LOG ENTRY NOVEMBER 16, 2017 Thursday
Location: Incheon, South Korea
After the
long hurdle I went thru just to be here, I am now having second doubts about
staying here on this company on a long term basis. As much as the demonstration
of generosity shown while I was back in the Philippines., there is a grim
reality and a "Dark side" on the UPL - Shell company and it only gets
revealed on the last minute (or first few minutes onboard). I'd start first on
my situation
I was right
on my earlier suspicion (or theory) during induction seminar in the
philipppines. Turns out The main reason why UPL Shell was "mass
hiring" Ordinary Seaman position was the fact that most existing O.S.
personnel they have already left on numerous reasons - ranging from work
related thermal stress (due to the fact that the company is operating middle
east to Asia) , down to certain weird strict policies imposed, some of which
are very ridiculous and only being said for the ruse of "safety". If
any by chance an unsuspecting sailor get caught up unintentionally ., there is
a possibility that the sailor will be fired from the job over a minor and
trivial reason. Bottom line there is no such thing as job security over exaggerated
strict "safety" policies. Despite they advertise (or I am told) that
ratings here have more democratic say when it comes to work, It always comes
down to their rule "if you have a problem with our safety (exaggerated)
practices, then you should find another company to work with" . Meaning
it's not exactly a democratic process
So as a
result on the exodus of their ratings was mass, so huge that they were hiring
folks on that are almost utterly under qualified or even not qualified at all.
On my
situation., there was a significant misinformation being told on new hires like
me. I was never told that I was signing up on a "maintenance riding
crew" and what even appears on my contract was a regular Ordinary Seaman
position. Absolutely no one told me what I was exactly doing and only found out
a few minutes went I stepped here on this ship.
Now that
I'm a riding crew , its means that I'm currently a temporary crew member doing
a specific difficult task which means , as I found out that id be actively here
until "Dry docking" of this ship is finished. Whatever the case the
whole plot is reveal why I was hired here. The only good or positive part about
UPL-Shell is that the contracts are short which is relatively six months and if
by chance I encounter any problems whatsoever - it will be very easy to correct
and remedy with.
Also just
to add, situation here is not as "full package" as advertised or in
some case misleading. Supplies here are not apparently plentiful as what they
mentioned during induction., what I saw first is that the menu and food
supplies are no different from any tankers I had been previous with , be it
chemical , product or this a gas tanker.
In regards
to working culture here , the culture is not as lenient as what I experienced
on before. Working schedules here are very long, as matter of fact almost every
day here is a working day. Weekdays work here starts as early as 7.25 am (for
the tool box meeting) and goes as far as 6pm based on what I heard. On weekdays
, there is still work being conducted - Saturdays work is 8am to 5pm , while on
Sundays is considered half day work. I should take note that this is the moment
working schedule and will most likely be a lot worst (and hectic) as dry dock
arrives by February or march.
Onboard
internet here in Shell / Nakilat is somewhat limited and has only a cap of 4GB
and an allowance of 2GB per two weeks. Although its quiet big even to be
noticed ., it doesn’t mean that it allows access all the time the only fair
treatment here is that at least it's free.
So overall
to end my entry ., I have solved the riddle on why UPL-Shell is mass hiring
Ordinary Seaman positions. They're were not hiring because they bought new
ships , and they were hiring on the fact that most existing O.S. they have
left. So it proves my theory that they
were mass hiring because they were mass firing on the other side., and I assume
that they are fire people and use the scape goat excuse of "failing"
safety policies
