Life Onboard - Tom Beamish, Deck Cadet
British Trader
After a short sleep in a Singapore hotel (due to jet lag), the two other cadets, a second engineer and a gas engineer and I took a ferry to join the ship. To my surprise the ship was not going to stop for its valuable drop off, but run at a slow speed while we boarded from the ferry.
The outlay of the ship is tricky to get used to. So many levels in the engine room, with a substantial amount of machinery, which will take the rest of my cadetship to figure out!
I was pleased at the friendly welcome by all onboard - Scots, English, Polish and the Philippines. It will make the trip a better one and the Captain has been very accommodating, always helping out whenever needed.
The work onboard is much cleaner than on a motor ship due to the propulsion system (a steam turbine). The ship runs from boil off from the cargo carried LNG. This concept is fairly new to me, and I have a lot to learn about all the systems involved. My trip is four months so that’s the length of time to learn all about this machinery and various systems.
The normal day consists of waking around seven, having breakfast and ready for work at half seven. Normal finishing time is five, but this can vary due to important jobs.
Yesterday, along with a second engineer and the other cadet, I stripped down a fuel pump and overhauled it. That was great. We even got it working in the end!
My initial impressions were that the rooms onboard are of a very good standard. The size of my cabin was at least one and a half times bigger than my previous ship (this is my second trip). The food onboard is also quite good and so is the social life. There is a gym I can use onboard and we also play a game of basketball every Sunday if the weather is calm enough. There is also a swimming pool onboard which I must give a try at some stage (it’s empty at the moment) and the library is very good, with a large choice of books.
The email system onboard is my main contact with home and friends, so it is very important to me. There is a Mini-M (satellite) phone onboard, which can be used by buying a card from the Captain at any time.
Well that’s it for now.