My First Day On Board a Cargo Ship as Junior Engineer

Table of Contents

Story of getting a Job in Marine Industry

Getting a job after B-tech is no more an easy task in the Marine Industry.

With so many private colleges and institutions, the market is now flooded with fresher marine engineers waiting to join their first ship for months.

I was not the exception either; after so many interviews, phone calls, and emails to my seniors, I finally got a job with someone’s reference in a reputed company.

Excitement of joining my very first vessel

I was on cloud 9 when the company confirmed my selection.

Buying and distributing sweets, posting on social media about the selection, attending numerous phone calls, and a lot more were the only stuff I did that day.

Documentation for my Visa and flight booking started the very next day, and soon I got lined up for a Geared Bulk Carrier arriving TAIWAN in the next 5-6 days.

I was literally very excited, there were many reasons for my excitement, and I think most of us have many of these in common.

I finally got a job for which I always dreamed of,
I will fly in a flight for the first time,
I will go out of my country and travel the world,
I will work on the machinery I have been studying about,
I will earn Dollars $.

With all these excitements, I started shopping for my first ever joining; it was like shopping for the whole year at once.

Finally, I received my flight details, New Delhi to Hong Kong, and then to Taiwan was the route I have been given.

I was super excited to join the ship but that moment was full of mixed emotions,

The flying day

Now the day of flying has come, I with my family booked a taxi from my hometown to Indira Gandhi International Airport,

I still remember that painful moment of entering the check-in Gate, Joy in the heart, and pain of leaving in my eyes is all I remember.

But I must admit that after check-in my baggage, everything just changed. The glamour of the shops inside the Airport was enigmatic; I was staring at the Branded shops, walking along the walkways, it was really awesome.

Roaming here and there finally I reached the boarding gate, the atmosphere was mesmerizing (at least for me)

I was looking at the girls and dreaming about them sitting beside me in the flight 😅, but these things never happen, at least for me😉, and I finally landed up sitting with an older couple😭.

That 4 hours flight was really amazing, I kept watching outside through the Direct Vision Windows, eating the stuff provided by cabin crew, Lurking at air hostesses was the only time pass in that flight.

The flight landed at Hong Kong International airport, and there I met other crew members who were also joining the same ship.

Then we flew to Taipei Airport of Taiwan; the company agent came to receive us in his Nissan Car (model I didn’t remember).

There we came to know that the Port was about 350 miles away from the Airport.

As I was already tired, but the roads between the mountains, that cloudy atmosphere, and drizzles kept me awake,

Ship’s First Look

Then we reached port custom office, we did all the necessary documentation, and finally, the 210-meter long beauty was in front of me,

Cranes were busy in discharging cargo; stevedores were embarking and disembarking the ship, I very first thing that came to my mind was how we would carry our heavy baggage to the ship?

Then, Boson threw the net and lowered the Provision crane, we collected our baggage in the net, and finally, our luggage landed on the ship.

After baggage, we all climbed the gangway to land on the deck of the very first queen of my life.

I was a little worried about what type of people i met on the ship, but as soon as I landed on the deck, a voice came from somewhere calling deck cadet “someone from your village came on the ship.”

After Listening those words, a wave of joy came to my heart that someone is here from my place.

Then I met the on duty junior engineer, he took me to his cabin, and here I was shocked to see that there was no attached toilet in my cabin.

If anyone of you has ever worked on a Japanese build vessel, you can easily co-relate these things.

So I had to use the common toilet for the entire contract of 8 months😱,

Then he took me to the galley to have some food, and after that, we went to The Engine Room for my basic familiarization.

An unforgettable incident happened the very first day in Engine Room

Now the old guy signed off, and I was on my own, we were about to leave the Port and preparing the engine.

Second engineer called me and asked to close the ballast pump valve,

I rushed to the bottom platform of the ship, but I got a little confused between the Ballast pump valve and the Sea Chest valve.

And I started closing the Sea chest valve😎, as the valve was about to close fully, several alarms started coming, and by god’s grace, somehow my 6^th sense worked, and I started opening that valve once again.

I saw second and third engineer rushing towards me, I thought, they will scold me like anything,

But both of them were very supportive and didn’t scold me much, and left me by just passing a cute smile.

Rounding Off

So, guys, that was my story about my first day on board a cargo ship.

Do share this with your mariner friends and comment below to share your experience.

Also Read: Safety and overhauling procedure of Mitsubishi Purifier.

Spread the love