. I'm not sure what will be the repercussions for mess man Ferdinand on using the IMMARSAT phone - it could cost him he's promotion for O.S. ( Ordinary Seaman) , or a bad report to the shipping office. What ever , It doesn't really matter anyway . The main point was A.B. Dondonilla was exonerated from the accusations, showing he's innocent - that the accusations are purely vengeance and jealousy related.



A real sense of justice for him knowing that "Patrick" was right and them wrong.



In other news related to work onboard



Soon after we left , we were immediately put off on deck work cleaning. On my part BOSUN AMICAN gave me a job cleaning the forward part of the ship ,removing bird dropping as the sea gulls from Amsterdam littered the place with their poop. Cleaning the forward part wasn't an easy job having only a deck brush in hand , I was with the new A.B. cleaning the said area until around 10 am.



Later in the day, A.B. "Patrick" volunteered to teach me Gym and body building lesson, I hesitant at first but I figured I got all the time to spare here onboard and that he has a point, I do need it in the sense that I could lift and carry objects and to maximize my abilities as much as possible. I agreed and said that the gym lessons will start this Saturday.



Saturday July 13, 2013.



Since this is Saturday - its only half day work, Based on what I learned from the new A.B. and the new Pump Man , Some ships here in Career Ship Management don't have Saturdays and Sundays off and that Cape Tallin is a blessing considering that Saturdays is just only half day work and Sunday to be rest day. Having no rest day onboard means that everyday is work day , Oh my ! I guess that's a total nightmare if I'd be put on that kind of ship and I think its worse. Sometimes I do think having a full crew of Filipino's is way better than a mixed nationality , on the sense that there is a rest day and that the only problem I could see is that Filipino's have a nasty habit. As bad as Filipino's could be - some nationalities are even far off worse, but then again I'm not staying long here in career - as a matter of fact I'm just hanging out to make a solid foundation on my sailing job.



On the morning work, I had my hands full in transferring the mooring wire from the aft part of the ship to the forward part of the ship. It wasn't an easy task as we had to use the port winch in dragging it and later manually lifting it with our bare hands and dragging it to the BOSUN'S Store. My back hurts like crap there in lifting the wires.



Before the drill, I asked "Patrick" for professional advise in regards to using my stored equipment, He gave me an advised that it would be best if I use those said equipment after he disembarks on the ship and that it might brought jealousy around the people on board if I use it now. For the moment he said , there is a huge possibility that it will happen. I took his advised and will waited until "Patrick" and some of the crew disembarks on next port.



Late in the afternoon, We went on to a drill - actually its more like a shipboard familiarization to the five new crew members. As usual they (including us the old crew) were debriefed and was showed around on the safe emergency equipment onboard. The new Chief mate showed us the emergency Foam generator and generator room, as well as the CO2 room (Carbon Dioxide Room ) which its primary function is that if ever the fire gets out of control (something close to a firestorm) the last resort would be gassing out the fire and deprive it with oxygen. Last part of the Familiarization was the lifeboat operation , which 3rd mate Corales demonstrated on us on how to operate the life boat and launch it . Good thing I brought along my spy cam for the "field trip" and took videos on the familiarization drill, unfortunately for me when I check it out on my computer the aim of the spy cam is only on the body of a person and not on what I'm looking at , oh well maybe the next familiarization drill I'd fare better in getting some secret video's



In the evening I had decided to start taking Gym / weight lifting lessons from "Patrick" , after all he has a point that since being a sailor is more related to a manual / construction job , it would be best that I get some "Power" and "Strength" on my bone and muscles. After all I don't get to use my brain here and its more "Muscle" rather than thinking. On the Gym Weight lifting lesson , My performance was horrible and that I could only lift a barbell for only six repetitions out of 12 and one set of exercise out of three . Aside from that after the said gym lesson , my whole upper body (Chest and arm area) was very heavy .



"Patrick" says that its normal to be horrible at first , as time goes by my performance and strength will improve, Just patiently do my Gym every other day and Improvement will arise on the latter.



Sunday July 14, 2013



Thank God its rest day and In some ways I feel thankful that there is a rest day here on this ship. According to what I heard correctly from A.B. Mallorca, the "new" A.B. and from the "new" pump man, Some ships in CSM don't have one.



For the moment, I had already collected enough dirty gloves and decided to wash them since working gloves here on this ship are hard to come by. My washing procedure is to wipe the dirty glove (or coveralls) with anti-grease gel detergent called "Gresol jelly hand cleanser" , then put a small part of a bar of soap called "ZOTE" and if possible add a few amounts of a typical laundry detergents (just directly put these in the washing machine - don't wipe) , and wash it in a washing machine of 60 degree's Celsius of water . The results were staggering and after washing ,it showed that the grease marks and stains were permanently removed and that the gloves looked like almost brand new.



Before I discovered "Gresol" I was having difficulty removing grease stains on coveralls and Gloves as normal laundry detergents, bleach and even a standard liquid based detergent called "Tee-pol" is in effective in removing grease. I discovered it by accident when I washed my hands with Greasol , as the part of my grease riddled coveralls that was exposed to greasol showed cleared "Spots" indicating that even grease stain marks were removed. On the latter I decided to experiment and covered my grease riddled coveralls whole with Greasol and put it in a washing machine, The results went more than I hoped for and I don't have to worry about grease stains or marks ever again. Absolutely "Gre-Sol" is the wonder detergent to us against grease here on the product tanker. Unfortunately all wonders have limitation as Gresol is not intently used to wash for Coveralls and gloves (its is used meant to be used in bare naked hands only) and this ship has only a limited supply of it - as in only a box and I already used half of it by now.

Thank god there is "GRESOL" not only washes dirty oily hands but removes tough oil stains on clothes

Going back to what I did this Sunday…..



I ordered on the bond store for this day , 6 cases of mineral water, 1 case of Coca Cola soft drink and 6 PCS of TOBLERONE chocolate bars. 6 cases of water seems to be a bit exaggerated but here onboard Cape Tallin , Water is essential - as water here does not come for free for some reason and it is bought from the bond store. Good thing that I'm no longer constrained on the financial limitations of a "Deck Cadet" as my position now is "Ordinary Seaman" , and I have a bigger purchasing power compared to my earlier (disastrous) days in sailing. Good thing water comes very cheap here and I don't have to worry much about it.



"Patrick" delivered those stuff on my Cabin and we had a conversation, well he's just asking an advice on whether or not he'd repaired the Play station 3 console for his kid. I gave him an advise that it depends on him since I myself don't know about parenting and don't have kids. I said he could do a trial and error system and check out which one is best suited for his kid - I added that having a Play station 3 for his kid didn't worked out well and ended up his kid having trouble adapting socially to other people, why not try not having a Play station 3 gaming console around and see if his kid will be adapt more socially to other people - if It doesn't work out then go back to having a play station 3 around.



The rest of the day I was busy doing other stuff and repairing my working equipment. I was planning if I could put now pouch knee pads on my coveralls just like the one's I saw on Mr. Ards Jekabsons coveralls, which gave me a bright idea about it. Maybe I'd install it later , but I'd definitely put those idea's on my coveralls later on.

RULES TO REMEMBER IN WORKING AS A SEAMAN

PAki rEpOSt LaNg sA mga cAlL CeNtEr AgEnTs nA MAgSeAseAman..........

For more info , come and visit my blog memoirsofafilipinosailor.blogspot.com










Right !! since I don't have enough much time to write and I'm pretty much busy getting all the equipment I needed by now. I would just like to inform (and share) to the general public what three simple important rules that a sailor would be dealing at. Hope this will be important and that 8 to 9 months of contract can be hell if you don't remember this simple rules.



Some rules here are not socially acceptable but here onboard it is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. Nevertheless I will not be responsible if your going to use these pointers on land and received a lot of complains from neighbors about it.



1. Never trust a fellow Filipino sailor especially folks that have an ethnic origin in the "down south" if you know what I mean. Sure you might be comfortable trusting your own countrymen but chances are you don't have any idea on what horror are they capable of, and from my experience do not tell any personal sensitive information about yourself which included previous jobs you had before being a sailor, girl friends or even your family back ground to some extent - Believe me they can and will use it against you. Never tell (and share) any useful equipment that you have like medicines , food , etc that might help you in the long run. Racism and distrust is a badword on land , but here in the ship , IT'S A SOCIAL NORM. If its impossible to follow this said rule , try opting to tell half truths or lie for protection and defense. If you really want to go to the "extra mile" - be sinister , manipulative, cunning , intimidation , coercive etc use all the dirty tactics you can throw at. If you can't get your way, then learn to force your opinion down their throat (with a 10 inch BOSUN knife if necessary). Words are nice, but you don't have a whole lot of time, and it might be easier to be the bad guy occasionally to get what you want . A little badness every now and then wont hurt you too much.



2. Bring all the equipment necessary needed on your work, preferably any equipment that is used similar to a land based construction job. To give you a general idea , bring some pliers', screw driver's , pencil, measuring tape, card box cutters, pen lights, an extra hard hat (with earmuffs) , extra coverall, etc all the equipment you'd need during the course of your 8 to 9 month long stay. To simply put it and give you a better view about the situation , just think all the equipment you'd need to bring when your going to be stuck on an island, think of that scenario and you'd have the clearest idea what I'm telling



Here are the different types of equipment you should bring.



Bladed Weapons (things that hurt people)

Containers (things that hold other things to hurt people)

Clothes and gear (Things that help people not get hurt)

Medicines (things that you take)

Tools (Things that do other stuff)



3. Always Maintain Secrecy and Security. Sure being Transparent and sincere is nice , but remember chances are this isn't a land based job and mostly Filipino's (or even other people) are not that sincere and honest as what you may have earlier thought. Keep in mind that you're here on the ship to work and not on a vacation leave - were not here for world peace either, and it doesn't matter on how you do your job as long as it gets done. As much as possible try to isolate yourself from the rest and do some surveillance on the people around on how they behave and tick, keep your cabins lock always , password protect your computer etc, any thing (or any information ) that might be potentially used against you. To be prudent its best that they don't have anything against you but you a lot to use against them, In case (or at some point) diplomacy and stealth fails, use the information you have against them, throw everything but the cabin sink. Do character assassinations and character demolition jobs by spreading this information via gossips, as an added effect also on personal protection bring bladed objects with you and never go outside your cabin without any bladed weapon with you, You can forget wearing underwear but never ever forget a blade under your shorts



To combat depression from prolonged isolation please bring any multi-media equipement with you , Computers , tablets, Mp3 players , cellphone , speaker etc . even a pen and a notebook to (a diary) will be neccessary in the long run.

SHIP TO SHIP LOADING OPERATIONS IN AMSTERDAM NETHERLANDS

EVENTS HAPPENED DURING THE LOADING OPERATIONS IN AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS

July 05, 2013 Saturday to July 10, 2013 Wednesday.





Been quiet a while since I had been here although on a very different circumstances, almost been nearly 2 years since I went here and I was working on a chemical tanker ship , Now I'm here again - This time in a Crude Product Tanker.



On Friday I was waiting for the whole morning as what I latesty heard from the crew that berthing operations will be on early morning , I got up early and woke up unfortunately there was no berthing that happened that morning and it was rescheduled to be happening in the late afternoon. From what I heard on 3rd Mate Corales the Berthing mooring arrangement will be 3 : 2 : 2. Which obviously meant 3 headlines , 2 breast line and 2 spring lines. I waited for the whole morning till evening but no news came in. Until on Friday midnight BOSUN AMICAN knocked on the door of my cabin and said "its time to heave the anchor" , I knew at that moment that berthing operations will be followed soon. I hurriedly dressed up on coveralls and once I got inside I didn't realized that it was still terribly cold in Rotterdam during this time. I hurriedly came back to my cabin to get my sweaters and some wool trousers as insulation beneath my coveralls .



As the usual procedure in heaving up the anchor , the forward ship lights were lit and we removed the bar lock for the hawser so that the anchor chains can freely move , next was to switch on the switches for the winches, followed by the winch being "engaged" then unlocking it.



A few minutes came by and the order to heave the anchor was put up. I hurried went to the lever and pulled it towards me to heave up. Heaving up the anchor wasn't really that bad and just keep my eyes fixed to the BOSUN and the machinery always and pay attention to what the BOSUN is hinting. After the anchor was heaved up the anchor ball was lowered and the forward deck lights were unlit , we went to the starboard side pilot access gangway to heave up the heavy pilot ladder. An hour came by , I received an order to the radio saying that its time to wake up everyone for the mooring operation.



After everyone was woken up , the forward mooring team which includes me BOSUN AMICAN , A.B. Ronal CALDONA and 3rd Mate Corales, immediately went up to set the mooring wires . I later found out that the mooring arrangement will be 2 : 2 : 2 , Meaning that all mooring wires will be used and no loose ropes at all. Mooring operations went smoothly. That the spring lines were given first, Followed by the headline then the last was the breast lines, I had a hook with me to keep them filed and its always with me whenever I go into mooring operations. Its very important to have a hook , if the mooring equipment used on the ship are wires and not ropes , as holding and filing up the equipment using hands to the winches is dangerous when using wires. The main problem I could see whenever we use the mooring wires is that axel grease is always littered around the deck area (near the winches and leads) and that I have to remove them later on using diesel fuel , a laborious process to be honest.



Immediately after, we proceeded to setup the fire fighting equipment as standard S.O.P. procedures onboard each ship. The part I got to fix up and align was the foam monitor equipment and point it towards the port side manifold area. After that I was immediately put up as gangway watchman in the gangway and will log everyone on the ISPS Logbook that comes in and out of the ship, (More like a security guard in a check point), Immediately after an "Ship Agent" went to board the vessel along with the 5 on signers who will replace Fitter Gil, A.B. Ronald, Pump Man Nilo, Oiler Gian, and 4th Engineer Gonzales. A CSM Superintendent also went onboard , probably to delivery cash to the Captain here. A hour later Fitter Gil, A.B. Ronald, Pump Man Nilo, Oiler Gian, and 4th Engineer Gonzales disembarked on the ship and assisted them in carrying their luggage and the new joiners went immediately put up to their work. Pump man Nilo told me that he left me some spare socks to use for winter and that it may serve well on that time , He said he left the bucket in front of my cabin door containing these socks.



The sunrise was very beautiful today and when I saw it coming up , perhaps it was the most beautiful scene on this day - that after a long cold night the sun will come up to bring hope and send a message that everything will be alright.



On mid morning all of the crew were busy with the working equipment provisions that came in plus after it the mooring of an "SCF Pechora" ship (A small product tanker roughly 11,000 to 8,00 GRT ) coming alongside on the port side of this ship. They were very busy working on the huge black fenders that are to be put up on the portside, these fenders are huge black oblong shaped rubber objects the size of a human that serves as a form of cushion to keep the hulls from both ships to connecting. These types of fenders I saw today are very different from the fenders I used on my previous ship as they are very heavy and huge and only a mooring boat could delivery it from one place to another. During the ship to ship mooring operations , 4 line men from the shore ship came by to assist the crew in the mooring of the ropes , they immediately left after the mooring operations were finished.

Ship to ship mooring operations in Amsterdam netherlands with SCF Pechora ship

Next part both of the crews on the ships went to connect cargo hoses for the loading. On my end I was retained on my work up until 10 am given the urgency on both ship to ship mooring operations and Loading of working equipment provisions. After my shift I only had barely 2 hours to rest, sleep and eat a meal , after that I'm going back again to my working shift. It's not easy being a sailor and not easy also working 12 midnight till 10 am in the morning then going back 12 noon till 6pm in the evening , Anyway this is the situation I have to deal with for now.



In the afternoon during my working shift at the gangway , I heard from A.B. Patrick that a "cash advance" was already set up on the crew mess for people who want to get their hard earned money. ( Funny the term "Cash Advance" in CSM Career is not exactly a "Cash Advance" at all. ) When I came to the crew mess , Mess man Ferdinand advised me that he already filled up the form that I'm going to make a cash advance of 300 US Dollars , I replied again that I need to sign up again because I'm not borrowing 300 USD but 500 USD Instead, when I saw the cash advance form I latter found out that the CSM captain only delivery 5,000 USD and the cash advances are just limited to that amount. After getting the 500 USD , I gave the 200 USD to Mess man Ferdinand as he already request to borrow from me earlier (about a month ago) , I kept the 300 USD for personal unannounced expenses I might be doing here in Holland - Maybe even buy some needed items perhaps.



Late afternoon I was advised by A.B. Homer Mallorca , that it's about time I get my External Hard drive from the crew mess - after all he says that its my right and my own personal property and let them buy their own external hard drives if they want to watch something, My hard drive is for my personal use and not for the public to view. He added also that they have a much larger salaries compared to us and yet they could not even bother to buy one and instead uses other people's property for public use. I said to myself that Homer Mallorca has a point , and I'd get my hard drive back by midnight.



SECOND DAY OF LOADING OPERATIONS



July 07 Sunday



For some reason I was late on my watch , mostly likely because I over slept again anyway , Honestly I'm now glad that my co-worker A.B. "Patrick" is now my watch partner from 12 midnight to 4 am, Therefore we could have an endless chatter to almost everything and we could talk on more private conversation regarding our co-workers and ship related work matters. From what I heard on "Patrick" there will be six barges that will come along and load their cargo on Cape Tallin, As expected it's a ship to ship operations.



Late on my watch , when A.B. Mallorca was my watch partner at that time (4am to 6am) . When we were ordered to close the drop valve , preferably Blue and Red Drop valves, which I later found out that it was the three big valves at the bottom of the manifold area - I had no idea it was a drop valve since drop valves in chemical tankers (namely stolt and Odjefl) are very different from this one. Aside from that I did also figured out the crossover connection on were the hell it was. Experience is a good teacher indeed compared to word of mouth coming from my co-workers



On my afternoon to evening Watch, A business man came onboard and it was from sunny euro. I was thrilled that its was sunny euro and I had some items that I need to be bought with like the Swiss army knife (as permanent replacement to bosun's knife) and pelican headlight (as permanent replacement to a safety flashlight), I took an Immediate break and A.B. "Patrick" saw me run-like-the-wind as It was like I'm trying to chase a movie star for an autograph. I made my purchases to the sunny business man and he said that orders will be received after four hours. I immediately went back to my assigned station and saw "Patrick" saying that he never saw me run that fast before.

Some of the working equipment i bought on sunny euro store (website is http://portal.sunny.be) ,

During the later time of the shift A.B. Malorca and A.B. Patrick was chatting about this so called "BoothLeg" . What I do heard from them is that this booth legs is a store or probably some mall of a kind here in Amsterdam and that you get to stuff.


The Ship SCF Pechora finally finished its ship to ship loading and casted off , the next ship to arrived was a small barge roughly I think less than a few thousand gross tonnage.



THIRD DAY OF LOADING OPERATIONS

Pretty cool picture i saw in BOTLEK store , interesting really 

July 08 2013 Monday.

Captain Slabada along with the chief engineer on botlek store

Totally Screwed up on my morning shift , as I arrived late for work , well just 3 minutes late actually. The 2nd barge left this morning and now the third barge just came in to fill up the cargo, Aside from that a ship came by to berth on the other side of the berth . It was a German Tanker's owned ship named "Sea ray" , from what I heard on their Filipino watchman on board they said that the crewing was supplied by Marlow Navigation Philippines (a Manning company in the Philippines). He added also when me and A.B. Marloca talked to him that the salary of an A.B. there is 1,500 USD.



In the afternoon to evening work shift. My chat with A.B. Patrick Dondonilla urges me to take an licensure exam for sailors, saying that its not for ambition and financial reasons but for Personal protection against maltreatment from co-workers especially to fellow Filipino's because chances are some sick old bastard out there is going to challenge you every now and then. He added also that people like us are not meant for deck maintenance but are meant to command grunts on the deck.



Early in the evening , I finally got a chance to go to " Booth leg" . Serious I wasn't planning to come along but I found out on the latter that the captain and the chief engineer is going out and it would be unwise to decline their offer ,so I decided to come along. Out of my confusion and panic (since I'm not planning to go out until tomorrow with Mallorca and Patrick) I forgot to wake up Patrick, I was the whole time quiet during my visit with the "BOTLEK" store (it was spelled BOTLEK and not booth leg ) probably because I don't know how to start a conversations with the soviets. If they were British or Australian people I would have no problem starting a conversation with them since I'm well acquainted in their culture. Anyway what I did bought on BOTLEK ? Well I bought a souvenir , a multi tool pliers and a garrison belt.



In other news related to BOTLEK, I had no idea that the ship BOW OMARIA and BOW HERON pictures were posted there. It brings back the memories on my time during deck cadet years, but like I say I was casted out on my former company

These are the pictures that i saw in "BOTLEK" store in netherlands, Small world eh ?

Another picture i saw in botlek from seacap shipping

FOURTH DAY OF LOADING OPERATIONS



So far I got 160 USD on my wallet but I don't have to worry about that since the items I bought on "Botlek" store are souvenir items, proof that I had been on Amsterdam, Netherlands. For the record I nearly got late again on my watch this midnight , I was this time 5 minutes late and this is the third time in a row that I had been late.



About work related matters, well first off I had finally learned to work on how to operate the pilot access ladder. I learned on how to operate it when simply by just looking on what A.B. Mallorca does in bringing it down for the barge representative. On our late watch me, A.B. Mallorca and A.B. Patrick discussed if we are going to the "Botlek" store and but some stuff there this early morning. A.B. Mallorca wasn't sure if he'd make it , but me and "Patrick" expressed great interest in going there.



Before going to Botlek Store, I saw Patrick to be very furious over some reason , I asked what seems to be bothering and he said that it was about Chief Cook Roberto Cervantes Peneranda accusing him of draining his call credits on his sim card. "Patrick" was so furious that he slammed his cabin door in fury and said he's going to confront chief cook and call the Customer Service Representative about this one. A few minutes came by and I saw "Patrick" again and said that he slammed the chief cook and the CSR rep on the other line confirmed that there is still 10 euro's left on the sim card as opposed to what chief cook accuses him of draining the call cards.



Going back , it's a shame that "Mallorca" didn't went along but nevertheless I'm glad that when we went to the "Botlek" store I could see that "Patrick" is very happy that he got out from the ship once in a while. I could see in his eyes that he was happy, I guess he needed that relief since depression is badly affecting him onboard cape tallin , to the fact that its already manifesting in him via aggression on his personal life and relationship on his girlfriend. Besides a little dose of life civilization outside is not bad right? being onboard this tin can for many months has a suffocating effect. That is the reason why I understand some people working onboard has to go on shore leave on ever port every now and then because they have a lower threshold of the suffocating environment here. The thing I regret most about my shore leave along with "Patrick" is that we do not have enough time to go around and enjoy the surrounds , like explore the area's around "BOTLEK" store wander off, Our shore leave lasted only for about an hour and that its was only pure business that we had to buy some stuff. To be honest I think this is one of the best moments I got in cape tallin so far , that is to go out and explore the surroundings.



On my visit to "BOTLEK" I bought some AAA and AA rechargeable batteries for my working gadgets, plus an alarm clock (So I get to wake up early) and a small Flask (one used for drinking liquor ). I had regrets not buying the gloves (leather and chemical) for I need it badly onboard, maybe on the port I'd get to buy some along with the Rambo knife.



For some reason my cabin is locked without my knowledge and the worse part the keys are inside it , I don't know what's going on but its highly impossible for me to "Lock" myself out on my cabin without my keys. Could have someone searched my cabin and looked for evidence ???

Rechargeable batteries i bought in "BOTLEK" both AAA and double AA batteries

I bought in an alarm clock and a a liquid flask as well

The botlek service van 

FIFTH DAY OF LOADING OPERATIONS



This morning is the most busy morning I had for quiet a while , First off there were a lot of people going in and out of the ship , So I was basically busy writing a lot on the log book and radio to the CCR that this person has arrived .Another thing is that I get to operate the cargo crane given that the deck area was short handed at that time , to make matters even busy the ship will cast off by afternoon.



On the morning I was momentarily delay and nearly got into trouble with the two surveyors as they refused to help me out get a cargo sample , One of the surveyors said "I should get it myself" - BASTARD SICK OLD FUCK, would I be asking they're help if I could do it myself , those bastard Dutch bitches better get they're act cleaned because its their job getting cargo samples.



At the crew mess there was a number posted there at the white board , apparently a cell phone number from the Philippines. According to what I heard from the crew this number was used in calling the IMMARSAT communications and from the looks of it was the call cost about a few hundred dollars since its 4 USD per minute and the call lasted for 25 minutes , I wonder who's number is it ? Some rumors say again that this was from "Patrick" but hell I don't believe it and I think he's not capable of doing such a thing.



Before unmooring operations , I was approached by BOSUN AMICAN and told me that I should be careful on my emails (probably Blogging) and that there is one incident that O.S. Hall read them and distributed it to the crew mess behind my back. He told me that I should be very careful and that I am stirring trouble between the rift of Patrick and rest of the crew.



I do understand that BOSUN AMICANS concern about this issue and I said to them that if they have any problems with me then they're free to file in a report to the chief mate and I'd face the accusations , heck they could even file it to Captain Galang and see what he will say about this issue. BOSUN AMICAN told me that I should be careful not to stir up trouble as it could hurt my career here, and that we should settle this before it before it gets up to the chief mate and captain..



First off , I'm not stirring trouble and the trouble they created on "Patrick" is already long there before I arrived here onboard, Now "Patrick" is really pissed off and seeks vengeance on what they done, Now they're putting the blame on me for something I wrote on my blog so that they can escape the responsibility of starting trouble with "Patrick" and even accuses me of being a gossiper , WHAT THE FUCK !!! . Yeah these is the kind of Filipino sailors we are currently living at onboard , a true example of how ill mannered they are , they have the guts to start trouble and yet don't have the balls in taking responsibility on the trouble they make - They have a lot to answer for to "Patrick" and they knew they had it coming.



Mooring operations went smoothly as expected with the new crew and Messman Ferdinand help out also.

CALM BEFORE THE STORM

Immediately after Cape Tallin Departed, the whole deck crew was put in securing all mooring ropes in the BOSUN Store area and Steering Gear Room. It took us the whole day for the ropes to be finally secured. Aside from that we also lashed the Anchors and secured a few remaining safety equipments like life rings, scupper plugs and such. My thumb was also badly injured during the lashings put up in the anchor chains, it was only minor though.



On Saturday, I was busy cleaning the whole upper deck level of the accommodation area. Apparently the new chief mate noticed that the whole level was littered with dirt marks of shoes and told the BOSUN , The BOSUN of course ordered me to clean the whole floor area. Late afternoon I heard from A.B. Patrick Dondonilla that the loading operations in Rotterdam will be ship to ship and that there will be five to six barge that will be loading crude oil to this ship. Unfortunately for me I don't really have much experience in ship to ship operations as mostly (and a majority)of my previous ships berth at port.



Sunday was pretty much quiet since there is no work at all , spent much time repairing and scavenging for supplies. I did visit A.B. "Patrick" on his cabin given the fact that satellite email hasn't transmitted / downloaded emails yet, just to keep him company and see how's he's doing. On my chat with him on his cabin , I found out that working supplies here on this ship hasn't been issued yet (or not issued at all) for months now. He said that even some of our co - workers are begging for supplies to the engine department or even from dock workers just to get a clean set of gloves. I have no idea why this is happening on Cape Tallin, but A.B. "Patrick" suggested that it maybe due to poor management of CSM Cyprus on its crew and ships or Poor Management from Career Philippines, mine on the other hand surmise that it maybe the Russian Chief mate or The Russian Captain that's hoarding off the money for supplies. My backer here Captain Betts suggested on the email that if we don't have supplies , it might be the Chief Mates fault that were not receiving any supplies at all. Anyway the trails leads to different paths why were not receiving supplies here, I may find out on the latter. For now I might be busy doing the triple S work tactic , that is SCAVENGE, SALVAGE and STOCKPILE.



On Monday I was busy degreasing stains marks on winches left and there were a lot did finished it though in at least half a day. I did found out one thing about career that cash advance is not exactly cash advance at all, it only simply means that "I-WANT-MY-HARD-EARNED-MONEY-CAUSE-IM-GOING-TO-BUY-SOMETHING" . Honestly I'm not happy about this knowing that this was the way on the monetary system, Its more like working for points rather than cold hard cash and if I'm planning to buy something say like an electronic goods whenever I'm in Holland or in America I have to plan in advance for it , plus it all depends if there will be a "CASH ADVANCE" available onboard. I think my previous company is much better in a lot of aspects and this also includes the money part since they let us handle the hard earned USD.



On Tuesday in preparation of the upcoming berthing operations in Amsterdam Holland, The deck crew including me pulled out mooring ropes from the BOSUN'S store and Steering Gear room , if I recalled correct we pulled out at least three loose ropes and 2 small other loose ropes probably for the ship to ship berth. On the aft side if I recall we pulled at least 3 loose ropes also. Aside from the preparations we made this ship also anchored on the nearby anchorage area , from what I heard its at least 8 shackles of anchor chain were paid off on the water.



For the rest of the day I was busy scavenging and repairing working supplies, namely leather gauntlet gloves and cotton gloves , did also some work on repairing my safety helmet and inserted a garter to keep the goggles in place.



On Wednesday. Me and O.S. Hall manage to paint the kentel shackle of the anchor chain despite poor weather and light rain, We just put a plastic canvass over it just to make sure that the rain doesn't mess up the paint plus the painted we used was for inside cargo so I guess the paint will be tough against the weather.



In the afternoon me and BOSUN AMICAN, was busy putting the old cargo valves to the deck store, to be specific its was cargo valve yellow (a.k.a cargo valve no.02) and Blue Cargo Valve (a.k.a cargo valve no.03) was a very heavy valve and we had to use a chain block to move it only on a few feet , later since me and the BOSUN could not move the said valves , some of the crew came in to help us out namely and arranged the valves.

DISCHARGE OPERATION IN MOHAMEDIA MOROCCO

"DISCHARGE OPERATION IN MOHAMEDIA MOROCCO "

JUNE 26th and 28th 2013,

Morocco, Mohamedia

Position North 33 degrees 47 minutes, East 7 degrees 22.5 minutes



This ship has already been at anchor for more than a week now and finally from what I heard on the news is that the ship will be berthing soon by tomorrow at 1500 HRS (3pm), and of course I'm going to do again the dreaded mooring again, Seriously I don't mind doing the rope type of mooring and I had already mastered it way back in Bow Ophelia, Unfortunately Cable types are a bit heavy on my part and I cannot (or having difficulty) carry it single handedly. Aside from that of all the work here onboard a ship the thing I most dislike at is the mooring operations, I fare well in unmooring and all other things except that.



During the past few days I had been occupied in talking to A.B. "Patrick" during anchor watch, Nothing really significant but based on what I heard from him is that he's having terrible relationship problems. Aside from talking to his personal life, he describes about how the folks inside Cape Tallin have been treating him. He says that not everything I heard about him is correct.



On Tuesday, I had received word that the Pilot will arrived at Wednesday 0530 in the morning and berthing will be followed soon. Supposedly it was scheduled on Tuesday but was cancelled in the morning due to poor visibility related to fog. We immediately made preparations for berthing.



The mooring arrangement from what I heard was 4.2.4 which meant 4 headlines, 2 breast lines, and 4 spring lines and the spring line will be the wires. The spring lines were deployed without any problems and with smooth operation, However after that things made a wrong turn when. The problem started when the captain radioed in and asked what's taking 3rd mate German Corales, The third mate feeling pressured then shouted at us to hurry up and specifically shouted at me numerous times. This of course caused me to be furious as I didn't like being shouted at. I could have shouted back at the third mate but given the circumstance never got the chance to show them that I fight back. Anyway to make the story short, everybody saw me very furious over the shouting incident. BOSUN AMICAN, A.B. "Ronald", Oiler "Donald" , Pump man "Nilo" everyone at the mooring team "forward" saw me and cursing and slamming the equipment . Everyone knew my rage. My body was filled with extra energy from the adrenaline of fury , and I was just only waiting for 3rd mate to make a wrong move , so I have a justification to unleash my fury on him - never really liked people shouting at me.



When I went to the mid ship part of the ship to assist O.S. Hall , everybody saw that my eyes was filled with rage and fury over the incident. At that moment I couldn't feel fatigue or hunger , I could go on a long way without eating. The Moroccan's came in at the gangway in large numbers. From my estimate they arrive in more than 10 on the gangway and most of them carry some sort of bag (even plastic bags), probably meant to carry



I was very furious that I didn't notice that I was talking with A.B. "Patrick" publicly but hell I care, I was burning with rage. After that I realized on my watch that I only barely got an hour of rest then be back again for work, to immediately cool my body off I went with haste to take a shower and afterwards to counter the negative effects of stress from the immediate "Cooling" I took in a cocktail of meds like Centrum Vitamin, 2 tablets of Vitamin C, a Tablet of B complex, a tablet of Vitamin E. a tablet of mefenamic acid and a tablet of amoxicillin antibiotics.



At my duty station which is the gangway I was approached by one of the watchmen on the shore side and said if I like an internet connection, I said I do however I don't have any money yet as this ship hasn't given us yet any salary at all. He said if I got anything to trade at all like spare coverall's , winter Jackets or even safety shoes. Unfortunately I don't have it also as CSM (career ship management) only issues menial supplies to its crew . So anyway it means that I don't get to have an internet connection even if I wanted to and I declined the offer. By the way for the record, I had been here more than a month now and I haven't been supplied yet on any working equipment at all (cotton glove, leather gloves, chemical gloves) and most of the equipment I had been using are salvaged or repaired equipment that was left laying around. Some times I get to think that that CSM does this to the crew intentionally.



After my working shift I finally got to rest and get something decent to eat then slept for only 2 hours, Honestly I can't imagine myself working that straight from 1 am early morning till 11am near noon then going back to 12 noon till 6 pm . On dinner I was approached by Mess man Ferdinand Penera and said if he could borrow my PC so he can use it for internet, I said it wont be a problem. At 9Pm I gave him my PC, then resumed again in making preparations for my work shift which is 12 midnight to 6 in the morning.



On my midnight to morning shift, I was surprised to see that my co-worker on the deck watch wasn't A.B. Homer Mallorca but A.B. Ronald Caldona. Apparently there was a change of work shift when I recalled and for the 12 midnight till 4 am work shift , "Ronald" will be my the one whom I'm going to work along side and the remaining 2 hours of my shift will be A.B. "Patrick" . Quiet honestly I didn't like what "Ronald" said on his comments about what happened during the mooring operation , Hell fuck he's saying that "It was for the better that third mate shouted on me, and it was my own good" he added also that its about time third shouted at me and he couldn't see any initiative on my work" , initiative !??? Well who the fuck he is to say that being shouted at was for my own good ? I don't need lectures and I'm old enough to decide what's best for me - besides what make's him think third mate's bad mouthing is right ? If third mate Corales wants' to teach me a few facts in work - then he can start by not shouting at me, otherwise I would only think that this bastard is taking advantage on his rank by pushing people around - and Its not going happened that I'd be maltreated again ,not now not ever ! and NOT ON MY WATCH ! . Aside from that I'm not even asking for his own opinion about it, problem with "Ronald" is that just because he has a lot more of an experience on work and has a position of an A.B. he thinks he's high and mighty and self righteous . What ever "Ronald" says doesn't change my mind (and the fact) that Third mate Corales has a bitchy attitude, "Ronald" can say what he wants to say - I don't give a fuck about it, As a result on my dislike in "Ronald" I gave him a nasty look and ignored him. On my remaining two hours on my shift I had a chat with "Patrick" and said told him my advice, that on his next ship he should set his mind and be mentally prepared on the rigors of working on a ship.



After my working shift I finally got a chance to get my hands on to the internet and verify a few things, I immediately went to mess man "Ferdinand's" cabin to get my hands on my PC and to log on to face book. I left a message there to anyone who would contact me via email, and at the same time check out if my entries here goes thru my blog. On what I found out my FB status updates aren't going thru on the email , but for the blog thing - I'm sure as hell happy that all my blog entries are being publish.



On 8am I was already finished in checking my online agenda's and decided to give the USB modem to BOSUN AMICAN, I went to my cabin and took a good nap until 11am. The next work duty I had on 12 noon till 6pm, As usual I was with A.B. "Ronald" , me guarding the gangway and him checking the mooring ropes and see if they are all well secured from the swell. BOSUN AMICAN informed me that A.B. "Ronald" will be extending his watch duties as O.S. Hall and A.B. "Patrick" went to the hospital. Apparently O.S. Hall had some sort of stomach trouble while "Patrick" is going to see the dentist to have a tooth extraction. Personally I'm not in the mood to talk to "Ronald" over his comments yesterday and I try to ignore him and stay away as much as possible, At around late 5pm O.S. Hall and A.B. "Patrick" went onboard from the hospital. A few minutes later a small boat came in on the port side of the side to bring provisions , Immediately almost all the crew went to the Port side accommodation area to help out and bring in the provisions needed. It was about 6pm when I came there to help out.



When I woke up on the midnight go back to work , I saw O.S. Hall with A.B. Mallorca opening a few pipes , I approached them and found out it was the marpol cargo line and they were stripping the cargo hold. O.S. Hall said to me that a few hours from now were going to depart from Morocco and head off to Holland so I better secure all the equipment which includes fire extinguishers , fire hoses , SOPEP equipment and put them all in the SOPEP storage room located in starboard side mid ship area . He also informed me also that we now have a new chief mate and 2nd engineer onboard and that Mr. Ards (2nd Engineer) and Mr. Gocha (Chief mate) has disembarked.



During the disconnection of the cargo hose, Pump man "Nilo" ordered me to grab the tiger rope and free it from the rest of the wire. I did untangle the said tiger rope but unfortunately I didn't realize that it was not tied at all and it all went down to the bottom of the sea. Pump Man's face was obviously furious about what happened.



A few minutes later during the departure part Pump Man was again furious at me and even shouted "Hey ! What captain is saying to you on the radio is that if there is still anyone left inside the ship , not the ID's !!! " , As what I said earlier I didn't like the tone of his voice and never like being shouted at but for now I don't have the time to deal with him as am pre occupied on other matters, given the situation that I could not confirm if one watchman logged out , the New Chief Mate immediately ordered to conduct a stowaway search.



To add more to my annoyance not only was Pump man "NILO" was bitchy but , so is A.B. "Ronald" saying that I should have woke up the rest of the crew members in preparation for the departure. Well if I heard from the radio correct it was "Ronald" who was ordered to wake everyone up and I'm a bit busy securing all the equipment , BASTARDS !!! I'm glad these two will be disposed soon when this ship arrives in Rotterdam , Netherlands.



Unmooring operations went along fine and without any problems, it was obvious that I'm still ignoring 3rd Mate, I don't give a fuck about him whether he shout's at me or not.