Kumbalangi Nights

Shaiju Khalid's camera work makes its mark in the opening shot as it pans down to the football ground where Franky is playing with his friends. That evening as the kids in the hostel go to sleep, we learn of Franky's reluctance to take his friends home.
We know why when we get introduced to what I think is a character in the movie - the house. Frankys' revulsion as he gets back to his house which has apparently been neglected while he was away shows as he finds a cigarette butt and then washes the house down. He prepares a meal for people we slowly get introduced to - his brothers, 3 of them. The relationship between the brothers remain a little hazy till the second half of the movie. Whatever be the relationship, we know that their life is pathetic and their house is the "worst in the panchayat". While Saji and Bobby don't seem to share any special equation with Franky, Boney does. 
They don't seem to have anything going for them-unemployed with no real means to a good life. They are so despondent,that they don't even seem to aspire for a better quality of life, unlike the youngest one who has a better chance at a better life having a scholarship to see him through school. This even incites a sense of jealousy in Bobby and Saji.
After we get to know this band of brothers and thier depressing house, we see the self proclaimed " Raymond, the complete man". He takes really good care of his moustache that is his pride. His sign of masculinity.Fahad Fahsil is sinister as Shammy and his deliberate attempts to be polite adds to it. Sushin's background score adds to the change in Fahad's expression as it changes from a polite to quietly threatening. With Fahad's character, we see an entitled patriarch who finds it perfectly alright to control the women in the family and insist on hearing their secrets and all the while being the "provider". Before we see Shammy, we are introduced to another character who is probably the least sketched out - the barber. His role seems to be that of the one character who reinfoces Shammy's character. 

As the movie takes us through the characters and their lives, it seems to be making a contradiction between men as they are and as they appear to be - specially in relation to women. 

We aee beautiful women characters in the movie - each one of them well etched and effectively potrayed. None of them are weak. Shammy's mother in law from an earlier generation carries some of the baggage of having lived in a patriarchy after having lost her husband early and having to bring up two girls, the eldest of whom is the 'complete man'. Apearing suave and neat, he makes the safety of the women in the house a burden on his shoulders. The burden he likes to espouse whenever he gets a chance. He directs how they eat and what they watch. He literally controls the women and when they put up some resistance to his male ego, he uses muscle power and ruthlessly ties them up. He literally ties them up showing how a man can and does use his physical power to tie a woman's liberties.

Our complete man seems the perferxt kind who goes to work and returns home. He doesn't smoke or drink or galavant. As opposed to this one complete man, the movie has other imperfect ones. They have no jobs, aren't educated and appears to be the smoking drinking kind that loiter around doing nothing. They can't even seem to be civil with each other getting at each others throats when they can. Saji's ego is hurt and in a twist of fate, as he tries to end his life, he ends up killing someone who he had taken under wings and nurtured. This man cries. He accepts he has mental issues. He smokes. He drinks. He breaks down. And then he stands. He gathers strength and picks up the pieces many of which he broke himself. He pulls himself together and also takes the woman whose husband died trying to save him, home. 

And while this happens, his two younger brothers find their women too. Baby, who is in love with Bobby stood up to the complete man when he tried to dictate terms of her life. And this called upon the imperfect men who just found out that they cared for each other to bond and fight the idea of perfection. They fight him ingeniously and wrap him in a fishing net. They liberate the women he was so vaingloriously trying to protect. 

The movie ends with the men and the women they care for being happy. No one judging another. The idea of the perfect man broken down and laid straight.The perfect man has nothing to do with that perfect moustache. 

Not the right time for a #CareeratSea

I haven’t lost my love for sea. Seafaring is a wonderful career; but at the right time. Where else can one pass just high school and allow the career to take you places. You could head a shipping firm, become a maritime lawyer, take up commercial shipping, become a broker, take up insurance, become an inspector, join the government……….And best of all, satiate your entrepreneurial urges. It is a wonderful career; but at the right time. 

I fear the ‪#‎CareeratSea‬ slogan for the Day of the Seafarer maybe misplaced. Or mistimed!

I watched the Video that IMO has released. The video begins with a young man at his computer desk as he pushes files. He hears the Ship’s whistle blow and peers out of the window to see the world of shipping. He chose to ignore it. It could have been his life had he chosen not to be at this desk. Did he make a wise choice? That maybe the crux of this video.

A young seafarer walks up the gangplank after hugging his girlfriend good bye. He tags along a canvas duffel bag dressed ubiquitously .

He has adventure: - he negotiates raging storms. He is incharge : he directs the crane operator after checking the manifest as a seagull- the white kind- flys over.

He is in touch with his world back home : he skypes with his folks and his ship races dolphins across the bows. The white and red light house finds its place too. And was that the ships smoke room?

It is exotic : Seagulls, Dolphins and even Whales! ( The world is crying out for protection for whales from being hit by ships).

He has gone where his friends haven’t : standing at the forecastle with the silhouette of icebergs ahead, like in that famous movie and the ship cuts through thin ice ( The polar code has just been adopted) .

He has good food : the Chief cook seems very happy with his cooking.

And he the climbs on the funnel and points his arm out to something ( why funnel?, or is it not the funnel).

He has fun: The seafarers enjoy football on the ship as it passes by Mount Fuji and then the Birthday celebrations with IMO cups – with something non-alcoholic of course.

Ah! And he is home : he sights the the Statute of Liberty as he is on the bridge with his chief officer. (A Lady! Yes, this career is open to women too). It must be home because he was contend and happy as he went home. He must be an American.

And the man at his desk has had no change but for his falling hair.

The world needs our hero: our young man walks down the gangplank in his blues and is shocked to see a crowd welcome him . And then the smile comes on as he finds that there are so many jobs on offer just as he got off! He even signs up.

Very few seafarers would be as lucky. Very few seafarers would identify with the video these days. Most seafarers pay money to complete their time as an apprentice. And then pay more money to get into a company so he can earn and repay his sister , who working as a nurse in the middle east , had paid up his loan.

And it is sad that even this video alludes to seafarers being a contract worker. He has to sign on a piece of paper before he is assured of a job. And in a market where seafarers are aplenty, he might not be presented with a paper to sign. And if he has been a conscientious seafarer who speaks up, then even in a favourable market, he will not have a job.

I fear that #CareerAtSea may not be the best tag line for the day of the seafarer when many having chosen that career find themselves with no jobs. Maybe the world needs to accept that being at the desk is not as bad! At least as of now.

Language and Humanities in the Maritime Curriculum

Below is an extract from a report of the Maritime and Education Summit held on 1^st August 2013 at the Crowne Plaza, Kochi.

The highlight  of the day was the very effective and erudite presentation by Vice-Admiral Pradeep Chauhan AVSM, VSM, Commandant, Indian Naval Academy. With his command over the language and effective style of delivery he made a case for language and humanities in the syllabus.

He urged everyone to revisit the basics. He said that the quality of officer was a problem not just in the Merchant navy or navy but across all sectors. He felt it was fundamentally wrong to avoid humanities and focus on science. He said we have “de-romanticised”the merchant navy ( and navy)and so we (institutes) produce mechanics.

He believes for developing concepts we need a strong base in Humanities , history and language. For translating such concepts to reality we need the sciences.

He felt it imperative to define what the institute was producing. He talked of his dilemma where the INA he heads produces BTechs who are officers or Officers who are BTechs. He felt the need to clearly define in words the end product desired. He defined an Officer as “An intellectually, physically, emotionally and behaviourally exemplary, courageous and inspirational leader, imbued with a fine sense of pride, honour and integrity, possessing strong articulation and clear and evident expertise and refinement in multiple domains and deeply committed to the service of his country and the wellbeing of his subordinates”.

He felt training institutes must handle the Role of language in their curriculum. That language is a means of communication, according to him is a myth. Language is an expression of thought, he says. He lamented the fact that Lexicons don’t exist. We don’t use nouns anymore. He illustrated this with an example where an officer gets what he wants without using any nouns -  “अरे तुम, नही तुम। हा तुम.वो देना। वो नही ,वो. हा वो”

Romanticism is extinct,  he feels,  because trainers lack knowledge of language.  He defined Ethic as “ what I do institutionally aligns with what I do individually” If in an organization there is difference between what they purport to do and what they do, that organization breeds unethical people.

People are nowadays concerned only about how to man their ships and not in what manner they man

Are Rest hour violations not serious enough?

The USCG used to (and still do) penalise ships officers and the owner / manager for MARPOL violations. They used to reward handsomely the whistleblowers who reported such violations (they don’t reward them as easily now). Ships officers used to be handed personal fines in thousands of dollars and fines used to be in hundreds of thousands of dollars for the managers / owners. Everyone who has sailed on the ship now know what a magic pipe is. Trainings are conducted to raise awareness. Bilge holding and pumping systems are made more efficient. No one tells the Chief Engineer to pump his bilges out anymore. No one spares any effort at keeping the OWS operational. The OWS is what the Chief Engineer has a look at as soon as he takes over. All this mainly because the USCG was eager and took it on themselves to check for and penalise violations.

But the fact is that most of these violations happened in international waters and the US had no jurisdiction over them. It was a matter for the vessel’s flag states to take up. The US took it up for reasons they know best. And because they did there are not as many MARPOL violations; this despite the fact the no port states showed as much vigour as the USCG.

How then did the US take this up?  Falsification of records and Obstruction of justice were the main charges.  Tampering with evidence, lying to investigators, Coercing the juniors to lie to investigators, tampering with logs were all brought in to add to the counts.

I saw this after I blogged and I think you should also listen to George M Chalos who thinks the USCG is worse than the pirates.

It wasn't very difficult to prove when they find could discharges in excess of stated capacity, conflicts between sounding log and the ORB entries, flexible hoses, fresh paint , malfunctioning incinerators, lack of familiarity with the OWS etc.,

And with each count, the quantum of fine and punishment went up. It was upto US$ 500,000 per count upto 5 years imprisonment for individual defendants. And if they jury could prove that the individual was acting within his scope of employment ( this is liberally interpreted), then criminal liability is brought upon the owners / managers.

I often wondered why the US resorted to such affirmative action. It couldn’t have been just to prevent pollution in their waters. They used all available enforcement tools to make sure such violation that hadn’t even occurred in their waters were prevented and eliminated in the future. But whatever be the reason, OWS got into everyone’s mind and its misuse prevented.

Why  such a long and winding prologue before I actually get down to hours of work and rest? Because I am wondering why is there no such affirmative action by the Port state control inspectors or USCG  when it comes to enforcing WRH provisions?

Everyone knows how a passage up the Mississippi is. Shuttle tankers that do 5 operations in 3 days is not an anomaly any more. And most of us would agree that the pressure is on the Master to manipulate record of hours worked.

I agree that with planning most Non Compliances can be reduced if not eliminated in normal operations with a normal crew ( I am not venturing to define normal, but leave it to the experienced readers judicious interpretation). But a shuttle tanker’s operation is not normal so long as its manning is not enhanced. But if after planning, the actual operation deviated from it for reasons beyond the control of the Master and his crew, then such hours worked should be recorded truthfully.

The MLC as a convention has come to help the seafarer without unduly burdening the owner. And the provisions of hours of work and rest must be looked at in the same way – as not burdening the owner.

MLC has an enforcement mechanism. I believe it is time that the enforcement mechanism supports the seafarers. It is time that the PSC inspectors look into falsification of records that can be easily proved with an interview or checking associated logs and records.

Many masters and crew do it for fear of losing their jobs. Even in this age of MLC, most seafarers work on contracts that last the duration of time spent at sea. A mal intentioned owner / manager conspire against the Master (or seafarer) who is not as pliant as they would have liked. The seafarer could sign off and not find another contract to sign and no recourse. (What can the managers do if there is “no suitable vacancy”)  If not the PSC, atleast the USCG should show the same vigour and initiative as it did in enforcing the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships.

It is time that accurate records are made. And such records will paint the picture for the world to see. If a ship is fined / detained, then that day will not be far when a ship is properly manned and operated. When the seafarer can comply properly with the provisions of the MLC requirements. Why are PSC inspectors and USCG inspectors not showing as much interest in looking for rest hour violations and falsification of rest hour records? Who will bell the cat?

Read http: //mylifeatsea.blogspot.in/2008/03/seafarer-fatigue-where-next.html

http://san-nytt.se/english/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/fatigue_at_sea_english.pdf

image courtsey : http://gcaptain.com/crew-fatigue-addressing-problem/ and http://www.researchperspectives.org/rcuk/BD22FCE5-0590-4B9E-B80B-10076EE44BA1_Producing-A-Video-To-Disseminate-Research-On-Seafarers--Fatigue

The debate : Speed over Water or that over ground!

What is your speed?

Well it depends.

Depends on what? On what it is referenced to.

Means?

If you are in a train, and I asked you what your speed, then how would you answer it?

Well….

Yes, it depends. Depends on what you reference your speed to. Your speed relative to the train is zero, your speed relative to the ground is equal to the speed of the train, and your speed relative to the sun is about 108,000 kph ( Let us ignore if you are going west or east) . See!

The gleeful child by the railroad waving at you in the train would see you pass by him at 100kmph or so. He is referencing you to the ground. The child in the seat opposite yours sees you perfectly still. She is referencing you to the train.

Speeds are always relative. For landlubbers it is always referenced to the ground and so is easily understood. Whatever speed is spoken of, is relative to the ground. But for us sailors, we are on water. And water moves. So when we are speaking of the speed of a ship, it is important to know what the ship’s speed is referenced to.  

Water may have its own speed. When a ship is stopped still on the water, its speed referenced to water is zero. But since the water is moving over the earth (ground), the water has some speed with reference to the ground. If I were floating on the water by the ship, I wouldn’t realise that the ship is moving.

When this ship starts its engines ahead, it begins to push itself forward. Now it moves at a speed different from that of the water and so develops a speed relative to the water. If I were floating on the water by the ship, I would now see it moving.  This speed maybe different from the speed of the ship relative to the ground.  The ship now has two speeds one relative to the ground and another relative to the water. This is in addition to the speed that its engine is theoretically expected to deliver- The Engine speed. 

Well, so far so good.

“Speed over water should be used on the RADAR for collision avoidance”. For the previous generation of navigators, this statement was drilled into them by the various Oil major inspectors who came on board and asked the question – “What speed do you use on the radar for collision avoidance?” We were drilled to answer “Speed over water” without actually thinking through why. Many among us used Speed over water for collision avoidance just because!

And then the next generation of seafarers continued the practice without actually questioning it. Many senior masters fear that this incessant drilling of speed over water will make junior officers reluctant to use speed over ground at any time. They may feel that speed over water is somehow better than speed over ground and should be used no matter what. This is a genuine concern because it is speed over ground that will help you determine if you are moving towards that shoal or the buoy.

What speed you use as a reference on your radar should depend on the danger you want to avoid. In open seas when collision avoidance is the prime concern, there should be no debate. Speed over water wins hands down.

Why Speed over water?

The use of speed over water or that over ground would not make much of a difference on the ARPA so far as its calculation of CPA and TCPA are concerned.

However the reasoning for the advice that speed over water be used for collision avoidance is an altogether different one .

The collision regulations don't require you to take action basing it on CPA and TCPA information. The rules that require you to take a certain action expects you to base your decision on the aspect of the target.

It is with the aspect of the ship that you determine whether you need to give way or can stand on. You will alter course for a crossing ship on your starboard side. You will remain stand on for a crossing vessel on your port side.

All collision avoidance actions are based on the aspect. For an officer on watch to determine whether he needs to act or to stand on, he will have to look at the target. And in order for him to be able to correspond the actual scenario outside the window and that on his Radar PPI, be will need the speed referenced over water.

If referenced over ground, he will see a vector on the screen which is different from the actual heading of the ship and so MAY be disoriented.

But if you are navigating a narrow channel or a buoyed one, referencing your speed to the ground will help you see whether the ship is moving towards a buoy or a shoal. And here the greatest danger is that of running aground or allision with a buoy. It also shows the drift while turning the ship. And so speed over ground works best here.

While in narrow channels, if you have two radars, then the best option would be to have one referenced over water for collision avoidance and the other over ground to determine set and drift.

Teesta Spirit – Search and Rescue – Operations

What you read below is a first person account by Capt. Vijay Rana who led his team on Teesta Spirit to rescue 114 human lives. He shared this with some of us. And I sought his permission to post it on my blog. The entire article is written by Capt. Rana. I took the liberty to change font to Cambria Size 12 at 18 pts line spacing :-)

Sometimes circumstances may place you in  situations which will test your all  resolve and leave permanent impressions on your life .

Kindly read below  narration to experience our story .

After completion of cargo discharging , Teesta Spirit sailed out of  Zawia , Libya at 10:30 LT on the 28^th July 2014 for Tuzla , Turkey .

Vessel received INM-C message from MRCC Rome and a VHF call from Vessel “AssoTrenta” , advising us to urgently contact MRCC Rome. Soon after , At 1700 LT  / 28^th July 2014 , I telephoned MRCC Rome . The call was forwarded to Italian Coastguard . It was informed that our vessel was the closest to the position of  a overloaded boat  in immediate danger of sinking with about 117 persons onboard . Vessel was instructed to proceed to  position 33 36 N /013 14 E  and rescue the distressed persons at sea .

Vessel altered her course and increased her speed to Max safe RPM ; toward the probable position of  persons in distress. I announced on the PA system and instructed crew members to proceed to main deck area and start  preparations to  receive the persons .Also SSO  was advised to implement security measures as per level 2 .

At 1706 hrs I informed TTS and TML about the start of deviation to save life at sea  . Also Agents at Zawia were contacted  as the vessel was still in the Libyan Waters . There was no immediate response from Libyan Coastguard  or the Agents.

At 1736 Hrs Lt I made First Alert notification . For security reasons  , we first passed   close to the boat to determine if the people were actually distressed persons at sea  and do not pose  any prima facie  security risk to the Ship.

In the meantime ChOff - Makarov and ChEng – Kostrya  confirmed back to the bridge that the Engine room and accommodation is fortified and only access from outside now restricted to A Deck Stbd side.

The boat was very much overloaded and men , women , teenagers were seen waving for help . Ship’s whistle was sounded to indicate to distressed persons that they have been spotted  and will be rescued shortly . Vessel was maneuvered close to the boat and lee was created  for the boarding . Weather was slight condition , however  there was long swell .

The ship’s starboard side accommodation ladder was prepared  with additional ‘safety wire’ to take load , just incase many people try to board at once.

By 1823 LT the Boat was alongside moored with two gant line fwd and aft..

Stbd side Manifold area was cordoned off  and a lookout  made responsible to watch from the heightened catwalk so that none of the rescued people leave the cordoned area.

ChCook  was instructed to prepare rice and Soup for more than 100 persons , and arrange juice biscuits and drinking water at Manifold area.

2AE Somil and Deck cadet – John were made incharge of tagging each rescued person and then making the List with name , age , sex and nationality .

Using Ship’s PA system ,I  Announced to the occupant of the rubber boat  to let the Ladies and Children  board first . In situations of  Distress all the civility is lost , and all powerful survivors  started to push each other and fight with each other . ChOff  stood his ground and made very clear to them that they have to behave and be orderly . Bosun – Blancaflor  , was made incharge of  security checking persons and checking  their belongings for knife , weapons , lighters , tools etc.

After some minutes the normalcy was restored in the distressed crowd and people started climbing the Gangway one by one . All male were body frisked by ship’s crew and all females were told to body frisk each other . No weapons were found , Their belongings were just some old clothes.2Off – Marcin was  taking care of sick / exhausted people .

At 1916 Hrs LT in position 33 43.7 N /013 14.2 E , the transfer of distressed persons was completed . Total  114 persons rescued ; 89 Male and 25  female . There was no child however some appeared to be  teenagers. All were given water and biscuits to boost up there energy levels . 2Off reported that few of the Pregnant ladies have just collapsed on deck due to exhaustion . All Pregnant Ladies (5) were encouraged to have fruit juice  , sip by sip and slowly their health was improving . Derelict’s position was passed to MRCC Rome  .

At 1934 hrs LT vessel was instructed to proceed full speed to Capo Passero , Sicily  .I requested Italian coastguard if the pregnant ladies and sick persons can be off landed at Malta , as it was the closest land and on the way to Capo Passero .Never got back any reply and appeared only Italy will accept these people.

Capt Raffaele  (TTS) and  Mr. Tan were also giving feedback and had already started contacting  PandI  and Insurance .

The dinner was served to the rescued persons , in the meantime ChOff instructed everyone about the basic Tanker safety . Two rescued men who could speak  English were made leaders of the group.

At 1957 Hrs LT , Italian coastguard instructed vessel to proceed to Brindisi , Italy . I informed MRCC Rome that Brindisi was one day  more  further away than Capo Passero , and we prefer to off land  these people as soon as possible . However Italian Interior Ministry had already decided that all rescued persons would be received at the port of Brindisi and Coastguard did not had any say in this .

All the rescued persons were assembled near the 1Ws cargo tank , this location was sheltered due to raised foc’sle and could  always be monitored  from the Bridge .Blankets , Bedsheets  and pillows were provided to all  the sick and needy persons .Near the Anchor hawse pipe a safe and temporary arrangement was made as for responding to the calls of nature.

By now  there were three sick persons requiring medications .CIRM was contacted for medical advise . Mr. Alberto Di Mare , an Italian national sailing as  technician from Sea Service & consulting s.r.l  was God send to us . He was utilized many times whenever language difficulties were experienced  in communicating with certain Italian authorities . CIRM  medical advise was implemented .

I informed MRCC that vessel does not have approach charts of Brindisi  and that is why the pilot should come with the charts . JHA was completed and discussed with the Bridge Team .

29^th July was mostly uneventful day . Regular medication was being administered  to sick people . In general everyone of them were looking more healthy and happy . For basic Hygiene , it was decided that arrangements be made for at least one bath for each of rescued persons who wanted to clean themselves . For privacy , temporary Bathrooms  with curtains were constructed below the  Manifold Shower / Eye wash station , Port side for men and Stbd side for Women .Taking the opportunity ,barring some all refreshed themselves .

Morning of 30^th July . It all appeared in control  , sick persons had almost recovered  , medication was being administered as per CIRM advice .

Then I overheard on the Walkie Talkie that the  deck duty person reporting to the Bridge that  a woman has collapsed on deck and  her friends are saying that she is having heart attack ! I rushed to the Bridge , emergency PA announcement was made and O2 resuscitator , Medical jump kit  and defibrillator was at site in no time .  We were able to support her , the medical vitals were on the edge but the collapsed lady was slowly responding positively.

Vessel was about 50 nm from the Brindisi port  however the closest port on Italian coast was  Otranto , about 18 nm away . I contacted  Italian MRCC  and CIRM , to arrange for medical evacuation by Helicopter  . Coastguard came back that they do not have Helicopter in vicinity and  rescue will be effected by the Coastguard SAR patrol boat .

 In ballast Condition Teesta Spirit is fond of dancing and only those who have sailed on this vessel  can explain how bad it is . Some joke that Teesta Spirit will roll even in swimming pool !

The weather  in present location was  beaufort scale six and there was moderate sea and swell .Now there were  real safety concern about off loading the sick person who is half unconscious on to a small patrol boat , so at  first I resisted  and told coastguard that I will proceed  to Brindisi . Just at this time 3^rd Off – Ronell  reported back to me that another lady has collapsed and having difficulty in breathing , with very rapid pulse .

At this time I called up Otranto Coastguard  to send SAR patrol boat with the doctor and we started proceeding full speed towards the  safe location outside the port .There was a lot of  coastal shipping traffic ,We broadcasted on the VHF to all the ships in vicinity to keep clear of  us as vessel was engaged in saving life . All vessel kept giving us the way and we proceeded straight towards Otranto.

I instructed 3Off Kurt  to check if we had chart for this port , he reported back that there were none ! Then I Asked him to quickly refer to the Pilot  Book  and to find out the safe direction of approach  .

In the mean time this patient stopped breathing two times for almost a minute , but we continued  with forced artificial respiration with medical oxygen . Thank God , we were able to revive her both times .

Bosun on instruction  prepared the Stbd accommodation ladder 1 mtr above the water level.

I  instructed Mr. Alberto to  contact Otranto  Harbour Master  and inform that the Vessels max draft as 9 mtrs  and to give us ‘Remote Pilotage’ guidance from VTS . Also requested the Patrol boat to come as far as possible as own vessel will not cross the 50 mtr  depth contours as after this the depths reduce  very fast. I requested the Doctor to board the ship as the patients were not in good condition .

At  1115 hrs LT  vessel first sighted the SAR patrol boat , own vessel  was swung  hard to port to create lee on the Stbd side , Speed was progressively  reduced to zero .

And  a MIRACLE happened  , Teesta which is really notorious for rolling , remained  rock steady ! NO rolling  even with Beaufort six seas and moderate swell pounding her on the whole portside .I watched this and crossed my fingers .

 At 1132 hrs LT ,  Dr.ssa Paola Baldaccini and Inf. Fino Daniele of 118 of hospital Card.Panico di Tricase (LE) , boarded the vessel . They  stabilized all the critical patients for the voyage of another 3 hours to Brindisi .At 1415 hrs the Medical team safely  debarked  and yes, Teesta was still absolutely rock steady.

At 1715 hrs Lt Brindisi pilot boarded  us with required Approach and Harbour charts .At 1830 hrs LT  vessel was all made fast to a lay up berth . There were more than 50 cars / Vehicles and some 200  officials/ paramedics  waiting to receive the rescued persons .

By 2030 hrs LT  all the rescued  persons debarked . Italian police interviewed Me , Bosun and ChOff  . They took the copies of Deck Log Book  and Manoeuvering Record Book . Also all the photos of rescue operations were copied by the Italian Police .

At 2354 hrs LT  we sailed out of Brindisi  for Tuzla Turkey for Dry Docking.

 After thoughts :

============

 We rescued 111 Somalians (Other 3 were Ghanian), saved their life , treated them properly with respect and dignity. I wish the same treatment is given to the captured seafarers who are held in Somalia .If this incident changes minds of even some Somalians , we will achieve something more on, 'Save Our Seafarer' Campaign .

In public memory some disasters are more highlighted by media and Master is very easily branded as 'Captain Coward ' etc , I am referring to the incident of passenger ship Costa  Concordia .

The saving of life at sea by  various  Masters should  also be equally highlighted by the mainstream media , to change perception of public ,that  mostly there are ' Captain Saviour ' at sea .

Also in some Shipping forum with Governments we should discuss about the efficiency in rescue  situation. We had Malta / Augusta (Capo Passero) closer to us for landing these people , but the ship was finally instructed to proceed to Brindisi .

Concerns are that:

-Delay in off landing may cause medical issues with the rescued persons .

-Extra burden on crew and depleting resources in conjunction with the

Security risks

-Extra expense on the owner for bunkers and lost time.

Pumpman- Mr. Manuel had recently lost his mother .Funeral was on hold , awaiting his arrival .The SAR operations have delayed him by more than two days .He tells me that he still felt peace in his heart as he was part of the effort in saving so many lives and his mother's soul would be happy about this .

Last but not least , I thank God that no lives were lost during this rescue operation and the whole ship staff supported me well in their respective assigned duties.

This incident has touched many lives and  leaves a happy and permanent impression on my mind and soul .This will  definitely be one of the favorite stories that my 4 year daughter Bhakti  , would like to hear before going to bed !

As I complete  this article , Teesta Spirit is back to her old ways … Yes dancing rock and roll … may be she is happy to save so many lives at sea or maybe  she is happy that she is finally going to get new paint makeup at Dry Dock !

Thanks for reading.

Capt. Vijay Rana

Maritime Education and Training Summit 1 August 2013 - Crowne Plaza, Kochi

The Seminar had important speakers deliver speeches over 3 sessions spread over the entire day. It began just before 10 O’clock and went well past the scheduled closing time of 17:30. This report is a gist of what was spoken over the entire day culled over from notes taken during the sessions.

 A. Inaugural Session : DELIVERING SEAFARING AS A PROFESSION OF CHOICE
Speakers
• Shri K Babu, Hon’ble Minister of Fisheries, Ports & Excise, Govt. of Kerala
• Shri K Mohandas, (IAS Retd.), Former Secretary, Ministry of Shipping, Govt. of India
• Vice-Admiral Pradeep Chauhan AVSM, VSM, Commandant, Indian Naval Academy
• Jb. Abdulgani Y Serang, General Secretary, NUSI
• Prof G Raghuram, Professor IIM Ahmedabad & Former Vice-Chancellor, IMU

The Honourable Ministers’ inaugural speech spoke of logistic sector being a key driver of growth and the coastal shipping being an emergent sector. He spoke of why it was important to move goods over waterways. He said the government was targeting 40% of trade to be carried over waterways by 2020. However there was no light thrown on how this was going to be done. He would have been more comfortable speaking in Malayalam.
Shri K Mohandas gave a very well informed presentation which he began by remembering Shri C P Srivastava, Former IMO Secretary General.

1. He in jest said that since we Indians always compare ourselves with China, we can take solace in the fact that they like us aren’t among the 43 nations that have ratified the MLC. 
2. He said it is safer to sail these days (discounting Piracy incidents) since shipping is a lot more regulated and monitored these days. 
3. He claimed that seafaring may not be a profession of choice for most, but it is a very strong foundation for a second career and seafarers he came across on shore have all been very good professionals. 
4. He wanted the current generation of seafarers to be patient as even though ships may have gone from 3000TEU to 18000 TEU, the manning does not increase in the same proportion and so there may be a long waiting period before one gets to join a ship after leave. 
5. India is a supplier of human capital for the world and in such a scenario, the 6-7% that of seafarers that Indians currently are a proportion of the world seafarers is not adequate. The government had planned to increase that share to 9% by 2020 in their Maritime Agenda. 
6. Although not as high as in other sectors, there are fraudulent maritime institutes too. The people are gullible and with the promise of easy employability with decent remuneration makes them easy prey to such fraudulent institutes. 
7. There are many fly by night recruitment agencies that needs to be pulled up by the administration to restore faith in the profession. 
8.  DGS is not capable of handling maritime education and so we need a body like the MCI, AICTE or UGC.
9. There is a need to impart value training to the seafarers. He sighted the example of a Master who was showing off his skills and ran his ship aground( reference to Costa Concordia *). 

The highlight of the day was the very effective and erudite presentation by Vice-Admiral Pradeep Chauhan AVSM, VSM, Commandant, Indian Naval Academy. With his command over the language and effective style of delivery he made a case for language and humanities in the syllabus. He urged everyone to revisit the basics.
He said that the quality of officer was a problem not just in the Merchant navy or navy but across all sectors. He felt it was fundamentally wrong to avoid humanities and focus on science. He said we have “de-romanticised”the merchant navy ( and navy)and so we (institutes) produce mechanics.
He believes that for developing concepts we need a strong base in Humanities , history and language. For translating such concepts to reality we need the sciences.
He felt it imperative to define what the institute was producing. He talked of his dilemma where the INA he heads produces BTechs who are officers or Officers who are BTechs. He felt the need to clearly define in words the end product desired.
He defined an Officer as “An intellectually, physically, emotionally and behaviourally exemplary, courageous and inspirational leader, imbued with a fine sense of pride, honour and integrity, possessing strong articulation and clear and evident expertise and refinement in multiple domains and deeply committed to the service of his country and the wellbeing of his subordinates”.
He felt training institutes must handle the Role of language in their curriculum. That language is a means of communication, according to him is a myth. Language is an expression of thought, he says. He lamented the fact that Lexicons don’t exist. We don’t use nouns anymore. He illustrated this with an example where an officer gets what he wants without using any nouns - “अरे तुम, नही तुम। हा तुम.वो देना। वो नही ,वो. हा वो”
Romanticism is extinct, he feels, because trainers lack knowledge of language.
He defined Ethic as “ what I do institutionally aligns with what I do individually” If in an organization there is difference between what they purport to do and what they do, that organization breeds unethical people. People are nowadays concerned only about how to man their ships and not in what manner they man

Jb. Abdulgani Serang began his speech by recollecting his collection with Kerala. His great grandfather who founded the NUSI was from Kerala , he said.
He reminded all the speaker not to talk just of seamen because there are many women seafarers who were joining the merchant navy.
He said merchant navy is a profession of passion and was for the bravehearts. He felt people were not aware of merchant navy as a profession as it was not publicized enough. Seafaring for most is not the first choice profession. Whatever little news is there of the merchant navy is negative- piracy, oil pollution etc., He recalled the sacrifices of Indian Merchant men in the World Wars I and II.
He quoted Mr. DT Joseph who said India Lacked a Maritime Constituency and Mr,. Mitropoluous who said that Half the world would starve and the other half would freeze if ships were to stop.
He compared India with Philippines where the president makes it a point to recognize shipping companies. The president in person presents the awards to the best ship recruitment company. There are large hoardings in Philippines that talk of merchant navy.
He was sure everyone would agree that seamen from Lakshadweep were the best. He felt that was because they lived to become a seafarer. They couldn’t progress because they didn’t know English. He talked of how there are many skilled fitters and pumpmen who don’t get an Indian CDC because they don’t know English. They end up getting Seaman book from another country and are gainfully employed. He felt there was something wrong with the system.

Prof G Raghuram delivered the theme address. He felt Seafaring has to become a career of choice.
1. The current state of the economy did not give many opportunities for employement.
2. He asked if Indians were outpricing themselves.
3. He also thought there was not enough publicity and awareness of Merchant navy as a career. Times where when joining Dufferin and DMET was like joining a public school and the products were of a different standards.
4. The course content has to be made contemporary and has to include good humanities. He lamented that we are very technical and wanted to rekindle the romance of the profession.
5. He questioned if we were looking at producing cadets who should hit the deck running or do we want officers who will develop out of the box thinking.
6. He felt we need to choose the right people. Most people he felt stumbled into this career. Entrance standards and requirements must be revisited.
7. He felt institutes should be rated by an independent agency like the IIMs are.
8. He wanted institutes to form an Association so that they can set standards and self-regulate.
9. He wanted the industry to promote continuous research.

 B. SessionI : Policy, curriculum and training framework for a well developed MET system Moderator : Capt S Bhardwaj, Professor Emeritus & Former Vice-Chancellor, AMET University

Speakers
• Prof G Raghuram, Professor IIM Ahmedabad & Former Vice-Chancellor, IMU
• Capt S Bhardwaj, Professor Emeritus & Former Vice-Chancellor, AMET University
• Capt Rajesh Tandon, Managing Director, V Ships India
• Capt K N Deboo, Director & Principal, Anglo-Eastern Maritime Training Centre
• Ms. Gouri Gupta, Lead – Programme Development and Strategy, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC)

SessionI began with a sales pitch by R Balachandran, CMD, SB Global for National Skill Development Council.
Capt Suresh Bharadwaj started the discussions by talking of the inspection of Training institues by Classifiation Societies. He called upon Dr. Simon to throw light on the developments since he had attended the meeting.
Dr. Simon spoke of the Over regulation of the training institutes was now recognized. So instead of 3 regimes inspecting a training institute, from now on there will be only one. This will be a Recognised Organisation approved by the DGS. The 3 regimes will now form part of the Comprehensive Inspection Programme. There were concerns about domain expertise for the inspectors. He also talked about grading institutions. An institution with 90 or more points maybe graded A+. Such an institution will have fewer surprise inspections and will find it easier to seek approval of courses or increase intake of students.

Capt Debboo felt that MET was overly regulated but CIP was a move in the right direction. For institutes to self regulate, there needs to be more maturity. He felt though the CIP is good, it has been thrust upon the industry without adequate discussion with the stakeholders. He suggested something on the lines of UK MTNB
Capt Rajesh Tandon felt everything is good but felt that it may not be sustained. There has to be a sustained effort to keep updated. He asked Mr Mohandas what happened to the McKinsey report that he had initiated during his tenure as Secretary. He felt it maybe gathering dust and not relevant now in the changed market scenario.
Ms. Gauri Gupta talked of the efforts of their organization in developing skills for employment.

C. SessionII : Strengthening and enriching maritime careers at sea and ashore Session Moderator : Prof (Dr) K A Simon, Director, Kunjali Marakkar School of Marine Engineering, CUSAT Speakers
• Shri K Mohandas, (IAS Retd.), Former Secretary, Ministry of Shipping, Govt. of India
• Prof G Raghuram, Professor IIM Ahmedabad & Former Vice-Chancellor, IMU
• Capt Inderveer Solanki, VP (Academics & Research), Applied Research International
• Dr P G Sunil Kumar, Technical Director, Aries Marine & Engineering Services & AIMRI
• Ms Radhika Rani G, Maritime Writer
The session began by remembering Dr. C P Srivastava. Dr Simon felt that there was a call for reduction in training time since Engines are assumed to be failsafe. Dr. Simon felt that the western notion that Training is more important than Education is incorrect. He felt attitudes are developed as a result of education and attitudes are more important than aptitudes. He also felt the need for a body on the lines of AICTE. Maybe AICME with different boards under it looking at different aspects of Maritime Education.
Shri K Mohandas, IAS felt that DGS is not fully equipped to handle education and training as they are already over burdended. He also did not feel it is a good idea to give it to the IRS as they are also not equipped to inspect institutions. He felt AICME maybe a good idea but reminded that many past head of AICTE had been charged with fraudulent activities.

Prof Raghuram again reiterated what he spoke of in the earlier sessions.

Capt Saggi in the audience reminded everyone that the Indian COC was the only ceritificate that was accepted by all administrations the world over. He said that India had built up a human resource over time and all the shipping related offices in the worlds shipping centres are manned by Indians, be it Hong kong, Singapore, Dubai or London.
 He felt that there are a lot of verticals in Shipping and they need to be integrated for an holistic understanding of the industry. Also there will be more understanding between departments on the ships and also between ship and shore.
  Capt Solanki spoke of the role of the simulator beyond just training. He felt it can be used for assessment as it is already being done for second mates in Nederland. He talked of an instance where pilots on the simulator for Hazira pilotage could not berth the ship in the channel. The feedback from the simulator exercise led to the widening of the channel. He felt seafarers are put in silos the moment they join as cadets. He felt instead of starting new institutes and universities, there should be provision in existing universities to start courses for merchant Navy. This way the merchant navy cadets and officers will not remain in a Silo and will be in touch with the world. They would learn of opportunities outside merchant navy. The current Vice Chancellor of AMET university from the audience felt that Faculty from the merchant navy are not equipped to teach and are paid a lot more than they deserve. He felt academicians should be involved in teaching cadets.
This was countered by Capt. Solanki who felt that experience gained at sea cannot be substituted. Speaking of Careers ashore the moderator called upon senior members in the audience to recall their experiences. Most spoke of the wonderful opportunities in Law and Insurance and Arbirtration and Average Adjusting.
Capt Dinesh Gautama of the NMIS cautioned everyone in looking upto such options as careers. He said it would be easier to look at freight forwarding or agency or pilotage and the like.

The moderator invited the cadets in the audience to speak. After hearing them speak, Prof Raghuram wondered if everything was so rosy then why have this discussion. He cautioned everyone against patting each others back and to wake up to reality.
There were discussions on the utility and effectiveness of the IMU. Some speakers called for the implementation of the recommendations of the Group of Ministers set up to study the issue. They had recommended setting up of individual universities in different parts of the Country. Instead the government set up on University in Chennai with campuses in different locations.

Session-III: Understanding the new generation Seafarers to manage and retain them effectively Session Moderator : Dr Jose Paul, Former Chairman Mormugoa Port Trust
Speakers
• Jb. Abdulgani Y Serang, General Secretary, NUSI
• Capt Ram Ramchandran, Managing Director, Red Eagle Shipping Agencies Pvt Ltd
• Capt Dinesh Gautama, Advisor, Narottam Morarjee Institute of Shipping & President Navkar Corporation Ltd
• Capt. Jose K Thomas, Director, Expedo Marine Services India (P) Ltd.,
• Capt C D Joseph, Managing Director, BSM (India) Pvt Ltd
• Mr Chirag Bahri, Regional Director, South Asia, Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme

The session began with the moderator wondering why- if we had the best certificates in the world- are we only 5% of the worlds Merchant Marine officers Indian? This session had speakers trying to define Gen Y seafarers, their needs and how to manage them. Most speakers felt that the new generation was Family centric, achievement oriented, Team oriented, attention craving and tech savvy. They felt it would no longer be able to ignore the requests from officers who want to be home for apparently small events like their child’s birthday. Offices will have to work around this.
Capt Joseph said that they don’t aim for 100% retention as this would mean a lot of their assets that were trained would have to leave the company as they would not get promoted. He felt that the new generation of seafarers wanted a career path and would like to know where they would be in a few years time. They would like to know how to get to a position ashore. He also cautioned the cadets against expecting adventure and fun at sea. Life at sea, he reminded them was hard.
Jb. Serang lamented the fact that our examination system was difficult and people too a long time to clear it. He wondered why these candidates cleared their exams easily when they went to other countries. He wanted a relook into our system. There was a small debate on whether life at sea is more stressful or less stressful these days. He spoke of the new generation as those who don't greeting with an "Hi!"and putting arm across his shoulder.
The last speaker of the day was Mr Chirag Bahri. He spoke of the need to assure seafarers of the companys support in case of a pirate attack. He spoke of the need to sensitise families to the issue. He spoke of the various training programmes given by Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme (MPHRP)

The Summit was organised by Mr. Wilson Rajan and Sudheer Nambiar of Kerala Sea and Trade