The next day, Captain James called me again to his quarters. He was seated behind his desk and said with a smile, “Come in, Black Crow. That port and Marlboro bribe, that was crazy. On top of that, it worked as you said. They stuffed their bags, pants, jackets. Where is this world going to?”
I just smiled.
Captain James said, “Well, I called you because I got an email that we will be heading for a new country, and I need your sixth sense here. I have a feeling you will give me some bad news and I should listen this time.” Captain James tilted his computer monitor and I was able to read the country and port of destination.
I said, “Well...”
Captain James rubbed his hands and said, “And here we go, tell me.”
I said, “First of all, they want you to give our ship's fuel levels. And when we berth, they are going to measure them. If they are not the same, we will get a fine up to 100,000 USD. There is no way in hell we can give them the exact amount we will have when we berth.”
Captain James’ eyes popped wide open, and he moved his index fingers under his beard.
I said, “If we pass this by some miracle, then we get boarded by port officials, and they will inspect our ship if it is seaworthy per their laws. In short, our trash cans that are now plastic must be metal; they have different safety regulations. In the end, we would have to overhaul the entire ship and still, I bet we would get a ticket. They would invent something just because we are a foreign ship in their land. This is an impossible mission; better cut this thing loose.”
Captain James said, “Just out of curiosity, how do you know all this?”
I said, “To pass time on the bridge, sometimes I read all the message bulletins, overhear some communications, and know a few persons that were there. I remember a lot of ships were unable to depart because their fuel wasn’t the same as declared. This means you traded or sold the fuel to someone without papers. And while the company fights this nonsense that you can’t win, on the other side, they keep charging up your daily berth. So in the end, one company paid 250,000 USD to get their ship back. So good luck with that.”
Captain James sighed and said, “I also heard something about that country, but this is bad. Really bad. I’ll write them an email to forget these parts of the world and work in safer zones. Thanks, Black Crow, for your input. You’re dismissed.”
I chuckled and walked back to my cabin.
After two days, I was on morning duty on the bridge. Captain James walked in with a happy face.
Captain James said, “Jack, the company listened, and we will be changing course to some familiar ports.”
I said, “Glad they listened. You probably gave them good arguments.”
Captain James said, “Well, I read the requirements of that country they have for ships and just wrote them a few pages of costs and possible fines. The numbers did all the talk. I even talked to one of my colleagues, and he also shared some incredible stories. They stalled his ship with cargo operations for seven days until the company decided to abort, and then just like that, he was loaded in fifteen hours. Even got a free passage.”
I said, “So there is another option, just pull the plug. I have to remember that.”
Captain James chuckled and said, “I also told the company I’ll be going home at the next port. I’ve been overstaying my welcome here, need some time to cool off from all this excitement.”
I said, “I understand. We’ll miss you, Captain. You are one of the best I’ve had. It was an honor to sail with you.”
Captain James smiled and said, “To celebrate all this, we will have a barbecue today, and because you single-handedly saved the ship.”
I just smiled.
Captain James said, “I’ll never forget that. You did good, Jack.” He tapped me on the shoulder and left the bridge.
After my watch, I walked down to the stern, drawn by the sounds of laughter. There was a makeshift barbecue, a few tables and benches, and some crates to sit on. Most of the crew was there. Tom waved me over to join his friends. I sat down. Tom looked for a clean plate but couldn't find one. Eventually, he grabbed a random plate, spit on it, and wiped it with a cloth. He filled the plate with meat and handed it to me. I thought of an old saying from my brother, ‘What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.’
Tom pointed out a worker across the table. Tom said with a smile, “Bos, you see him? He ate a whole lifeboat food bar. Already three days and he cannot eat.” Tom burst into laughter. Tom waved with a piece of steak and shouted, “You want some?” The other worker just waved his hand, while Tom laughed hard.
Bosun Alpha sat down near me with a piece of bread in his hand and said, “Before you came, sir, the ship was in a bad place. They gave us flour with bugs inside. All infested. The cook put the good bag in the fridge and made crunchy bread full of vitamins with the bad flour full of bugs.”
I laughed with Tom and said, “I’m not sure if this story is to laugh or cry. At least you got your vitamins, right?”
Tom said, “That place, some worker from shore fell between the ship and shore. The ship squeezed him on the fender. Bosun ran down to help and the old foreman said, ‘Stop. Let him be. Plenty of workers around’.”
Bosun Alpha said, “They just left him there. His body fell in the sea and vanished. No one cared.”
Tom said, “Bosun, you remember that man near the road?”
Bosun Alpha said, “Yes. Third, we were in a taxi, and when it stopped at a red light, we saw a man lying on the side of the road. We said, ‘This man needs help.’ The taxi driver said, ‘No, he’s been lying there for ten days, he is not going anywhere.’ The green light came, and he just drove off.”
I said, “Well, definitely didn’t hear this before. Good that we are now navigating in more civilized areas.”
Time passed with a lot of food and beverages. There were plenty of stories and jokes, and everything went fine. I went to my duty watch, and after midnight, at the end of my watch, I went to bed.
In the morning, I found Tom asleep in front of my door. I stepped over him silently and walked to the morning watch on the bridge.
On the bridge Chief Officer Ben barely kept his eyes open.
I said, “Just go get some sleep. I’ll take it from here.”
Chief Officer Ben nodded and said, “Thanks. I’m beaten.” Then he left the bridge.
After a few hours, Captain James walked in.
I said, “Rough night?”
Captain James said, “Today the crew will probably be asleep all day.”
I asked, “Until when did the barbecue last?”
Captain James said, “Four or five am. They deserved it, to let out some steam.”
Tom walked in, looking scruffy in a stained white shirt. The Captain smiled and covered his forehead and eyes with his right hand. Tom walked over to me, grabbed me by the shoulder, and leaned on me. “Third, sorry for knocking on your door late at night,” Tom said. Another worker came and grabbed Tom.
I said, “I didn’t hear you knock. No worries.”
Tom looked me in the eyes, all desperate. The worker who pulled him back said, “Sorry, sir. Sorry, sir.”
I said, “No worries. It’s all good. Get some rest, guys.” Tom nodded.
The other worker said, “Thank you, sir. Sorry, sir.” He then pulled Tom away from me, and they left the bridge. Captain James chuckled the whole time before leaving the bridge as well.
In the next port, most of the crew went out as we were berthed and cargo operations would commence tomorrow. I was in the TV room when the cook came in.
The cook said, “Big problem, sir. You help me.”
I said, “What's wrong?”
The cook said, “I make toast, everyone go out. Can you eat? You help me eat. Otherwise, I throw it in garbage.”
I smiled and said, “Bring it here.”
The cook came back with one big oven pan filled with toast breads that were covered with pineapple.
I asked, “What is this, fruit toast?”
The cook replied, “No, it’s ham and cheese covered with pineapple.”
I removed the pineapple and took a bite of the toast. I usually don’t like pineapple, but it was edible. I picked up the pan and said, “Ok, I’ll try and eat it.”
The cook left and came back with three more pans.
I was surprised, to say the least, and said, “I can’t eat all of this. I thought there was only one pan of this.”
The cook placed them on the sofas and said, “Yes, sir. You big man. You can eat. You help me eat all this.” The cook smiled and left.
I struggled all evening but managed to eat two full pans. When I finally went to my cabin to sleep, I could barely rest as my stomach felt like it was going to explode.
The next morning, I was on the gangway when Captain James exited the superstructure with two large suitcases. He was followed by an older person of average height with a round head and round spectacles. His grayish, thinning hair and short beard contributed to his distinguished appearance. I noticed he had a toothpick in his mouth. His moves and posture reminded me of Captain Don Quixote.
Captain James shook my hand and said, “Been an honor, Jack. This is the new captain, Blake.”
“Nice to meet you, Captain,” I said, shaking Captain Blake's hand.
Captain Blake nodded, the toothpick still in his mouth.
Captain James tapped me on the shoulder and said, “See you on another ship, Black Crow.”
I smiled while Captain Blake looked surprised by the nickname. Captain James waved to everyone and left the ship with his suitcases.
Captain Blake took the toothpick from his mouth with his right hand and said, “I’ll be in my office if anyone needs me.”
I said, “Ok, Captain.” Captain Blake left.
A few days later, we departed the port, and it was lunchtime. I walked down to the messroom and sat at an empty table. My eyes met 2nd Engineer Kurt, who shrugged his shoulders. The cook brought us soup and a plate with sliced cooked meat, one piece each.
The cook said, “Here it is, Captain, as you ordered for your crew. Soup with cooked meat.”
Captain Blake looked in the pot, smelled it and said, “This is good.” Captain Blake poured himself a plate of soup and took a sip with his spoon. He looked at the rest of us and said, “Well, eat up.”
I looked at the other messroom, where the crew ate a lot of various meals. I said, “What, this is it? Soup and a piece of meat?”
Captain Blake looked at me over his glasses and said, “This is enough for a daily meal. What do you eat at home, a buffet?”
2nd Engineer Kurt said, “I can eat you and this table. We want our food.”
Captain Blake ate a spoon of soup and said, “This is all you will get.”
I said, “Why? Is the food expensive? The company had no problem with the food so far. What changed... only the Captain.”
Chief Officer Ben said, “I’ve been with this company for some time, and we never had issues with food.”
I said, “This reminds me of the previous ships I used to work on, RO-RO. Chicken wing and a fist of rice.”
Captain Blake said, “I came from RO-RO ships.”
2nd Engineer Kurt said, “Why did you come here!?”
Captain Blake said, “RO-RO ships are dying out. Container ships are taking over, so here I am.”
2nd Engineer Kurt said, “Just great.”
When I heard that he worked on RO-RO ships, I knew this would be a fun ride to the end. I thought, ‘Maybe fate is sending me a message.’ We mostly continued to eat in silence. As I ate the meat, Captain Blake looked at me while picking his teeth with a toothpick. A piece of meat stuck between his teeth flew onto the table toward me. I stood up and left the table.
In the evening, Captain Blake came to the bridge to continue a conversation on his cellphone. “Now I hear you better. Thank you. Yes. Thank you,” he said. Captain Blake hung up and called someone else. “Too bad you didn’t come with me. Together we could share as they throw laurel leaves at us. The company praised me because the ship looks as new, the cargo tanks, and everything is in mint condition,” he added.
I thought in my head, ‘Well duh, since Captain James before did all the work and he should be praised. Not you.’
Captain Blake hung up the call on the cellphone and said, “How is the navigation going?”
I said, “Fine.”
Captain Blake looked at the radar and said, “Do you see these ships?”
I said, “Yes. We will pass clear of them.”
Captain Blake said, “But you should avoid this first one on the starboard side and then that one maybe makes a turn here.” Captain Blake pointed his finger at the radar.
I looked at his finger on the radar and said, “As I said, we will avoid them all. They will all pass very close to each other. We will just avoid this whole cork of a situation.”
Captain Blake said, “Let me see. I’ll be in command.”
I let the Captain take over the command and he drove us straight into the crossing of five other ships. As we got closer and closer, all the alarms on the radar started to blink red with collision alerts.
Captain Blake said, “You are in control,” and left the bridge.
I was speechless for a few seconds. Then I quickly took a VHF radio and called the first ship, “Victor, Yankee, Zulu, Six, Delta motor vessel Elin, this is Foxtrot, Mike, Lima, Eight, motor vessel Fulcrum.”
On the VHF, a response came, “This is motor vessel Elin, channel eight.”
I switched to channel eight and said, “Motor vessel Elin, this is motor vessel Foxtrot. Do you plan to keep this course?”
A response on the VHF, “This is Elin. We are changing course in 1 mile for new heading 270 degrees.”
I said on VHF, “Thank you, motor vessel Elin. I will keep an eye on you and correct my heading.”
I corrected my heading to avoid the first and second ships. There were still three remaining. I managed to squeeze myself between those three remaining ships. I could have literally waved to the other navigating officer as we passed so close with our ships. I said to myself, ‘No more. He really put me in a hard place, and he is not touching my watch ever again.’ After my watch, I went to sleep.
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