top of page

Welcome to Marine Musings
Search


BLOG 23 - A MASSIVE STORM IN THE NORTH PACIFIC - CUSTOMS' DECLARATIONS AND INSPECTIONS
Chennai Perumai Storms at Sea: Perhaps the innate vulnerability of Mankind is best exposed when facing the fury of Mother Nature. It...
ranganathanblog
Mar 23, 20229 min read
Â
Â
Â


BLOG 22 - MARINE MUSINGS 4 - LOADING WHEAT AT KALAMA (NEAR PORTLAND, OREGON, USA)
Chapter 7 – The Pacific and West Coast of USA Our next trip was to the West Coast of the USA, to Portland, Oregon, to load grain, under...
ranganathanblog
Mar 20, 202210 min read
Â
Â
Â


BLOG 21 - Singapore, Malacca Straits, Japan and Australia
Flashback: My first concrete memory was about Avadi, a place near Madras (Today's Chennai). I distinctly remember the 1954 Congress...
ranganathanblog
Mar 16, 202210 min read
Â
Â
Â


BLOG 20 - MOVIES (ONCE AGAIN) AND A MADRAS ARRIVAL
The perceptive reader may have noticed that my narratives start with 'Marine Musings 3', from the time I was 16+ years of age. 'Marine...
ranganathanblog
Mar 13, 20228 min read
Â
Â
Â


BLOG 19 - DEBALLASTING OPERATIONS AND OTHER COMPARISONS OLD AND NEW
This particular narrative will, in all probability, be 'old hat' to the experienced seafarer. It is written with the object of showing...
ranganathanblog
Mar 9, 202211 min read
Â
Â
Â


BLOG 18 - FIRST INTERNATIONAL PORTS
21+ Sorry, the narcissist in me prevailed, hence my 21 year old CDC photograph. It is in total contradiction to my normal persona, which...
ranganathanblog
Mar 6, 202210 min read
Â
Â
Â


BLOG 17 = The organisational structure on board (as in the 1970s)
The narrative below depicts the organisational structure as seen by me when I joined my first ship in 1970. Slowly. things started to...
ranganathanblog
Mar 2, 20228 min read
Â
Â
Â


BLOG 16 - MARINE MUSINGS 4 - STARTING MY SEA CAREER - CHENNAI PERUMAI
The (seafaring) reader is requested to bear with me when I state the obvious in these narratives. I am expecting many non-seafaring...
ranganathanblog
Feb 27, 20226 min read
Â
Â
Â


BLOG 15 - I COMPLETE THE COURSE IN AUGUST 1970 AND LEAVE DMET TO START A CAREER AT SEA
In two of the previous blogs, I had mentioned the names of batch mates who were close to me. There were also a few seniors whose names I...
ranganathanblog
Feb 23, 202210 min read
Â
Â
Â


BLOG 14 - 'RAGGING" AND A COURT CASE
This particular narrative is about the 'ragging' case that 7 of us were involved in, where we had to stand trial in a Sessions Court. The...
ranganathanblog
Feb 20, 20227 min read
Â
Â
Â


BLOG 13 - CALCUTTA BATCH MATES
Friendships are defined by one’s childhood upbringing, reading of Literature and the input of those who influence you during your...
ranganathanblog
Feb 16, 202211 min read
Â
Â
Â


BLOG 12 - KOLKATA - FOOD AND MOVIES - A Gastronomical Delight
Blog 12 This blog is about the more pleasant times of my stay in Calcutta, encompassing what I enjoyed - food and movies. Having come...
ranganathanblog
Feb 13, 20229 min read
Â
Â
Â


BLOG 11 - PROLOGUE AND MY STRUGGLES WITH ENGINEERING DRAWING AND CALCULUS
Academically - for an Engineering College - I was a weak student, having finished schooling in a medium which, later, I discovered was of...
ranganathanblog
Feb 10, 20225 min read
Â
Â
Â


BLOG 10 - "Marine Musings 3" - PROLOGUE AND FIRST FEW MONTHS IN THE HOSTEL
Blog 10 Chapter 4 LIFE IN THE HOSTEL AND CLASS ROOMS: FIRST YEAR Life as a first year was miserable for the first two months due to...
ranganathanblog
Feb 6, 20226 min read
Â
Â
Â


BLOG 9 - PROLOGUE AND LAST POST ON THE WORKSHOP ERA
Blog 9 Prior to the 1970s, recruitment into the Merchant Navy as Cadets or 5th Engineers were made from very few sources. A) Through 3...
ranganathanblog
Feb 2, 20225 min read
Â
Â
Â


BLOG 8 - "Marine Musings 3" - PROLOGUE AND WORKSHOP ACTIVITIES
When I joined DMET in 1966, due to subsidies from the Government of India, our fee structure was an affordable Rupees 350 to 400 per...
ranganathanblog
Jan 29, 20227 min read
Â
Â
Â


BLOG 7 - "Marine Musings 3" - About Directorate of Marine Engineering Training - DMET
The Institution that I studied and trained has - as of 2022 - evolved into a different, multi dimensional University, spanning many...
ranganathanblog
Jan 26, 20223 min read
Â
Â
Â
BLOG 6 - Entrance Exams - "Lawrence of Arabia" - DMET Calls First - Others Later
The closest I had been to the sea was when I had walked on the sands of Marina Beach in Madras. Ships could be seen, far away, at anchor....
ranganathanblog
Jan 24, 20227 min read
Â
Â
Â
BLOG 5 - A Life with Books
The Reader is requested to bear with me during the course of this blog, as it is about my world of books, My fascination for good books...
ranganathanblog
Jan 21, 20225 min read
Â
Â
Â
BLOG 4 - Do I take up English for Graduation? - My Brother and his Problems - Exams
Prologue I find that I have made a few grammatical errors in Blog 3, for which I apologise. My editing fell short of the standards I...
ranganathanblog
Jan 19, 20225 min read
Â
Â
Â
Contact
bottom of page