the story of a watchkeeping officer - Eid at sea

entri dendang perantau...lah sangat...

lanun di pagi Syawal... ^__^"

1st of all....Salaam Eid Ul Fitr....thousand apologies i seek from all....for my wrong doings...if there is any...

This year...just like last few years...i celebrated Eid at sea....well technically we are celebrating Eid some 40 nautical miles off the coast of Sarawak....not so perantauan like others who celebrate their Eid at the farside of the world...haha...and not well cut off from the outside world since lines of communications are available....so can make phone call to all the wive(s) and awek(s)....(mak bapak juga tidak dilupa)

anyway...

this year Eid is a bit hambar...not so meriah (what does mat salleh call meriah eh..)....well maybe because first and foremost...our cook x boleh blah in his cooking...my mate kata nokhorooom pemalaih tahap nurako durjono....2nd...by evening were coming alongside to Bintulu...to load another seven thousand tonnes plus of palm oil....so most of us took the opportunity to get a well earn rest before going back to work....

still....the spirit of Eid is still there...the morning prayers...all the makan2...the sound of Dendang Perantau and all the other lagu raya in the air played by Klasik Nasional FM...and all of us going about around the ship with baju melayu and samping.....

and deep within our (or mine) heart...we do feel sad (tipu la x sedih)......for this Eid...we are apart from our own families and those who we love the most....but having each and everyone of us around...lessen the sadness...brought back the family spirits and brotherhood...although we are not related in blood...

well...

from the navigation bridge...cargo control room and the engine control room of the MT BUNGA BANYAN....Salaam Eid Mubarak...

-come to sea and see for yourself-

SALAM EID MUBARAK

entri selamaat hari rayaa

SALAAM EID MUBARAK TO ALL MARINERS AND SEAFARERS,MERCHANT AND NAVAL ALIKE

MAY GOD BLESS US IN THE DAYS OF VICTORY AND GLORY WITH SAFE VOYAGES ALONG THE WAY

GOD SPEED, FAIR WINDS AND FOLLOWING SEAS

the story of a watchkeeping officer - the tales of MT Bunga Banyan

entri naik kapal lagi

the NineMikeLimaOscarSix - MT Bunga Banyan at Lahad Datu Anchorage

this page went silent 5 weeks ago...due to sudden call from my corporation to join MT Bunga Banyan...

well..like always..and like all those who are loyal (loyal lah sangat aku ni) to this corporation...i agree to join and relieve my fellow mate onboard...thus making a record of 3 years of consecutive hari raya celebration onboard....well three years is nothing compared to others who had not been able to celebrate Eid at home way longer than myself...coz till now i had known others who had not been back for 5-6 consecutive year...

anyway...the B class...like what others called this ship (due to all the ship in this class were named after flower starting with letter B...i.e Bakawali..Begonia..Balsam and Banyan) is a much different world compared to the Melati class tankers....

larger ship...larger cargo capacity...a lil bit longer and deeper (sounds like a porn..?) but less crew onboard....plus its a new ship...just a year old..compared to the seasoned Melati class which already reach 15 plus years....and a lot of new things to learn....

generally...all ship is the same....but there are differences from one ship to another that one must adjust self to familiar with it...

plus...voyages here are much longer compared to the Melati class....crossing Pacific and the Atlantic or going around Magellan Straits or South Africa is a norm....while Panama is the main transit canal for these new and massive lady....

ports are also attractive....apart from China and Malaysian ports...this ship calls US ports in the eastern seaboard and the Latin Americas....a must for a mariners like me to experience at least once...

new ship...new experience....

this will be the turning point...i might stay with this corporation for a little while...or i might stay here till end...ending up not venturing to other corporations which was my initial plans...

well man can plans whatever he wants....but God still have the power to decide what is what...

till then...

-come to sea and see for yourself-

Salam Ramadhan From NineMikeLimaOscarSix

from far away land...far away lah sangat..

SALAM RAMADHAN TO FELLOW SEAFARERS..NAVAL AND MERCHANT ALIKE
MAY GOD BLESS OUR VOYAGES THROUGH THIS HOLIEST OF THE HOLY MONTH

SAFE JOURNEY AND SAFE SAILING

GOD SPEED..FAIRWINDS AND FOLLOWING SEAS

MT BUNGA ALPINIA - rememberance

entri darkest day for the corporation

Alpinia - listed to port and still on fire. credit photo to NST

0230H on July 26th would go down as the darkest day in the Malaysian shipping industries....and also for my corporation....

most of us...knew those who perished in the incident....directly or indirectly....whether fellow shipmates in previous shipboard contracts or fellow friends since training days...we knew at least one of them if not all of them...

and furthermore...we knew those who survive  either....

the corporation is not really that big...we knew who is who in which ship across the fleet...and most of us had mingle together as shipmates if not many times then it would be at least once in the career....

knowing that we had lost those who we knew...is unbearable....

my mate knew the pumpman and the greaser....whom he sailed before onboard A class tanker similar to Alpinia...knew them very well that he even thought about how would arwah only child would fared with her mother knowing that his father had passed on....while the greaser....whom were dreaming of becoming engineer for near coastal ship were also very close to my mate...

and then there is me....who knew the young OS way back when he first come to work on a ship....

then there are others whom i might not knew but knew all those who perished really well..the deck rating..the cadet..the able seaman...whom maybe they had sailed together maybe again and again....and not to forget..family members...who grieved their losses the most...

the fact that they had passed on cant be denied....god loves them more than us...

and my writings here are not to speculate the incident...since a lot of rumors and incorrect reporting by our local media had spread across the nation....

till the time of this writings...my corporation are still investigating the cause of the fire and explosion....and they said themselves that...they don`t mind loosing the ship....since ship can be build and can be bought...but loosing their own sea staff is really hard and even you had billions of dollar of revenue....you cant bring the dead to life.....

and here the reality sets in....

seafaring is the most regulated industry...and also the most dangerous...but all the danger is mitigated by safety culture and awareness instilled among professional mariners...but then again...incidents and accidents..sometimes lead to fatalities did occurs now and then....

and not many of us..outside the industry knew this....most of them thought...sailing is easy...goyang kaki saja punya kerja.....but truth is it is not....

pressure from the corporation...charterer,flag and port states are also high...to ensure ship safety are always maintained on a high standard...

but whatever man did..god wills are never within the control of man....manusia merancang namun tuhan menentukan segalanya...no matter how high you standard of safety is....but then...it doesnt mean we leave it to god...for man`s fate will not be changed unless he who change it himself...

and thus...the passing of our fellow shipmates will never be in vain...and will be remembered....

Al Fatihah  and condolences to those who had passed on...and keep on sailing to those who survived

-god speed..fairwinds and following seas-

farewell o mate - you had truly gone home

a tribute to a fellow shipmate whom i and others had lost....

you had truly gone home

this entry is dedicated to all 5 seafarers who lost their souls in the MT Bunga Alpinia incident....whom one of them i sailed before...and others...had been sailing with my fellow shipmates across the fleet..

to Hanafi...the OS whom i sailed before onboard MT Bunga Melati 3....i never thought our meetings onboard 3 would be the first and the last...i still got your photos...posing next to Chief Darmanshah..the SPG team in charge whilst transiting GOA...during a buffet dinner...when the karaoke sessions at the officers lounge with the SPG`s....

i still remember the first time you came onboard...joining Melati 3 as first ship OS...when you were awed by the sheer size of Melati 3...when we laughed a lot when you were conned by AO saying that you got to pay the electricity bills and water bills to chief mate and second engineer...when you were talking about your days in the training college...towards your innocence when you ask about stuff about ships....how you want to become deck officers and so on....i fondly remember all those times...

we will cherished and remember those days...

truthfully...i only know you as fellow shipmate..as my subordinate....and not more than that...maybe not like your fellow family and friends back in your college or back at home...but within my cold rock hard heart...i deeply saddened just like the others did....

tears came our when i wrote this entry....how sad it is to loose a person whom i worked together with...although it was only for a short period of time...but knowing that i knew you and i had sailed with you really making it hard to this heart...

truly....your passing will never be in vain...

Al Fatihah

-come to sea and see for yourself-