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