Now Ye're Talking - To A Merchant Navy Officer

Omackeral

fred funk }{ wrote: »

What is the one item of food and drink you miss the most when at sea?

I hope he says fish...and water.

I'm A Merchant Navy Officer AMA

Orim wrote: »

I assume this is just down to the greater numbers on a cruise ship? Or are they secret death traps?

I remember reading, in a fictional story, about Navies and the Merchant Navy not getting on. Navy looking down on the Merchant Navy and Merchant Navy thinking the Navy are stuck up, kind of thing. Any truth in this or does everyone just get on with things.

They're not death traps but when you have over a thousand people onboard with an average age of 70 and all the excitement of a cruise it's inevitable.

From my side I don't think the navy are stuck up. They probably do look down on us a bit but really the jobs are very different. We have almost no interaction with them. It's kind of like when you see the army when they're moving money from a bank. You just stay out of the way and carry on with your day. The US coast guard can be very annoying. They love doing inspections on foreign ships and calling you on the radio sometimes I feel just to hear their own voice. Having said that if your in someone else's country they have the right to defend it from unsafe ships.

I'm A Merchant Navy Officer AMA

TommyOM wrote: »

Tell us more about the ones you wouldn't sail with again

Thank you for responding.

Ah nothing major really. Just very authoritarian captains. Screaming out you for no reason. It creates a horrible atmosphere onboard. I like easy going professional crew. A three month contract with crew you get on with is a pleasure. 3 months with people you don't like can be hell.

I'm A Merchant Navy Officer AMA

the nikkei is rising wrote: »

What happens in a mutiny situation? I assume there's a lot more crew on board than officers and with the natural divide I imagine things can become heated from time to time.

The days of mutinys are pretty much gone. They would have been caused in the past by problems with wages or lack of food (or drink) or deaths onboard. The crew do out number the officers but not by much anymore. On my last ship there was 9 officers, 2 cadet's and 10 crew. Most issue are dealt with onboard like they would be in an office. I've never experienced a mutiny and would be shocked if one occurred. Things can get heated but usually they would just bitch about you but never to your face. We have a dispute procedure in place to sort out any issues.

I'm A Merchant Navy Officer AMA

John_Rambo wrote: »

Amazing, can't believe the responsibilities on your shoulders. They obviously don't/can't release you from college half baked. The failure rate is probably pretty high... and then there's years of experience.

Has anyone ever asked you to "bring us back a parrot"? (Dublin thing) Does anyone have a pet on board? Ships cat, dog, parrot? Is it true there's nothing like sailing in to your home port?

Sorry, this is getting very cliched now.

And thanks for the new years harmony by the way. Always the highlight of our 12 midnight hearing you lot blast.

35 started in my class and 11 received their licence at the end so yeah the failure rate is high. To be fair most would finish first year but would not like being at sea in second year so quit. You can't know if you'll like it until you go to sea. It would be a good idea if you could go to sea for amonth before you start college but it's not realistically possible.

No pets are allowed onboard. You cant bring plants and pets into different countries as you please. Customs would have a field day. To be honest with the risk a rabies and other diseases it's fair enough.

dbrunson

HI , great thread and thks a mill for all the answers, just wondering any idea how would someone get a job as ships cook?

I'm A Merchant Navy Officer AMA

fred funk }{ wrote: »

What is the one item of food and drink you miss the most when at sea?

Probably a hot chicken roll. And most definitely fresh irish milk. I can't stand that long life stuff

I'm A Merchant Navy Officer AMA

dbrunson wrote: »

HI , great thread and thks a mill for all the answers, just wondering any idea how would someone get a job as ships cook?

Not sure. I doubt you'd get a job on a cargo ship. A cruise ship would be your best bet. I don't have any experience with cruise ships and the catering department but if you looked on cruise companys career's pages it would tell you what they're looking for.

_Tombstone_

I'm A Merchant Navy Officer AMA wrote: »

No problem. That's a shame you can glasses or laser for poor vision but colour vision is a killer.

Soon, Researchers might finally have a fix for the color blind

Terrontress

Does your rank extend beyond your ship? Do ratings from other ships refer to you as 'sir' and could you issue an order to them?

tricky D

I'm A Merchant Navy Officer AMA wrote: »

Yeah that is still common. Crossing the line (the equator) is the big one. Usually it's a bbq with a bit of hazing. Depends on the crew really. If the new guy is a messer he'll lose his eyebrows. If he's quiet probably just a bag of flour over his head or something. normally the cadet's get the worst hazing because their not officers yet and the crew have a little go at them while they still can.

Do you do the full Court of Neptune thing?

Any Golden Rivet or variants tales?

cerastes

I'm A Merchant Navy Officer AMA wrote: »

Yes I did. I enjoyed my time there. Ringaskiddy is no great shakes so if I was to go there again I would live in the city and drive out. The college itself is only ten years old so it's one of the most modern in Europe. When it comes to all things marine in this country we usually copy whatever the Brits do and slap a harp on it. The college is well respected around the world. Chevron now do all their training there. You do one year in college, second year at sea and then your final year back in college. The engineers do four years in total and only six months a sea. Most cadets will be sponsored by a company from the end of first year (May) until they finish and get their licence.

What age did you start at? When's too old to start do you think?

I see rogue waves were mentioned, is there any superstition about mentioning things like that? While I imagine a high profile sinking at sea of a large ship are less likely to occur with advances in technology, I'd have thought plenty still happen and for better or worse probably go unmentioned. Particulalrily in the west if there is no western connection.
Is there ever any discussion of what did or might have gone wrong from the perspective of professional opinion or by way of learning from incidents to prevent recurrences? Are examples of this ever used? MV Derbyshire?

Terrontress

Also, you mention the times which you're on duty. As you'll be crossing time zones and the IDL, do you use the one time for the entire journey?

I'm A Merchant Navy Officer AMA

Terrontress wrote: »

Does your rank extend beyond your ship? Do ratings from other ships refer to you as 'sir' and could you issue an order to them?

Nope. I never interact with crews from other ships except sometimes on the radio during collision avoidance.

I'm A Merchant Navy Officer AMA

cerastes wrote: »

What age did you start at? When's too old to start do you think?

I see rogue waves were mentioned, is there any superstition about mentioning things like that? While I imagine a high profile sinking at sea of a large ship are less likely to occur with advances in technology, I'd have thought plenty still happen and for better or worse probably go unmentioned. Particulalrily in the west if there is no western connection.
Is there ever any discussion of what did or might have gone wrong from the perspective of professional opinion or by way of learning from incidents to prevent recurrences? Are examples of this ever used? MV Derbyshire?

I started straight out of leaving cert so at 18. As to too old I wouldn't start after 35 unless you have no comitments at home.

Your not meant to whistle onboard. It said that your whistling up a storm.

Bulk carriers are most vulnerable to sinking. Some cargoes they carry can have a high moisture content and with the vibration of a ship at sea the cargo turns to liquid by a process called liquifaction. Once a cargo turns to liquid it will shift in heavy weather and has a devistating effect on the vessel's stability. Not enough has been done to test the cargo before it is loaded but new regulations are being implemented soon. Shipping has a habit of being reactive rather than proactive. It took the titanic to give us solas (the maritime safety cornerstone) the herald of free enterprise to make safety management mandatory and recently the Costa concordia to show more failings in the passenger industry. So yes, accidents focus the minds of the industry and force them to change to better practices.

I'm A Merchant Navy Officer AMA

Terrontress wrote: »

Also, you mention the times which you're on duty. As you'll be crossing time zones and the IDL, do you use the one time for the entire journey?

We keep local time. So if we crossed the Atlantic to America and had to cross six time zones in twelve days we would change the clocks at 0200 every second day. We try to have ships noon as close to local noon as possible.

stop animal cruelty

I'm A Merchant Navy Officer AMA wrote:

Piracy is an issue. Somalia is calming down but west Africa and now the Singapore straits are becoming a real problem. I would have no problem sailing a yacht around the world. I mean yachts do get attacked but to be honest their now to small fry.

What kind of person would be ideal for this kind of work?

I'd imagine wages are pretty good??

John_D80

I'm A Merchant Navy Officer AMA wrote: »

Your not meant to whistle onboard. It said that your whistling up a storm.

Is it fair to say that even today, sailors are a superstitious bunch?

Any other unusual superstitions??

J Mysterio

Do you blow out candles?

rosie16

Are you superstitious? Has anything unnerving/weird ever happened at sea, that you just couldn't put your finger on. Are there parts of world (ocean) that you got a bad vibe from? Or is it all just urban myth, load of crock ...

beertons

What's your most/least favourite port to go into?

fred funk }{

Ever see anything really unusual floating in the sea?

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy

Are you familiar with Seaman Staines? Roger the cabin boy?

John_Rambo

The Cunning Linguist wrote: »

Are you familiar with Seaman Staines? Roger the cabin boy?

Thread is getting silly. Back on course anyone? Not surprised at the drop out rate in college only after reading your posts here. Fascinating stuff.

I'm A Merchant Navy Officer AMA wrote: »

Bulk carriers are most vulnerable to sinking. Some cargoes they carry can have a high moisture content and with the vibration of a ship at sea the cargo turns to liquid by a process called liquifaction. Once a cargo turns to liquid it will shift in heavy weather and has a devistating effect on the vessel's stability

So, it's like carrying water slopping port and starboard, for and aft? (I presume you use this terminology)

1 - Do you jettison in this case?

2 - Much wildlife interaction? Do you have migratory exhausted birds landing on board? Have you hit a whale? Seen breachings or big dolphin schools? (I see dolphins when sailing, so it's probably like seeing pigeons in a city to you).

3 - Have you hit ocean debris, containers floating a few inches under water? Abandoned trawler nets in the prop? I know it can be a problem for sailing boats, just speed bumps to big ships?

4 - Do you often have to react to maydays or pan-pans?

5 - Have you come across migrant boats?

Thanks.

silverfeather

Are your weather prediction capabilities better than met Eireann? And what can you tell us about that and the methods you use? :-)

enda1

Is smuggling still a big thing in the merchant navy?
I'd a colleague who started out his career in the German merchant navy and he said that every boat he was on, smuggling was part and parcel of the operation and a nice bit of extra cash. (This is alcohol and tobacco now I'm talking about, not illegal drugs!)

This might be a hard question to answer for obvious reasons, but maybe you've heard that it is still commonplace?

I'm A Merchant Navy Officer AMA

John_D80 wrote: »

Is it fair to say that even today, sailors are a superstitious bunch?

Any other unusual superstitions??

Probably more than most people ashore. I find it's more the older guys onboard from poorer countries. Personally I don't feel superstitious. I feel unlucky some times.

I'm A Merchant Navy Officer AMA

rosie16 wrote: »

Are you superstitious? Has anything unnerving/weird ever happened at sea, that you just couldn't put your finger on. Are there parts of world (ocean) that you got a bad vibe from? Or is it all just urban myth, load of crock ...

I'm not really. One time in the middle of the pacific ocean I saw the magnetic compass spin round and around for no reason. It stopped after a few minutes and never happened again. I checked the chart to see if there were any local magnetic anomalies in the area but there was nothing. Not too creepy really but certainly unexplained.

uptherebels

Have you ever been under quarantine? Had the wrong cargo placed on board that caused problems? Or had to jettison cargo? Is cargo insured for this or is the captain held liable if it did occur?

I'm A Merchant Navy Officer AMA

beertons wrote: »

What's your most/least favourite port to go into?

I can't stand baton rouge. Going up that damn river is nightmare. I always think it will never end.