Hey guys!! its my first post after a long time. hope you like this one. this post is dedicated to the millions of seafarers worldwide who fight the perils of the sea evry coming day. Its their 'never say die' attitude that keeps them going and helps them to come out of the worst of situations.
It was a warm evening and our ship was swiftly transiting the gulf of aden. Everything was normal until we got a distress call from a chemical tanker just behind us.
They were being attacked by the dreaded pirates!!!! The voices turned into cries. We could hear people crying for help over the vhf. The cries continued for sometime and then there was a creepy silence. After a while we heard a nearby US warship responding to their call. But it was too late, the pirates had already boarded the ship.......The ship was hijacked!!
Piracy is jus one of the problems being faced by seafarers worldwide. Gone are the days when merchant navy was looked upon as a profession with a difference. There was a time when seafarers where known for the three w's, i.e wealth, wine and women. But thats history now. The tight schedules, strict pollution norms and crimes against seafarers have only added to their woes.
When we work on the ship, we are totally cut-off from the outside world. emails or phone calls being the only link with the extenal world and our families. Its a tough life out there. Not to mention the forces of nature, there are times when people on board dont sleep for days due to bad weather! And to make matters worse, even during our leave we are made to do courses, give exams and udergo upgrdations.
My aim is not to discourage people from joining this field, rather i would suggest you get the stars out of your eyes and face the truth before you join this profession.
sometimes, when i think of all this, i wonder what is that one thing that seperates out the seamen from the rest of human race. what is that thing that makes them so different from others and then one day a thought struck me.
when god created man, he must have created men, women and then he must have created the third one ---the seamen!
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