The Bare Necessities

"you have 23kg on your flight to Australia to join your ship... pack wisely." (Training officer)

What to take onboard a ship is tricky to answer as it depends on personal preference and the type of ship your joining. (Although, one that is certain when a cadet is to not forget your boiler suit!)

When looking back at the bag I took onboard my first ship and comparing it with how much I took on my last ship, the difference in quantity says it all. You don't need as much as you think you do. But there are general necessities that I would recommend any cadet to take onboard any vessel, such as:

1. a large memory hard drive - Having a large hard rive with lots of entertainment is a light way to store music, films or tv shows and is a good way to start talking to the crew by exchanging films onboard. 

2. multinational plug adapter - you never really know what kind of plug are going to be on the ship, by having one plug that does all, you don't need to worry!

3. swimmers - some ships have swimming pools, or time off on a cruise ship to go swimming ashore on the beach. also useful for girls to wear a bikini under a boiler suit when in warmer climates!

4. Own tea bags and coffee

5. Own medicine

6. Head phones - be sure not to have both ear pieces in your ears at one time. you may miss a PA announcement or an alarm.

7. Money - for the places you're going to travel to! or if you don't know, US dollars are accepted in most areas. 

8. shock proof watch with a light. 

9. Documents and TRB

10. Vaccinations up to date?

11. 2 white shirts

12. 2 black trousers with black shoes and black socks - some companies, like cruise liners, tailor make your uniform to fit in with their dress code when you're on board, however this can take time, and you need something to wear on the bridge!

13. day diary/small note book - handy for writing down quickly what you have done yeah day to write up in report and evidence later. 

14. Photos and homey comforts - to decorate the cabin and make it more homely. 

15. stationary - mainly BLACK pens, pencils and a rubber. 

16. Laptop

17. comfy clothes - check where your vessel is going to and pack appropriately. although always take a jumper to wear in bed, as the ships air conditioning can be quite bitter!

Those are just some of the things you could take on ship. the list goes on, but its is personal to you what you take. I would recommend taking a soft case with wheels rather than a hard one, as cabins are small as it is, with little storage. Sometimes less is more, you will be surprised by how little of what you bring you actually use on your first trip! 

An Apple a Day

One of the worst things whilst working on ship is when you fall ill. Unlike other jobs where you can call in sick, the company will still operate without you or they can call in a temporary replacement. When you are an officer on a ship in the middle oft he ocean, it’s not so easy to find a temporary replacement to navigate the ship.

As a cadet, the impact of you not turning up for work is not a severe as being an officer, however not turning up will result in you being hounded by telephone and eventually by a cabin visit. This is not to say, that you can never rest from being ill as an officer as there is the need for an officer to be fit for duty. If you’re not fit for duty due to illness, then you are not allowed to take the watch.

If you are ill, take a visit to the ships nurse or doctor. If you are deemed fit to work then, tough, you will have to get up at 3:30am with a blocked nose. If they deem you unfit for work then they will inform the master and give you a sick note for a period of time, you will then be in quarantine in your cabin to stop the spread of the illness. Two illnesses that must not be spread to the rest of the ship is a fever or the norovirus. The norovirus is a stomach bug can causes vomiting. It is highly infectious and particularly dangerous on cruise ships where there is an elderly population. Ships have been detained or been stopped from operating due to the spread of a Norovirus on board.

If you do throw up, or suspect you have the norovirus, then you must not leave your cabin, you must call the doctor and inform him. He will visit and then you will be put into quarantine either in your cabin or in the sick bay in the hospital. You must be clear for at least 24 hours before you’re allowed out of quarantine. This is the general procedure for most cruise ships, other ships may vary but it is important to not to spread the illness to the rest of the crew.

Also be aware that different nationalities from all around the world will have different illnesses. Other crew members may have a higher tolerance to it than you, so what might just be a cold to a Philippine, may feel like you’ve been hit by a bus and left for dead to you!

To avoid illnesses, eating plenty of fruit to boost immune system bodes well, as well as packing plenty of cold busting tablets from home. A few homey comforts come in handy too e.g. bed socks, comfy hoodie or emergency snack box from home!

Here we go again!

What is life like onboard a ship? A question I have been asked many times by potential cadets at careers fairs. The topic is so broad so I shall start with the basics of what I was expected to do in a day on a cruise ship during my cadet ship.

0330 - Wake up

0350 - On bridge for handover

0400 - Start watch, supervised by the deck officer.

0400 - 0800: Bridge watch. On cruise ships, we would dock at around 0700, so I would be involved in mooring operations as well as navigation, bridge arrival checklists and supporting the second officer in all of his duties during these four hours. 

0800 - 0830: Breakfast down in the mess. Although on some cruise ships, officers (and sometimes cadets) get perks and can eat in the passenger areas, like cafes or the lido deck.

0830 - 1030/1100: Start deck maintenance jobs. This includes doing the maintenance work of the ship expected by your supervising officer e.g. checking firefighting outfits, lifejackets, lifeboat checks, fire hose checks, lifebuoys, passage planning ect. 

1000 - Drill; fire, abandon ship, lifeboat, damage, medical ect. 

1100 - 1550: Free time. This is time you can use to explore the port your at, as most cruise ships dock every single day, or you can use the time to catch up on your sleep!

1550 - On the bridge for watch handover. 

1600 - 2000: Four hour evening watch. May include bridge departure checklists, navigation, night watch hours, bridge checks and tests ect. 

2000 - 21:30 (if you're lucky!): Socialising in the crew bar or socialising with passengers at an event. (depends on the cruise ship)

21:30 - 0330: SLEEP....

0330: Do it all again!

So this was a typical day on a small cruise ship with about 300-400 passengers onboard. The experience you have may be similar or completely different as it depends on your ship, the company and the attitude of officers towards cadets. On your first ships, you may just be on day work with the bosun to get your deck maintenance skills up! i.e. stencilling and painting. 

Your day then could look like this. 

0700 - 0800: Wake up and breakfast

0800 - 0830: Bridge meeting, to find out what jobs were to be done today. 

0830 - 1030: Work on deck, painting, chipping, maintenance ect. supervised by an AB or the bosun. 

1030 - 1100: SmoCo (fag and coffee break)

1100 - 1300: Work on deck. 

1300 - 1400: Lunch

1400 - 1530: Work on deck

1530 - 1600: SmoCo

16:00 - 1700/1800: Work on deck or start the tidy up. 

1800 - 2300: Dinner, socialising, free time in the crew mess and or bar. 

2300 - 0700: SLEEP

0700: Do it all again!

This was the timetable I had on my first ship as a cadet, but as cadets are not permanent crew members they have to fit into the daily schedule of the ship and try to be useful or simply observe and try to learn, therefore schedules may vary day to day. 

Cadets are also entitled to one day off a week in order to complete their written work required by their college and Training Record Book (more on this later). This is written into the TRB itself and should be enforced, however, crew members who are on ship for 6 or 9 month contracts do not always understand why cadets; who are temporary crew, get to have days off a week, and jealousy can become a problem. My advice would be to not take the day off for granted and be seen to be up and about at the same time as the rest of the crew. 

On my rest days, I was always on the bridge at 0800 and helped the bridge officer with tasks until the daily drill at 1000. Also make sure the captain sees you on your day off too and ask him if there is anything interesting to get involved with today. Showing keenness and willingness to learn will always go down well. 

If anyone who has been on ship as a cadet would like to share a similar break down of a normal day on one of their ships, please don't hesitate to comment below. My experience is limited to only general cargo and cruise ship life, so any other experiences would be fantastic!

Insight into engineering cadet life would be interesting too!

Welcome to the Crew Gadge

It’s always an exciting experience when you join your first ship. Usually a month or so before; but have been known as short notice as 24 hours, your sponsoring company will give you your joining instructions, which feels like your Hogwarts letter has arrived! You hastily open your emails to find out which ship you’ll be joining, when and where will you be going. Who knows where you’ll be starting off? South Africa? Australia? Vancouver? Jetting off to join a worldwide cruise with Royal Caribbean, or island hop through the Pacific Islands. Until it dawns on you that you’re sponsored by an offshore company and will be spending four months in the North Sea over Christmas. (This highlights the importance of researching your sponsoring company before applying!) For someone who hasn't flown long haul or even at all, this can be quite daunting. The best way to have a smooth flight is to be organised and have back up plans.

The joining instructions will contain information on your joining port, details of flights and connections and details of your ship. Before you leave you should look up your ship and find out as much information as you can. You can even track them using AIS online and see their itinerary. This will give you information on what climates you will be working in and will dictate what you pack. (what to take will be discussed in a later post) Your flights will be the cheapest at the time of your company booking them, which may mean some bizarre flight times and several connections. 

            For my first ship, I joined in the exotic city of Southampton, not 10 miles from my home. My expectation was a port like on the film, Muppet Treasure Island. Bustling docks with cranes loading goods, officials checking paperwork, or scores of crews walking around to find their vessel. I was expecting layers and layers of security to get into the port itself and then another type of screening or checks to get onto the ship itself. My taxi pulled up, chucked me out and drove off, leaving me with my suitcase at the bottom of the gangway. The place was deserted. No one on the dock or at the top of the gangway, no bustling port activity, nobody around. So there I was standing there like a lemon wondering what to do next. I could wait, but that could have been a long wait. So, I left my bag and walked up the gangway. I eventually found my way up to the bridge and found the captain, boatswain and chief officer. I drew attention to myself by clearing my throat and saying “Hi, I’m Chloe. The new cadet?” To which the chief officer replied “ah. There you are. Where’s your bag? I’ll get the other cadet to show you to your cabin.”

            After being shown to my cabin and I had settled in, I was now alone in my cabin, again wondering what I am supposed to do, so up I went again to the bridge to find out. This turned out to be the best thing to do. One of the first lessons I learnt on ship was to use your initiative. As a cadet you will not be chased up and you will not be baby-sat. The position of a cadet on a ship is “an officer in training,” however when you join your first ship, the crew will be aware that you are not trained and inexperienced which makes you a potential hazard, and extra element for them to think about whilst doing their job. If you can show that you have your head switched on from day one and be seen to be keen and willing to get involved and learn, it will create a good first impression and set you up for a successful first trip. Be bold!

The School Bell Rings

DING DING DING! The School Bell rings. 

Yes, after you achieve sponsorship with your company, you will now start your career in the Merchant Navy, which means in September (or January depending on when you applied) its time to grab the notebooks and pencil cases and move into one of the Maritime Colleges around the UK. There are five 'phases' spanning over 3 years. Phase 1, 3 & 5 are all college time where you study and sit your exams. Phases 2 and 4 are scheduled sea time where you gain a minimum 12 months sea time and complete your TRB. (more on that later.)

Your sponsoring company may have a preference to which academy you attend. Some allow you to have a choice and some prefer to send you to the college furthest away from home, so be prepared to live up to your interview statement  of "I love being away from home" or "I don't mind travelling."

Colleges include, Warsash Maritime Academy with Southampton Solent University, South Tyneside, Plymouth University, City of Glasgow College to name a few. My experience is with Warsash Maritime Academy, near Southampton.
What can I say about Warsash life? Well, the food there is not haute cuisine but neither is the food on the ships so they set you up for disappointment early on. In addition, you may be required to share "cabins" with other fellow cadets. This is also designed to get you used to the idea of joining a ship and share a room with a complete stranger and be able to get along instantly. Warsash is also being slowly absorbed by Southampton Solent University meaning that the original campus may not be existent to new cadets. The process of absorption of Warsash has positives and negatives, but are for another time.

Which college is best to go to? I couldn't possibly comment being biased, but it is advised that if you do have a choice of college, do some research and chose the best one for you. Happy Days!

Yo Ho, Yo Ho, a sailors life for me!

So its a sailors life for you. Congratulations on your decision, but now what? Where do you start looking? What are your options?

The Merchant Navy Training Board (MNTB) is good place to start. Here you will find everything about careers at sea, how to apply, and even have a list of current sponsoring companies. Theres a lot about framework and lengthy documents that you could pretend to read, but what is it that you really need to know?

Drawing from my experience there are three paths you can choose (for deck):

1. Deck rating apprenticeship.

2.HND/HNC deck Officer training.

3. Foundation degree Officer training.

The minimum age you can apply is 16, meaning that you could be a fully qualified deck officer by your 19th birthday. (pretty cool right?)

Deck rating path is as follows:

Deck Rating - Ordinary Seamen - Able Seamen - Bosun - Third/Second Officer - Chief Officer - Master (Captain)

HND/HNC path:

Deck Cadet (3 years training) - Third/Second Officer (OOW) - Chief Officer - Master

Foundation degree path:

Deck Cadet (3 years) - Third/Second Officer (OOW) - Chief Officer - Master

With the foundation degree route, you study for your Officer of the Watch (OOW) and do your foundation degree at the same time. There is also the possibility to study for extra year and upgrade the foundation degree to a full Bachelors. The degree you earn is a degree in Navigation and Maritime Science, which can lead to various opportunities ashore, as well as being able to command a ship!

Which ever path you choose, first thing is first. You have to apply and get some interviews. What companies are looking for will be in the next blog, but to finish off, you have to shop around a a bit. Do a bit of research into what kind of ships you would like to work on. If you know what you want then primarily apply to those sorts of companies. If you don't  know, then perhaps a charity funded training company may appeal better. Although in the end you may just have to choose the one that gives you a offer, but bare in mind that if you apply for container company, you will be on container ships throughout your cadetship, which could be a bit of a downer if half way through your first contact you suddenly realise...."actually...I don't like containerships." You would just have to stick with it until you graduate and then you can choose which sector of the industry you'd like to be in. This is where the determination comes in and the ability to see the bigger picture.

Until next time.

Where to begin?

One question which has astounded me throughout my career so far is "what even is the merchant navy?" 

When thinking back to my careers advice sessions and browsing their library trying to draw some inspiration for a career path, I remember a lot of information on the Royal Navy. A career path which is often confused with the  Merchant Navy but is in fact entirely different, in operation and goals. 

When asked the question, "what do you do?" I usually come out with "well, you know those big cruise ships or those container ships? I basically drive one of those for 8 hours a day." Every person I explain what I do to has had the same astounded face, followed by a sudden realisation that the big floating cities actually do require a form of human pilotage. I remember having the same light bulb moment when gazing out of my school window on the seafront one day (ironic), and thinking... someone must be driving that thing, and so started my investigation into the Merchant Navy, and the ball rolling towards an officers ticket.  

Every merchant navy officer has their own elaborate story as to how they chose or sometimes fall into this career. Many have a lineage in either the Merchant or Royal navy, whether being their fathers, grandfathers, uncles, cousins or family friends. Others, including myself, have had very little influence from their families and are seen as "fresh blood" into the industry, attracted by the promise of travel and tax free income, not to mention a practical based three years training and being paid for it instead of racking up a £50,000 student debt bill. 

So is the sailors life for me?

Life on a ship can be a double edged sword. The benefits and advantages reflect each other. For example, travel. You MIGHT travel as a cadet, but it is not guaranteed. it is guided by the nature of your company. as an offshore cadet, you may spend your whole time in the North sea, where as a cruise company may land the world wise cruise for a few months, with a new port every day, but you might be on the wrong shift, and not have enough time to get off to see the port you're in. My first chapter will highlight these pros and cons of the industry through a cadets points of view as well as an officers, the reason being that the responsibilities and freedoms of a cadet and officer are VERY different. 

The first chapter will include an overview of what kind of people recruiters are looking for in a candidate. I think a successful candidate would need to to be bold, practical, determined, eager and sociable. The will be asked up by an insight from interviewers for the merchant navy cadets and officers.

If anyone has any extra information they feel should be highlighted in educating people in what the merchant navy does, how it operates and who it would best be suited for, comment below. Any contribution is much appreciated!