Blog 73 - "Marine Musings 20" - "Nosac Tai Shan" - New Building at Sumitomo Yard, Oppama

Building yard: Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd., Oppama

Built year: 1986

Yard no: 1139

Tonnage: GRT: 48676/ NET: 14603 / TDW: 15577

Dims: LOA: 190,05/ BR: 32,29/ DR: 8,921mtr

Machinery: 7-cyl Sulzer RTA by shipbuilders Sumitomo at Tamashima yard

BHP: 11850/ Speed: 18,0knots

Car capacity: 5930

One side midship ramp and quarter stern ramp

IMO No. 8513560

11.10.1986: Launched for Austral Carriers Ltd., Monrovia

15.12.1986: Completed as NOSAC TAI SHAN. Bareboat-chartered to WW for service in the Nosac-pool

00.07.1996: Renamed TAI SHAN

00.08.1996: Purchase option declared and vessel taken over by Wilhelmsen Lines AS., Lyskaer

00.09.1996: Flagged in NIS (Norway)

00.12.1997: Owners changed to Wilhelmsen Lines Shipowning AS., Lysaker

00.01.1999: Sold to Actinor Car Carriers AS.,Oslo Purchaseoption back to Wilhelmsen Lines Shipowning AS

00.09.2003: Sold to Capital Bank PLC. Purchase option back to Wilhelmsen Lines Shipowning AS

00.09.2005: Sold to Actinor Car Carriers AS., Haugesund. Purchase option back to Wilhelmsen Lines Shipowning AS

00.10.2007: Sold to Caiano Ship AS., Oslo. Purchase option back to Wilhelmsen Lines Shipowning AS

22.01.2014: Owner: Taishan Shipping SA., Panama. Renamed JK TAI SHAN

24.09.2016: Arrived at Chittagong/ Bangladesh

Chapter 1 - Uraga, Japan, Overlooking the Entrance to Tokyo Bay AND Supervising in Sumitomo Shipyard, Oppama

Bombay Office called up one fine morning, end August 1986 and asked if I would be interested in supervising the building of a new ship - a Car Carrier - in Japan. I jumped at the chance, went to Bombay the very next day, completed my medicals and flew out to Tokyo.

Indian Immigration rules had changed. We now had to show our passports, CDCs and a letter / fax from the Japanese Agents that they will be responsible for my stay in Japan.

I think it was the 2nd of September 1986 that I was picked up by the Agents at Narita Airport, Tokyo. In Japan ,the Japanese Agent comes directly to the aircraft disembarking bay, identifies you and breezes you through Japanese Immigration in no time.

It was followed by 3 train changes to reach Uraga. Lugging a heavy suitcase down and up the stairs of the railway stations proved to be a major chore, as escalators were not, then, common.

Sumitomo Shipyard had their “Guests Hotel” in Uraga, on the mountain top. I had a 7th floor room, overlooking the Tokyo Bay at the exact point where pilots would board incoming ships and get off from outgoing ships. This pilot activity went on night and day, 24x7.

From the small balcony of the room, it was a fascinating overview - in today’s parlance, I would call it a ‘drone view’ - which was soothing to an overworked Engineer, whenever I returned from the Shipyard at night.

I stayed in that small, cramped, room for about a hundred days, hurting my toe in the room or my elbow in the bathroom, when I turned around too quickly. Later, on the say-so of the Sumitomo Chairman, I was assigned a larger, more comfortable room - but it lacked the grand view afforded by the smaller room, so I politely refused, citing my reasons.

Food was a major problem, being a vegetarian (or eggitarian). For those hundred odd days, I survived on bread, butter, jam, eggs, milk and fruits. I used the Japanese word ‘yasai’, meaning vegetable, quite lavishly during my stay to make myself understood.

The Hotel had a massive kitchen and a serving ‘mamasan’ quickly realised my predicament and would ensure my breakfast was good and sumptuous, mostly because of the fruits, completely different from others. She was good enough to pass on the information to the Sumitomo Yard catering staff. At least, I did not starve.

On the first day, the Agent took me to Uraga Station, bought me a monthly pass from Uraga to Oppama, took me through the interchange at one of the in-between stations, put me on an express train, traveled with me to Oppama Station, took me to a waiting Sumitomo Yard car and left. I saw him again a month later, when he came to renew my Train Pass.

Chapter 2 - Sumitomo Yard and “Nosac Tai Shan”

Japanese precision ensured that I left the Hotel at 6.55 or before - a 7 minute walk -, caught the 7.04 train from Uraga, changed trains (to the adjacent platform where a fast train would be waiting) and reached Oppama Station at exactly 7.48, then a 2 minute walk to the waiting car, 8 minutes drive to the Yard - I had been given a rather large Office, with a conference room , a small bedroom and a rather large bathroom.

When I reached the Office, there would be a cup of hot coffee waiting, along with a set of new boiler suits (which were washed and returned to my room every day), fresh socks, gloves, work shoes, a neck towel, plain goggles, a jacket if it was cold, a raincoat and umbrella if it was raining or going to rain and a helmet.

A few years ago, when in the US, I had purchased a fur lined ankle length, suitable for winter also, zipper type of Caterpillar Safety shoes for $65 and had been carrying it with me ever since. (Although not in use 30 + years down the line, I still possess the wrinkled, cracked shoes in honour of the unforgettable service it rendered me over the years, to the chagrin of my sons).

The Bombay Office was supposed to give each seafarer joining the ship 2 Boiler Suits with the Company Logo and a pair of Safety Shoes. The Boiler Suits would not last 3 months, so we had to buy a few of our own either in Singapore, Japan or HongKong.

The safety Shoes supplied in Bombay were of very poor quality and, within a month, the sole would open up, crocodile-like, or else the sole would just crack into two. I was a regular complainant of the condition and quality of the shoes, to no avail. Finally, I just gave up and bought my own.

So, here I was in Sumitomo Shipyard, with my cowboy type Safety Shoes. Initially, the Japanese used to call me ‘Cowboy Chief’ amongst themselves for about a week, till they found that I was a hard task master, as far as work went.

At 8.15, a team of 10 or so Yard Junior Managers and Assistant Superintendents of different departments and a Liaison Officer, would troop into the Conference Room and would discuss the agenda of the day, the Liaison Officer translating, if need be.

The routine was set.

Typical view of a Car Carrier’s Interior

The first two days in the Yard were pretty tiresome and needed very strong legs to traverse the length and breadth of the ship, the 12 decks, each the size of football fields and also going up and down into the dry dock. All I was doing was signing off on tests that were being carried out in one corner and literally running to supervise another test in another corner.

It took me two days to realise that I was being manipulated by keeping me running around, so that I would not go in-depth into the tests that were being performed, which would cover up any deficiencies in the testing or the results.

The third morning, I threw the entire lot of Managers into a quandary in the morning conference, by announcing that I was being hassled and hurried the last two days and had approved all tests. I told them that, after studying the copies of the results provided, 95% of the tests carried out did not come up to specifications and would need to be redone. I also told them that I was aware of their manipulating me by scheduling one test in one corner of the ship and the next at the other corner, so that I would be frustrated enough to sign off on all the results without an intensive check.

A lot of shouting and temper was displayed by the Japanese. They said they had planned an entire week’s schedule and my refusal would delay the ship’s launching, commissioning and sea trials. In a way, they were trying to blackmail me and coerce me into submission. They said that they were running out of time. They called in their bosses for the meeting, which is exactly what I wanted.

I pulled out the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) and the ‘Specifications’ and told them that they were not abiding by various clauses. During those two days, I had hardly slept and had studied the MOA and Specifications like a lawyer and was very thorough with most of the clauses. As per one of the clauses, as Owner’s Representative, I had the right of re-testing, to my satisfaction.

There was a sudden silence when they realised my role was not that of a Chief Engineer, but had evolved to being the Owner’s Representative also.

For the first two days, they had been telling me what to do. On the third day, the roles were reversed and they did not like it. The Japanese can be very stubborn and do not like any changes to what they had planned. Their planning is based on consensus, derived after a team meeting. Once decided, they stick to it and will not change anything, even if they find anomalies.

Having known them for just a few days, we were not exactly friendly.

I hit them below the belt by asking the group “How many of you have sailed on a ship and in what capacity?”

Two had sailed, one as Second Mate for 3 months and the other as 4th Engineer for 8 months. That kind of silenced them.

I told them I wanted a schedule where I am not forced to run to eight corners and then return to the first corner again. If I were to go to one area, I should be shown the testing of as many machinery and hull items as possible in that area before I move to another area.

I also told them that, as done in the last two days, I will not come blindly for a machinery test. I needed advance information of what they had planned and I needed Manufacturer’s Specifications and Instruction Manuals in advance, so that I can prepare for the tests that they were going to demonstrate.

Once these lines of communication were established, our working relations improved. I had to show them why 95% of the tests done were not up to specifications, but also showed them how to reach specified goals.

A small example were float alarms of Tanks and Bilge Wells not having any delay timers. I had to explain that, were the ship to roll, the oil or water or whatever the medium was, would flow from one side to the other, during which the alarm would activate and deactivate again and again.

Their designers met me and discussed this with me and, much later, installed timers that were capable of different timings. These alarm tests were part of the items that I was compelled to certify in the first few days, and which they had to redo.

Another example of a hurried test and the Yard wanting an immediate authorisation of completion was the water and gas tight ramp on No. 7 deck. This ramp could be classified as the most important ramp after the stern ramp. It was hydraulically operated by means of two large sized hydraulic cylinders. Hinged at one end, it opened like the jaw of a crocodile, revealing an inclined road which led to other decks.

I think it was on the third day that I was asked to witness the test of this ramp and certify it. Connected to hydraulic pumps, the two cylinders would inch up the massive ramps slowly to its maximum, in order to allow cars and vehicles of a certain maximum height to pass. There is a bit of memory fade on my part as to the exact construction of this ramp, if it opened upwards or downwards.

But I noticed that both the hydraulic cylinders were not lifting the heavy ramp equally or evenly, causing the ramp to tilt pretty heavily to one side. I pointed this out and asked the Yard to rectify this before I approve this. There were a lot of heated arguments from their end - I stayed calm throughout.

The next day was the fracas in the Conference Room, where I put my foot down. I also cited the above example of the shoddiness of their job.

Over the course of the next three months, I was called at least 10 times to witness the ramp being tested and I had to fail it each time. By simply measuring with a tape, I would point out the difference in height. They were frustrated with me, angry with me, but I remained calm.

At one of the morning meetings I had to tell them all that if I approve an item that is obviously deficient I, as Chief Engineer, will be the one left holding the baby when it fails to perform at sea. The days of a Guarantee Engineer, from the Shipyard, sailing with the ship had been jettisoned a decade back.

===== Blog 74 to Continue =====