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 friends, relatives and my family to read these blogs, hence some detailed explanations are resorted to, for them to follow the narratives. These explanations will be 'grist to the mill' for old sea dogs - those grizzled old veterans who have seen it all and who now have their feet up on the recliner, a glass of the best by the side. (I refer to orange juice, as anything more potent will give them a kick, a kick that may reach the proverbial bucket).

Marine Musings 4 – At Sea

Part 1

Introduction

South India Shipping Corporation (SISCO)

This shipping company, headquartered at Madras, had 5 bulk carriers, built in West Germany sometime between 1965 and ’66. By the time I joined my first ship end 1970, they were about 5 years old. Mind you, five years is not very old as far as ships go; but they were built as cheaply as possible and had started becoming junks by the time I had joined. But, I, in my ignorance, did not realise this till practically a year or two later.

SISCO had a reputation for treating their staff well. Salaries went to one’s bank account on time. Food on board was expected to be good, unless some responsible person decides to put his hand into the till. The Chief Cooks who were sent on board had to first cook for a party at the Sisco Clubhouse; only after that were they sent on board. The Company drawbacks were they hardly spent money on spares and stores, leading to shortage of spare parts and sudden breakdowns. One cannot blame the Company also, as the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s were periods in which Indian RBI foreign currency reserves were practically zero, so Indian shipping companies were unable to requisition the needed foreign exchange from RBI, to pay for spares and other expenses. It was doled out in a miserly manner.

I spent a total of 6 years in SISCO. In retrospect, 50 years down the line, their ships proved to be the perfect training ground and launching pad for the rest of my sea career. Whatever I knew, I have to attribute it to the intense and hazardous work done in their ships. 12 to 18 hour days were common, with no weekly offs, days on end. Those ships would not have survived the more strict regulations and mandatory inspections of today.

The bureaucratic issues in receiving my Second Class Part ‘A’ certificate kept me in Calcutta for a month after having passed said exam. The next day after reaching Madras, I was in South India Shipping Corporation office, filling up forms for my Indian Passport, my CDC (expanded as Continuous Discharge Certificate) and my formal application to join SISCO as a Fifth Engineer.

If my memory serves me correctly, I was on the payroll from 12th October 1970, with basic pay of Rs. 470. With allowances, it would come to a grand total of around Rs. 700. Pay scales for Officers was on the basis of an agreement between the Ship Owners of India (NUSI) and Maritime Union of India (MUI), which union I had to, perforce, join.

Chapter 1

# 1 Chennai Perumai – 22nd Oct 1970 to 6th Dec 1972 (with a short break of 15 days in between) - Almost 26 months

Chennai Perumai

Description:

24,364 grt; 43,816 dwt

Operator: South India Shipping Corp Ltd, Madras, India

Built 1966 by Bremer Vulkan AG, Bremen-Vegesack, West Germany. Yard no. 921

Main engine: nine-cylinder, two-stroke Bremer Vulkan-MAN 9Z70/120D developing 10,653 bhp at 135 rpm. Ship’s speed: 14 knots.

1987: to breakers at Alang, India

Photographed passing Bubendey-Ufer, outward bound from Hamburg, circa 1986

Vessel type: Bulk Carrier

Gross tonnage: 24,364 tons

Summer DWT: 43,897 tons

Build year: 1966

Parveen Malhotra and I went by train from Madras to Bombay and, after a day, joined the Chennai Perumai in Bombay Port. We had signed on to the Articles of the vessel just a few hours before. My CDC was stamped for the first time and signed by the Shipping Master, with the date of my joining the ship (22nd October 1970). Thus began a long sea career of sailing on ships for 38 years.

My first CDC photo Oct 1970 - I was 21+

The Main Engine on the Chennai Perumai was an MAN KZ 70 / 120 D.

MAN – Maschinenfabrik Augsburg und Nurnberg, a West German company

KZ – denoted Cross Head type, Two Stroke

70 / 120 – denoted 700 mm dia cylinder size 1200 mm stroke

D – denoted Turbocharged

It was a slow speed Diesel Engine. To an outsider, the cylinder size may seem large (700 mm), but I found this size to be comparatively small to the later engines I worked on.

As Fifth Engineer, I had a pretty comfortable air conditioned cabin to myself, with toilets and bathrooms at the end of the corridor. SISCO was the second company with centrally air conditioned ships, the first being Jayanthi Shipping vessels. Prior to this, Indian ships were not air conditioned and were subject to the vagaries of summer, with only fans to keep them cool. Steam heaters were provided in the older ships for winters.

A brief history of the Chennai Perumai would be in order here. She was built in West Germany and was supposed to be launched in January 1966. But tragedy struck.

A full crew, with the exception of a few senior officers who were already in the shipyard, flew out on Air India Flight 101 on 24th Jan 1966 and the plane crashed into Mont Blanc, killing all on board. Incidentally, the plane also carried our topmost nuclear physicist and founder of our nation’s thrust into the forbidden (forbidden by the Big Five of that period) and rarefied field of atomic energy, Dr. Homi Bhaba. There were a lot of conspiracy theories of foreign involvement to get rid of him, as India was aligning itself more with Russia in those days. To add spice to those theories, our Prime Minister, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri had died, mysteriously, in Tashkent two weeks before, after signing peace accords with Pakistan. To India’s credit, we initiated a nuclear test a few years later, to the chagrin of the world and the reluctant recognition of the powers that be.

Even today, the media speaks of having lost Dr. Homi in the Air India Mont Blanc crash. Nobody remembers those unfortunate souls, an entire crew, who perished in the same crash.

Seafarers, by nature, are prone to be superstitious, more so because of this tragedy, right in the initial stages of a vessel’s ‘birth’. A pall of ‘ill omen’ hung over the ship and, over the years, any happening beside the norm was attributed to the stamp of ‘ill omen’ that she carried forever.

To come back to the day I joined her on 22nd Oct 1970, the vessel was, then, carrying a cargo of grain. She ‘lightened’ at Bombay and took the majority of the cargo to Kandla.

My first sea voyage was from Bombay to Kandla, after which we went to Mormugao, for a cargo of iron ore to Rumania, which was my first international voyage.

Whilst at Goa, an event took place that influenced me for the rest of my life. A new Second Mate joined the ship. Our friendship began in fits and starts and slowly solidified into the beginnings of a lifelong friendship.

First Impressions of Goa: Since we were at anchor in Goa, for the better part of 3 weeks, I had the opportunity of going ashore a few times. Mormugao, in the ‘70s, was not as renowned as it is today as a holiday destination. Dark, dingy. Lots of small bars serving various drinks, including ‘Feni’, a native drink made from cashews. There were a number of motor cycle taxis (unofficial), where one sits on the pillion and the driver takes you wherever you want for a small fee, probably the fastest mode of transport in Goa and a source of livelihood in a pretty impoverished place.

In those days, Goans dominated the Steward Departments on most ships. The story goes that once, when a Captain and Chief Engineer went ashore in Mormugao and were in a bar for a drink, the locals were friendly and started talking to them. After a while, they were asked what their ranks were on board, they replied “Captain and Chief Engineer”. Whereon, one of the locals asked “It's alright your being Captain and Chief Engineer - but when will you become Chief Steward?”

===== Blog 17 will continue the narrative =====