Onboard

(Sunday, January 31st, 2016)

It is Sunday, January 31st. I have been on board for a couple of days now.

I am getting to know my way around those places I am allowed to go so far. Since we are bunkering (read the next post!), and the port pilot is still on board, it is best that I not go up to the bridge yet. I have plenty of time, and don’t want to get in the way. So this little post is just an introduction to my cabin and the feel of the ship so far.

Just like immigration at Changi airport, getting into Jurong Port Gate was special. The Rickmers agent sent a driver for me who picked me up at the hotel. I had thought that that was nice but unnecessary. It turns out to have been totally necessary – I hadn’t a chance on my own.

The driver, and I had also received this advice from the port agent, said that I was to use the invitation from the Master (the Master of the Rickmers Shanghai, a.k.a. the Captain), which authorized me for a visit to the Rickmers Shanghai. I was not to tell the people at the gate that I was leaving on the ship, only that I was visiting. He said that I would go through the reverse immigration (emigration?) once we were underway. At this point I had to trust them, what options did I have, really? It turns out that they knew that people staffing the gate were clueless as to how to handle me, since I was not a seaman checking in. I still had to have my bags searched, and my passport checked, but luckily (or maybe the driver knew), the person checking my bags and the person checking my invitation would not be the same person. So the natural question “a roller, and two carry-ons, for a visit?” didn’t come up.

Anyway, the driver guided me both physically (“go through that yellow door and I will wait for you on the other side”) and mentally (“don’t offer information, say what the invite says, that you are on official business authorized by the Master”). The Master of a ship has a lot of power around the port – or at least it seemed so to me. As as his invitee, I had some power as well. I got to go to the front of the line in front of real seamen checking in. And then the serious young woman handling my request said “okay” after taking my picture and stamping things on forms. I said “that’s it?” She smiled, gave me a thumbs up, and said “yep – go find your driver” and I scooted out the door. In five minutes we were carrying my bags up a gangplank and onto an industrial smelling ship on which many people were moving many things around, and were very aware of the guy in blue jeans coming on board.

Today we are bunkering out in the Singapore Harbor, and we are expecting immigration officials to come on board once we are done with that. In addition to me, a new Chief Engineer is joining the crew at this stop, so both of us have some passport work in front of us I think.

So here I am. I am in my cabin, which is about twice as big as the Hotel Kai hotel room. I have a twin bed, an L-shaped sofa, a desk with a good desk lamp, and a bathroom with a shower. It is actually larger than I need.

The Master came by to say hi, and also to say that while at port everybody was busy, I was not allowed on the main deck for my own safety, and there was likely nobody on the bridge so it might be good to stay away from there as well. I expected that, so no worries. Later, the Third Mate showed me around, to places I could go on my own even while we are in port. It is all going to be okay.

I have portholes facing aft and port. They aren’t the best to look out of because it is practically impossible to clean them on the outside – they are up the side of a multi-story building. But they still allow an indication of where we are and the general conditions outside. Not bad.

I am on D deck, where other passengers will go, as well as where the Master and the Chief Engineer have their rooms/offices. Here is a layout of decks and what I see so far as their purpose, after my introduction from the Third Mate:

Highest first:
Bridge – obvious – where the big windows are, where all the ship’s movements are controlled from
Pilot Deck – below the Bridge, open area, open to passengers, and one large cabin for port pilots
D Deck – passengers’ and superior officers’ cabins
C Deck – other officers’ cabins
B Deck – non-officers’ (seamen!) cabins
A Deck – the mess, galley, conference room, shipping business offices, hospital
Poop Deck – entrance from gangway (when in port), laundry, bonded store (when at sea), gym
Upper Deck – I think this means the uppermost deck of the cargo area of the ship, not quite sure

If we had a full set of passengers there would be 36 of us on board. I am the only passenger of seven possible, so there are 30 of us on board at this point. Remember that the ship is a 24-hour operation so there are multiple shifts of workers on board. I get the sense that it is much busier during port operations than while at sea. We are not quite at sea yet, so everyone still seems pretty busy.

I don’t know if there is an elevator. Nobody mentioned it and I don’t need it. I bet my legs stay in good shape, as already I am up and down a lot.

Early this morning, about 6am, we shoved off from the dock, and sailed out of part of Singapore Harbor. I went up on the Pilot Deck and took some pictures, hope they make sense. We passed tons of refineries. We settled in between many other ships, dropped anchor, and waited for bunkering.

We get fed well. A full breakfast, eggs and meat and toast and yogurt. Lunch is the largest meal, with soup, meat, potato or rice, vegetable, good bread. Dinner is like lunch only without soup and with slightly smaller portions. A good salad, chopped lettuce, tomato, cucumber, at lunch and dinner. Today at lunch we also got ice cream. Dinner tonight was stuffed pepper. I already know that I need to cut down on amount. I am starting a conversation with the cook. Tomorrow I am limiting myself to yogurt for breakfast. The food isn’t creative but it is good and so far has been varied. No complaints. It is my challenge to find a balance with the cook on amount. Coffee is available anytime. No alcohol yet, we are in port. I expect to be able to buy wine and beer once we are underway. I don’t have definite plans in that area, haven’t really missed the alcohol at this point. No alcohol above 15% is allowed, so no Scotch.

The cook’s mate delivered about 10 liters of bottled water to my room. I have a refrigerator in the room, so I can keep yogurt, beer, and cold water, that sort of thing, in my room.

Everybody speaks English to me, in several different accents. The officers are speaking Romanian. I don’t know what language the others are speaking yet, Filipino maybe but I am not sure. English is the official language on board, so any general announcements on the PA system are in English.

The whole ship has a purposeful, industrial feel, and that carries forward to the attitudes as well. Especially since we are in port everybody seems bent on a schedule, eating quickly, changing back into orange work coveralls (no work clothes in the mess areas) as soon as mealtime is over. This kind of work is dirty so the coveralls are dirty. It is hot so folks are sweating. There is a definite sense of hierarchy on board. It feels like places I am familiar with – some factories, some refineries. That makes sense.

Okay, enough for now. I am establishing the beginnings of a pattern, adjusted of course by anything interesting happening on board. I am getting some writing and reading done, and some exercise, both aerobic and non.

I was just thinking of my “L-shaped sofa”. I remember a Dimitri Martin joke: “I have an L-shaped sofa. lower case.”

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