I heard a text on my mobile phone. It was my father who texted a message, ‘How’s the dry dock?’ I called his number on the mobile phone.
My father picked up, and I said, “Hi Dad.”
My father said on the mobile phone, “Hey son. Is everything alright?”
I said on the mobile phone, “Just much easier to call you than write novels over text messages.”
My father chuckled and said on the mobile phone, “That’s true. I always hated messaging.”
I said on the mobile phone, “I remember when we would send a bunch of questions and you would only reply ‘OK’. Even if we asked what port you are headed to, you would just write ‘OK’. Mom was always furious when she would see ‘OK.’”
My father said on the mobile phone, “I know I hated messaging. What’s up?”
I said on the mobile phone, “We just did a watertight test and the ship is leaking all over the place. Now the state inspector is making holes with a hammer on the hull. The company inspector Mr. Cue is really furious.”
My father said on the mobile phone, “I remember Captain Grug and that no-good inspector Mr. Cue. They are all about the fake papers and draining company money into their pockets. On one ship, they didn’t let the dock install new wire cables because the crew would do it. Even after I told them to put the cables on the main deck, they left the cables in the main garage and the ship left the dock. At the first anchorage, Captain Grug ordered us to change the wire ropes on everything. The problem was the wires were below, so I had to think of a way to bring cables on deck.”
I said on the mobile phone, “Lucky me then to work with them. I wonder how you solved this?”
My father said on the mobile phone, “We lowered the ramp and lashed the cables to the end of the ramp. When we closed the ramp, the wires were just a meter above the main deck. I figured out Captain Grug was watching us to see how we would solve this. As soon as the wires were on the deck, he came saying: 'You need to fit all these cables quickly because we can’t wait at the anchorage.' So we left the anchorage and changed all the steel wires during the voyage. It wasn’t easy; bad weather followed us, but the Captain insisted all the work must be finished before the next port.”
I said on the mobile phone, “This Captain is truly a piece of art.”
My father said on the mobile phone, “They all are, son. I must go now, need to finish something before the cement dries. Talk to you later.”
I said on the mobile phone, “Sure, Dad.” I hung up the mobile phone. I watched the young state inspector hammer the hull until my watch was over. The next day, the ship looked like it was in World War II, but the dock workers quickly removed all the panels and went to work. I took a few opportunities to explore the local town, which was a blend of historic and modern styles. It featured narrow cobblestone streets, charming squares, traditional houses with glass-encased balconies, seafood restaurants, and marinas. There wasn't much more to note, except for the sight of young teens sitting on the ground in small groups, drinking beer and smoking. As I walked down the pedestrian street, I saw them scattered in random clusters. After the ship’s hull was renewed, we left for our next port.
One day, I was with the AB on the bridge, and Captain Vile stopped by. He took the binoculars that were closest to him and looked at some speedboat in the distance “There you go with these young people,” Captain Vile said. “They drive a speedboat with an engine of 200 horsepower. Humble me, I only have a small boat with 4 horsepower.”
The AB said, “But he is probably up to his neck in credit, while you, on the other hand, have millions in your account.”
Captain Vile set down the binoculars and left the bridge. In the next port, the AB was sent home, and we continued to our next port.
On the voyage, one day, Frank came to take over the watch and said, “Did you hear? They are sending the Third Engineer home.”
I said, “No, I didn’t. Why are they sending him home?”
Frank said, “He told me that he refused to dump an oil barrel in the sea during the night. He just won’t do it. He doesn’t want to pollute the sea.”
I said, “And they are sending him home because of this? Where is the logic? On what grounds?”
Frank said, “They will stain his reputation like he is a no-good worker, sloppy, etc.”
I said, “Hmm yeah. For doing the right thing, you get blacklisted. That is nice, real nice.”
Frank said, “He told me that when he gets back in the office, he will tell them everything.”
I said, “I don’t know. All I see is that the Captain is still here after all these years. Everyone knows how he is, and still he is here.”
Frank said, “That is true. By the way, we are now heading out to some tropical area, and it’s good that the AC was fixed in the dry dock. At least it’s something; it’s better than nothing.”
I nodded and left the bridge for my cabin.
In a few days of navigation, the temperature really spiked, and the AC helped us cope with the heat until one day, the AC just stopped overnight, and I woke up all sweaty. I changed my clothes and left my cabin. In the hallway, I could hear some argument in the messroom. I walked there and saw half of the crew with the Chief Engineer, Sancho, in the middle, dressed in a fur-lined thick winter pilot leather jacket.
Cool Hand nervously said, “We are in the middle of tropical weather, turn on the damn AC.”
Chief Engineer Sancho said, “It’s wintertime.”
Cool Hand exclaimed, “Where do you see snow? What wintertime are you rambling about?”
Chief Engineer Sancho replied, “I called home, and my wife said it is wintertime now.”
Cool Hand shouted, “But that is back home on the other half of the planet, here it’s summertime, you lunatic.”
Chief Engineer Sancho said, “No. It’s wintertime.”
Captain Vile walked down the corridor, and I moved so he could enter the messroom. He stepped into the room and said, “What seems to be the problem!?”
Cool Hand nervously said, “The AC is turned off and it is hot as hell. We want the AC back on.”
Chief Engineer Sancho said, “We don’t use AC in wintertime.”
Captain Vile looked at Chief Engineer Sancho and said, “Chief Engineer has spoken. No AC in the winter.” Then, both of them left the messroom.
Cool Hand raised his hands and exclaimed, “Just dandy.”
Tuco the OS said, “There must be something fishy going on. The AC probably died because it is old junk, and I bet in the papers we got a brand new one and the money is in their offshore accounts.”
I said, “If you made a movie about this, I bet people wouldn’t believe it.” I left to attend to my duties on the bridge.
The ship felt like one big metal oven. The heat was unbearable. In the office on the bridge, I found a fan and set it up to rotate in the corner, moving from left to right. It helped a bit with air circulation, making it seem less hot. Captain Vile came in, turned it off, and left.
A few hours later, Frank came to relieve me, and I had to prepare some documents for the next port. I turned on the fan and worked on the computer. Captain Vile came in and turned the fan off again. He sat at a computer next to me. My hands were sweaty, making the keyboard sticky. I stood up and turned the fan back on as it rotated from left to right.
Every time the wind from the fan would pass Captain Vile, he would say, “Uh, oh.” Every 8 seconds, Captain Vile made these sounds, “Uh, oh.” I tried to ignore him, and we sat there for like an hour with his 8-second sounds, “Uh oh.”
When I was finished, I stood up.
Captain Vile said, “Third, could you please turn off the fan?”
I said, “Sure.” I turned off the fan and left the bridge for my cabin.
On the way to my cabin, I heard Cool Hand crying like a small child. I never heard a grown man above 56 years of age cry like a child. I just couldn’t stand it, all these emotions stirred up in me. I just locked myself in my cabin, but I could still hear him.
Cool Hand sobbed and shouted, “I have kids and a wife to feed. My family. And these bastards know that. That’s why they are bullying us because I can’t go home, none of us can. They are venting their frustrations on us.”
Cool Hand sobbed, and Tuco the OS asked, “What happened?”
Cool Hand sobbed and shouted, “Chief Engineer attacked me with a screwdriver.”
I quickly found a small MP3 recorder in my desk and set it to record under my door. This way, I might have proof of the misconduct happening on ships.
Cool Hand sobbed and shouted, “They were checking and starting up the engines on lifeboats. I wanted to know how to start the engine on my lifeboat, and as I climbed the ladder, the Chief Engineer started stabbing me from above.” Cool Hand sobbed for a while and shouted, “I almost fell down and died. My son, my family. They can’t survive without me. I bring the food to the table.” Cool Hand sobbed for a while and shouted, “This is worse than slavery. What have I done wrong to be treated this way? I almost died.” Cool Hand sobbed for a while and shouted, “No one cares for us. They all listen to Captains and Officers. Their word is written in stone, while my word means nothing to anyone.” Cool Hand sobbed for a while and shouted, “Look at all this blood. No one cares. If I died, they would just cover it up. My family would get nothing. They would write a report saying I was not safely dressed and that’s it.”
Tuco the OS said, “Come with me, I’ll patch you up.” Cool Hand sobbed in the distance and faded out.
I checked my MP3 recorder, and it managed to record most of it. My back chilled while the MP3 played Cool Hand as he sobbed and shouted. The MP3 player flashed, “Battery low,” and I plugged it into the socket to charge. The MP3 player sparked and burned. I was furious; these things usually happen on older ships because the voltage from the generator isn’t regulated, and any spike in voltage would burn any electronics plugged in. Right then, I thought about writing a book about all that happened on the ships and that will happen. The cry from Cool Hand moved me so deeply that I couldn’t get over it.
The next few days and nights were unbearable. I couldn’t sleep at night from the heat nor live during the daytime. We approached the port, and there was stormy weather. I was on the front with half-drunk bosun Cool Hand and Tuco the OS. We had no protection from the bad weather and were soaked to the bone.
Captain Vile said on the portable VHF radio, “Bridge to forward. Due to bad weather, we are going to anchor. Prepare the starboard anchor.”
I said on the portable VHF radio, with rain in my mouth, eyes, nose, and ears, “Forward to bridge. Prepare starboard anchor.”
Cool Hand drank a bottle of beer and threw it down the anchor hole. He prepared the anchor and vomited in the anchor hole. Then, he took out another beer from his pocket and drank it.
Tuco the OS and I just looked at each other and said nothing.
Captain Vile said on the portable VHF radio, “Bridge to forward. Drop the anchor 4 shackles[1].”
Cool Hand dropped the anchor.
I said on the portable VHF radio, “Forward to bridge. Drop the anchor 4 shackles.”
Cool Hand stopped the anchor when the mark of 4 shackles showed up. The ship maneuvered a little bit to test the anchor.
Captain Vile said on the portable VHF radio, “Bridge to forward. You will stay there for a while to make sure the anchor isn’t dragging.”
I said on the portable VHF radio that still worked from all that rain and storm, “Forward to bridge. I’ll stay and observe the anchor.”
Captain Vile said on the portable VHF radio, “No. You will all stay on forward.”
Cool Hand threw the empty beer bottle in the sea and took out another beer from his deep pockets.
Captain Vile held us there for 6 hours in that storm until he said on the portable VHF radio, “Bridge to forward. You may leave your post. The anchor is good.”
Cool Hand was almost sober from all that natural shower the storm offered him. As we stepped inside the superstructure, Captain Vile was behind the door with a smile on his face.
Captain Vile said, “Did you get a little wet?” He laughed and leaned his head toward us, and said, “For me, it was really cozy up there, where it is dry and warm,” as he kept laughing.
We said nothing and left for our cabins in anger. Captain Vile continued to laugh and he said, “Did you see that, Frank? My workers work overtime for free.”
I looked back and saw Frank on top of the stairs that led to the bridge.
I entered my cabin, locked the door, and changed my wet clothes. I noticed a signal on the mobile phone and called the office.
Someone picked up. I said, “Hi, this is Jack Tanner speaking.”
The agent on the mobile phone said, “Hi Jack, how may I help you?”
I said, “I finished my contract and stayed a few months extra. Is it possible to get a crew change for me in this or the next port?”
The agent on the mobile phone said, “Let me see. You are staying at the anchorage for a few days. No problem, you will get a replacement in this port.”
I said, “Thank you.” I hung up the phone and went to bed.
The next day I opened the door of my cabin. I heard Captain Vile’s voice saying, “What is this stench, Chief? It smells of urine. The entire corridor smells of urine.”
The CO mumbled, “I don’t know, Captain.”
Captain Vile said, “They probably urinated in this sink in the corridor. I don’t want my ship to smell like a dog shelter. I want this matter resolved.”
The CO said, “Ok, Captain.”
In the afternoon, Captain Vile walked up to me while I was seated in the messroom.
Captain Vile said, “The company said you will get a replacement in this port and they also inquired a lot about why so many crew members left under my command. Do you know anything about this?”
I said, “No, I don’t and frankly I don’t care.”
Captain Vile narrowed his eyes and left.
In a few days, we entered the port and moored alongside. I packed my case and went down to wait at the ship’s ramp for my taxi. When I got down on the ramp, I saw the CO leaning on the rail with his leg crushed and Frank beside him.
I asked, “What happened?”
Frank replied, “That drunk fool lowered the ramp on his foot. Now I have to find all the safety equipment and get him dressed.”
I said, “For what? You mean he can get compensation for being drunk because he is a Chief. But if you are an ordinary grunt and fall down a 16-meter-deep hole, you get nothing.” I just shook my head and left for the taxi that waited for me.
As the taxi drove off, I saw Cool Hand in his working overalls at a bar across the street. He drank some alcohol while he was on duty. I guess that incident really messed him up, as I will never forget his cries from that day. This was one of the key moments that pushed me into writing a memoir.
[1] Shackle - refers to the length of anchor chain
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