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 the IR-420 scheme between the USA and India.

Before I go further, I would like to write about some of the seniors I was then sailing with, as a junior, during my tenure on board the Chennai Perumai.

Capt M. Madhusudanan – a warm, friendly person, who I would meet in the Dining Hall regularly or, occasionally, in the Smoke Room. On long voyages, he would call all Officers to his (rather large) cabin, where he and his wife would entertain us with drinks and food. At times, he would bring out his roulette set and we would play.

I hardly had anything to do with him professionally, because I was at the bottom end of the food chain, at that time. He and the Chief Engineer never got along and avoided each other, even going to the extreme of one going down to lunch or dinner only after the other one finishes and gets out of the Dining Hall. I used to be perplexed by this. Seniors used to tell me that it is pretty common for Masters and Chief Engineers to be antagonistic towards each other in those days. Why I write this is because I was not only learning to be a good engineer, but also promising myself that I would not repeat the same mistakes that my seniors made.

He was also more inclined to take the Great Circle course due to the shorter distance covered. For the uninitiated, a Great Circle route is when you plot a course and take advantage of the curvature of the earth’s surface to reduce the distance covered. A Rhumb Line course is one where you plot as straight a course as possible between two ports.

In long voyages, the Great Circle course is preferred as it cuts down the length of a voyage by many days. The flip side is, the further north you go, especially in the Pacific or even the Atlantic for that matter, you are likely to encounter rough to severe weather, where the vessel has to slow down considerably to reduce rolling or pitching, thus negating the advantage of a Great Circle route.

Chief Engineer MI D’Souza followed by Mr. Rajagopal – The first was a dour veteran sailor, probably in his early fifties, who kept to himself and hardly had any interaction with anybody. I was one of the few whom he saw every day (when I was in the 8-12 watch), as I had to take the Engine Room Log Book to him every day at noon. He used to call me ‘Paanch Saab’ (5th Engineer Sir) as some others also did. A gruff but smiling exterior, he never called me by name during the entire tenure I was on board, in spite of the age difference, experience difference - I caught on to this and have, thus, always addressed my juniors by their rank followed by “saab’. Being respectful to your juniors paid dividends in later years. I am not sure, but I think he was from one of the last batches of Engineering Cadets that passed out of Dufferin, making him more than 25 years my senior.

I saw him come down to the Engine Room once a week and the end of the month, for an inspection (in order to type out his Monthly Inspection Report) and to take the Main Engine Indicator Cards (from which one can calculate the Brake Horse Power being generated, thus the efficiency, and also have a good idea of the condition of the running components). That was it. He used to sometimes send down notes to the Second Engineer to check this or do that. All activities, work, planning, execution used to be handled by the Second Engineer.

All this changed over the coming years, with later Chief Engineers having a complete ‘hands on’ approach to work.

Mr Rajagopal was an extremely friendly type, very intelligent, very knowledgeable and with a flair for teaching in such a way as to make things look simple. More about him later.

2nd Engineer RP Singh: He was three years my senior in DMET and my first Second Engineer. A wonderful and patient Second Engineer; I was not the brightest of minds and was a slow learner in the beginning. But I learnt a lot when I kept watch with him (4-8 watch). Before I could have any doubts on which to ask him a question, he would have a hundred questions for me, which kept me scurrying to find answers. It was this period under him that made me an Engineer and, later on, a good Engineer. He taught me to ask myself the five questions of ‘Why, What, When, Where and How’. It stood me in good stead for the rest of my sea career. Mind you, before then I could have been classified as a romanticist with his head in the clouds. After being with him for nearly a year, I changed dramatically.

2nd Engineer K. Shankar: During the 26 months I was on board the Perumai, he was one of the 2nd Engineers I sailed with. By the time he joined the ship, I had been promoted to Fourth Engineer, in charge of the 8-12 watch. He was a live wire and full of energy. He had just obtained his Chief Engineer’s Certificate - 1st Class Part ‘B’ - he was full of information about the exams.

As I had then started preparing for my 2nd Class Part ‘B’ exam, his recent acquisition of his Chief’s Certificate proved to be of immense value to me. Although not my watch, I started going down to the Engine Room much earlier than my usual watch time, in order to ask him questions. There were many parts of machinery that I had not seen in an open condition - he would take the trouble of dismantling the parts and show me the workings. I would follow it up with taking notes, reading the manual and supplementing the practical notes. One irritation for me was the fact that I was not good in machinery drawing, whereon he taught me to make small line sketches in the margin of the notes.

Later, on the Chennai Sadhanai, we sailed together again, this time as Chief Engineer and Second Engineer.

There were others who played an important role on the Chennai Perumai, about whom I will mention when a particular incident takes place.

To continue with the voyage narrative, We reached Portland, Oregon to load grain.

To load grain in the USA, the vessel’s holds have to pass an inspection made by the Food and Drug Administration, in terms of cleanliness of the holds, water tight integrity of the hatch covers and much more. We had spent quite a bit of time during the ballast voyage in the Pacific, whenever weather permitted, getting ready for the inspection.

We were in Portland for about 10 days, loading grain.

In terms of bulk, grain is a difficult cargo to transport, unlike iron ore or coal.

With all cargoes, concentrated loading in one hold cannot be done, as it is likely to stress the ship and, in extreme cases, can break the ship. So, the pattern of loading and deballasting (removal of sea water from ballast tanks) is calculated and planned in advance, so that ship stresses are kept to acceptable levels. The Chief Officer is the one that prepares the ship for loading and discharging the ship in a safe manner.

Something known as a Plimsoll Line regulates how much the vessel’s hull can be submerged (maximum), depending on where the loading takes place, what seas the vessel will transit and where the vessel will discharge. Beside the Plimsoll Line – and stem (forward) and stern (aft) of vessel - are numbered markings showing the depth the vessel is presently submerged. It used to be in ‘feet’, nowadays marked in ‘metres’. These are called draft markings.

PLIMSOLL MARKINGS AT MIDSHIP

Loading takes place in a phased manner, along with removal of ballast tanks’ water. So, the shore loader (or sometimes the ship’s cranes fitted with grabs) may have to make several passes across the 7 or 9 or whatever the number of holds, before the capacity of the vessel is reached, as per the Plimsoll markings.

As can be seen in the markings above, depending on the type of water the vessel loads or transits or discharges and in the time of the year (summer, winter), vessel can load only up to the marking permitted. Density of fresh water is different from sea water, hence the different lines.

The density of the cargo plays an important part in the calculations for loading to allowable maximum.

In the 60s and 70s, shipping had to contend with non-standardised measurements of length, weights and measures. For example, for weights, the British had the Imperial Ton, the US had the Short Ton and Long Ton, while most of Europe and Asia were using the Metric Ton, with each substantially differing from the other.

Similarly, volumes of liquids had the (British) Imperial Gallon, US Gallon and / or Barrels and (Asia) Litres or cubic metres respectively. In the metric system 1000 litres = 1 cubic metre(m3).

Lengths were measured in feet / inches in some countries and in metres / centimetres in others that had changed to the metric system.

So, in the US, we were loading cargo using Long Tons, while the rest of the world (mostly) were using Metric Tons.

In that period, 50s, 60s, 70s, the world of Physics was being subjected to vast changes in a short while. In shipping, we were subjected to the vagaries of change, being the end users. I started learning Physics in school in the FPS System (Foot, Pound, Second system), switched to the CGS System (Centimetre, Gram, Second System) in my Pre University period, then started DMET in the MKS System (Metre, Kilogram, Second System) and finished College with SI Units. Pretty confusing for one with average intelligence.

Because of the tons per cubic metre being high for iron ore, the hold will be filled to less than half the capacity of the hold. In case of coal, holds will be about 3/4th the capacity of the hold.

In case of grain, the holds are filled to capacity, as the cargo is light. But there are certain inherent dangers to carrying grain on board. In case of rolling or pitching, the cargo of grain is likely to shift, thereby causing a ‘list’ to the vessel. This can endanger the vessel. So, when the cargo is being loaded, the loader has to ensure that there are no ‘pockets’ – the cargo should be evenly spread, layer by layer.

Another danger comes from water; if water ingress takes place into the hold (which can happen from bad weather or from leaky ballast valves), the grain will expand. The expansion can be severe enough to lift up the battened down, heavy, hatch covers.

Due to several mishaps that had taken place in previous years after a ship had loaded grain, there were more strict regulations in place and a ‘Stability Manual’ specifically for grain loading.

And we completed loading at Portland after taking all these hundreds of factors into account and set sail for India.

Portland, Oregon: This was the first US Port where I had a chance to go out several times. After a couple of visits to a nearby, dreary, shopping area, I finally landed up in Lloyd’s Centre. I was fascinated by the size, the facilities and the shopping available. The huge ice rink in the middle was a premier attraction((for me), where I saw skaters with so much grace and style. Surrounding the railing on the first floor were tables and chairs, where you could sit and eat and watch the skaters go by. That was the first of two occasions that I went to Lloyd’s Centre.

https://www.lloydice.com/

One may wonder how we were able to go into countries without visas. SeaFarers have a special dispensation in all countries, where visas are applied for by the ship’s agents in that country from their Immigration Department. On the vessel reaching the port, the first to board the vessel are the Customs people, who can inspect any part of the vessel should they have a mind to. This is mostly a formality, which can turn into a very intense search – and arrests made – if they suspect that contraband or drugs are being carried, mostly through prior information. Then Health Officials come on board to check Vaccination Certificates and general health of people on board.

Then the Immigration authorities board the vessel. In the US, each individual has to present himself to the Immigration Officer, who will then give a pass, with which you can visit the city or town close by, till the ship departs. (I may have gotten the order wrong - it could be Health first, Customs second and Immigration third). This is because I would be down in the Engine Room, competing the arrival operations and ensuring the vessel was ready for cargo - and then I would go up).

In the US, these passes were given on the basis of visas we had to get in advance of joining a ship from the US Consulate or Embassy of our native country. We had to get US Seaman’s visas (C1/D) stamped on our passports, without which we could not set foot on American soil. Only the US had this requirement. Other countries just gave us passes when we reached their ports, with our passports being kept in the possession of the Ship’s Agents till departure. Most countries would give a consolidated visa on the basis of the 'Crew List' having been faxed from the previous port.

After the Twin Tower attack on 11th Sept 2001, there were drastic changes to security rules in the US, wherein the US Coast Guard could and would board any vessel at the 12 nautical mile range, to carry out inspections and checks, before allowing the ship to dock alongside.

Portland: Clean city, well regulated traffic, broad side walks, good shopping, were all evident during my forays into the city. But wherever I went, the people were standoffish and had a bias towards dark skinned people. The only friendly people I met were the cab drivers, all very talkative and wanting to know about where I was from and about the ship. Apart from him, was the sales person behind the counter of the shop that sold nuts – peanuts, cashew nuts and many more varieties of nuts. I drooled over the roasted and salted and chillied cashew nuts and peanuts, bought as much as my budget allowed me. (I had a ‘sweet tooth’ for such delicacies.) That salesman was the one who told me that the cashew nuts were from India. I had not seen that size of cashew nuts ever In India, realising in the process, that all top quality stuff was exported from India, leaving the mediocre produce to be consumed by the locals in India. Anyway, the people make a city and give it soul. The lack of friendliness and perceptible racism made me feel uncomfortable in Portland.

After completion of loading, we set sail for India. We got battered by bad weather close to the Aleutian Islands for about 10 days or so.

===== Blog 23 continues - facing very rough weather from a 2nd Mate's perspective =====