All at Sea - The Navigator Issue 10
I am currently sailing as a third officer onboard the bulk carrier, MV Federal Tambo. I have been sailing with the company for about six years now. A positive point about bulk carriers is that you get to see the world. Longer port stays help us get to know much more about the country we are in. Our last port was Ghent in Belgium and we are currently heading to Mombasa in Kenya.
Croydyn D’Cruz
Third Officer
I work as an ordinary seaman onboard MV WMS Groningen, MarDimond Shipping, and have my third mate certificate. I am very pleased that there are people out there who appreciate our work at sea!
Denys Snigyrov
Third Mate
Keeping yourself up-to-date and checking things regularly and diligently are key to safe operations onboard. Knowledge alone is not enough; doing the maintenance work is also important. Many people cannot locate the filters on the air line to the foghorn. Let’s have a picture of someone cleaning them in the next issue of The Navigator, or carrying out maintenance on gangways. When a contractor comes to service the elevators, we should learn from him.
Mahendra Singh
hief Engineer
I am working as a navigator on container feeders, currently as a Second Officer on the Antigua & Barbuda-flagged ship, Karin Schepers, owned by Heinrich Schepers Schiffahrt. Each issue of The Navigator is an additional step in my personal development. It fills me with the desire to seek new knowledge to prove that you can keep your brain well-oiled, have responsibility for other people and become well-experienced as a nautical mate. I sincerely hope that more and more young navigators will become interested in self-development, not just in the money they can earn.
Andrei Sharpilo
Second Officer
Given the title of the main article, and The Navigator’s own tagline “Inspiring professionalism”, we were a bit shocked to see ten people on a steep gangway with no safety net rigged on the front cover of issue No. 9 of The Navigator. This is a welldocumented issue, and The Nautical Institute itself has numerous articles and publications written about the issue. This is a fairly shocking oversight in a publication promoting professionalism in the industry. Perhaps next issue you would consider an article on gangway safety?
Capt. C Fayrair
Editor’s note: Capt. Fayrair is correct to point out the danger of overloading the gangway. The photo was intended as an illustration of a concept; not as a recommendation of practice!
Professional development is a continuous process. I have seen two different generations of professionals during my service at sea. Type1: When I was a cadet and junior officer - a generation without much knowledge of automation or electronic equipment. Basic knowledge and principles were sound. Type2: When I became a Master - a new generation of officers, more into electronic appliances, relying too much on electronic navigational equipment.
The basic cause of most of accidents is human failure - in many cases, the failure to understand equipment errors. Accident case studies, discussions, near miss reports etc. are free learning tools that help us learn from the mistakes of others. We should all keep our eyes and ears open.
Capt.Thomas Mattathil