PREP FOR DRY DOCK

Journal Entry: August 23, 2016 Tuesday

Location: OPL Anchorage area, Singapore

 

 

After the discharge operation this ship headed off to the OPL anchorage area to  do some tank cleaning, as a preparation for the dry docks scheduled by next week (or end of the month). Given with the limited time, it is thought that we won't get inside the cargo tanks and remove all the "black oil" residues, big convenience if we don’t as this ship doesn’t have the necessary equipment to get to that kind of job.  

 

So far it seems that, the Indian Ship officers here are having a hard time cleaning all the grime and muck out of those cargo tanks and are repeating and having numerous delays on the "tank cleaning" ops. Don’t really mind the delays by the problem here is that the working schedule is pushed to the limit of having a 6 to 6 hour shift, the longer it stays this way. The stress builds up, Worst part is that I'm not getting paid or being paid less on this kind of work. So for now I'm stuck on the work schedule being woken up early in the morning and then back again by noon till late afternoon. Little time to my personal agendas and creative thinking,

 

So far there's nothing significant going on aside on prepping for the shipyard - for now this ship is still on its "Cow cleaning" (crude oil wash) and some of the tank cleaning machines barely even work at all. Most of the working shifts, I was just literary sitting around and waiting for a call on the handheld radio waiting to do something, and if there is indeed some call from the radio it just basically revolves around taking ullage from the cargo tanks , or making a sounding on ballast pipes, opening or closing drop or cross-over valves - more or less. Anyway there's at least some annoyance provided by O.S. Marder Luib or A.B. Paulito Cordova to go around. Basically these two pathetic riding repair crew are intolerable for any short tempered person, Lucky for them I have a poker face and know how to ride along on the situation. They just simply keep lecturing people around as if like they're some sort of Mr. Know-it-all and yet when it comes to them doing those task - they skip the work out and dump it to their fellow co-workers , For short - they're nothing but full of shit.

 

In other news …

 

Much to other people's (all actually) surprise , the overtime sheet paper we had to sign in the crew mess was quiet high this time - In fact twice as high that it was compared to last month. Everybody was in disbelief that overtime pay would be as excess as about 40 hrs to 56 hours. Usually overtime pay was just as little as about 10 hours or 13 like last month , but now things have went suddenly into a 180 degree turn, that there's speculation that our Neglectful Myanmar captain is just doing this to dodge possibility that someone from the crew would inform the authorities about his misdeeds - after all this ship is in Singapore and any attempt to go to the authorities is just a few clicks away plus as an added effect , the main office of pathetic Norstar is also in Singapore. This ship's lame Myanmar captain is one neglectful son of a bitch but he's no stupid dinosaur, my lucky guess is the same as the other speculation as what the crew are thinking.

 

In other news

 

On the early morning of August 26, One of the 2nd barges that was collecting oil discharged from this ship casted out, on my assumption probably it had already filled its cargo with enough slop to collect. (bunker barge actuall, first barge was a "water barge" to delivery fresh water for tank cleaning).

 

I was doing fine on my working shift , then suddenly I'm puzzled why my co-workers here suggested I should wear a safety helmet out of now where. I mean I got used to work on a regular maintenance before and now all of a sudden I am being required to wear a safety helmet - during regular maintenance. Honestly I'm not really happy at all about this and wonder why the principal and management here imposes too high safety practices , as if like they're good employers. Its fine with me about a high safety culture - but with the exception if the company is a good company and treats employee's fairly, if not - then they're just aiming for some pipe dream. Before they start on a high safety culture - they should look first on how they manage the company and how they MANAGE their employee's (crew in my case) like providing sufficient and adequate needs. otherwise their just having another companies wet dream of aiming for the top.

 

Speaking of which , before I went to work. I can't believe that food in the galley is scarce and I had to look every nook and cranny of the cupboards just to find a simple pack of noodles and to mention also , I couldn't find any variety at all to eat aside from noodles , cereals, and bread - as if like this whole ship is in near close to the point of famine. I'm not exactly sure if chief cook facundo is crapping on his work or the food budget here in this ship just got shorten but from what I'm seeing I think chief cook has nothing to do with this and that the latter is the likely cause.

 

Damn !! How the hell does this company even maintain their business ?!! They always keep short changing people on stuff including the food allowance , tsk ! Pathetic norstar !!!