this is motor tanker bunga melati satu..nine mike charlie hotel three...calling on channel one six...
yes..my first shipboard experience during my 2nd year as cadet were onboard a tanker...a chemical tanker to be exact...the ship i went onboard was the oldest among seven in the fleet...
her name was MT Bunga Melati Satu...a 30 000 deadweight,21 000 gross tonnage chemical/palm oil carrier of the nation largest shipping consortium...she ain`t pretty as her gas counterparts but she knew her stuff...and what a tough boat she is...
this is where i met her..rotterdam
i met her at Rotterdam, at Vopak terminal...she was discharging her cargo of palm oil products.she had 32 tanks meant for vegetable and chemical commodities...
her cargo varies..palm oil products are the norm...she carry thousand tonnes of refined palm olein...cooking oil to be exact...and sometimes crude palm products...a sweet smelling oil which is used in confectionery and food industries... acid distillates were also among the commodities...
after tank cleaning...we were given bonus for a job well done...
sometimes she had in her tanks chemicals of various type and hazards...phenol being the most hazardous...styrene and acetone...para-xylene and nonanol....and petrochemicals and others...this commodities shorten lifes but to my amazement...this are the basic ingredients use to made our daily home products...
with all these cargoes....she had her tank washed after every discharge...to ensure no residue is left on the coating to ensure that the next cargo is not contaminated...and the worst to avoid her from being detained or had her charterer off hired her....
decks of the melati class chemical tankers...on right is melati satu and left is melati 6...
she ain`t pretty...her deck were oily and her paint job were rotting away because of the seas and rust...but her cargo and navigation equipment were working well....her accommodation were humble and decent...not too small and not too large...not too lavish and yet not too cheap...
this particular ship is built by Hyundai...a Korean mega-builders and were launched in the 90`s...she had a few mishaps along her career but until now she is one strong lady...same goes with her sisters...
kugiran di malam tahun baru...my captain with the guitar and my 2nd mate with the drums
we sailed together to on the northern hemisphere...never to the south...and never to the new world...from the far-east to middle-east to western europe and back to our homeland and again to europe....across the oceans and seas through storms and gales...through calm days and bright nights....
final loading port before signing off..algeciras, spain
the final days with her was the most memorable...it was the second trip to Rotterdam and were heading back east...i left her at Port Said...while transitting Suez Canal...it was July and the air was cool....it was hard to say goodbye..but every meeting ends with parting...that is how life goes...
until now she is my love..love of my life..she is the one who thought me the harshness and the gentleness of the ocean...the one who made me realize that life as navigators aren`t an easy one...where responsibilities are paramount and being out of focus could spell death to me or others onboard...
last tango...
i head back home leaving her trotting the globe to places she had been or never been before...she won`t be alone for she had a gang of men to look after and handle her...who had come and go...and long to come to be with her again....i myself is looking forward to meet her again in near future...
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