Life takes a turn...

As I was enjoying my rotational leave from Ventum Maris in South Africa I got a mail asking if I would be interested in joining a commercial venture with world wide itinerary. My interest was immediately peaked so I said "yes but that I was in a contract so needed some notice" in case we would come to an agreement. 

RMS St Helena watersalute

Photographer: unknown

After a few exchanged emails it turned out that the vessel in question was the ex RMS St Helena that had most of her life been trading between the Island of St Helena, Ascension, Tristan da Cunha, Cape Town and UK. She had been owned by the Gov't of St Helena with Andrew Weir and Bibby doing the day to day operational management and manning. 

RMS St Helena discharging cargo in St Helena

Photographer: unknown

After completion of the airport on St Helena Island it was deemed that the vessel was superfluous after nearly 30 years of service (she was also pretty knackered by then). Subsequently she was in 2017 sold off to a security company that renamed her MNG Tahiti and also changed her class and flag to something less illustrious from LR and MCA. The then Owners positioned her in the Middle East as a floating armory. Apparently this did not work out very well financially for the new Owners as she was put on the market almost immediately and less than a year later she changed hands again, this time to other British interests.

St Helena in Birkenhead

Then in 2018 she was brought from Dubai to UK and moored in Portland where some cosmetic works were carried out and she was then displayed in London next to HMS Belfast for promoting her future.  Also the St Kitts and Nevis Flag was discarded and the British red ensign was hoisted and Class was changed back to LR. After this she was moved to Liverpool and is undergoing major overhaul and refit of machinery, structure and interior spaces in preparation for her 30 year special survey at Cammell Lairds ship repair yard in Birkenhead. 

St Helena in Birkenhead

After few days of deep thinking I thought to myself that these kind of proposals only comes a few times in your life so I had my chance here & now so told Wilson that I'm accepting the job offer. Few days onward I had a contract and I tendered my resignation to Campers & Nicholson's from Ventum Maris. It is a bit sad as I had only been a short time on her and thoroughly liked my time onboard but I guess it was my time to be a bit selfish.

St Helena in Birkenhead

Fast forward a few weeks again I was on the airport in Nice on a flight to Manchester where I was picked up by the DPA and brought onboard. The previous Master had left some time ago and only the Ch Mate was holding up the fort so it was a clean slate to start from. Well, time will tell how this goes but there definitely is a lot to be done to this lady before she is setting sail again.

Training

After having stepped off Maryah in January I looked for new challenges but it appeared no one was stepping off or looking to employ Captain's. I ended turning down one offer as I was just about to board a plane for a course so that went as well. Then having been pretty much unemployed for most of 2016 I did my STCW Manila upgrading and renewed my license so I am good to go for the next 5 years.

Courtesy of The HR suite

Then I also decided to further my education a bit and have gone looking at shore side career paths that could be a possibility. The difficulties with choosing anything viable and good as well as recognized by a serious body is very difficult, the plethora of what is on offer is staggering.

For example there is the Maritime training academy that offers dozens of maritime related courses and was about to sign up for them but after discussing it with a few colleagues I did not go for it. The opinion was why go for a half-hearted solution instead of a full MBA at a university? The price of a yacht management course is cheaper than uni but is the certificate really worth it? Will it teach me anything of value at this age and at this point of my career? Is the MTA cert valued in the industry?

Then I started looking at universities offering MBA's in the maritime sector, one criteria was how much could have been done online as distance learning. I got up Liverpool university and another university in Hamburg, the MBA was a couple of years hard study and cost around 30.000EUR. I followed a colleague of mine that did the Liverpool MBA being overworked to the hilt doing assignments. In the end I found a solution close to home and applied for a Master in Maritime Management in Finland. As a citizen the education is free. At the time of writing this I have already submitted my thesis plan to Novia and awaiting news if I will be admitted this autumn or not.

Then as a more practical certification I went of the Lloyd's superintendent training programme that is 1 part online and then physical courses at their training facilities. This is by no means a cheap solution and the Superintendent certificate is ranged from Bronze to Platinum. To reach the bronze level they require a minimum of 5 courses and the more courses you do, the more you pay and you get a certificate attesting to this (12 courses for platinum, one course around 750EUR). As you can see the more courses you do, the more you pay. As a private person they give a considerable discount and as I have attended courses I saw most participants are from shipping companies that pays for them assuming this being part of their policy of improvement.

I also came across an outfit that could be confused with Lloyd's but has actually nothing to do with them, it is Lloyds maritime academy. Apparently this outfit appears to be a thorn in Lloyd's side when I asked one lecturer about them but another said some clients had good experience of their courses. It appears their curriculum is recognized by RINA as well as, when I was in touch with them, the course fees were not too exorbitant. The saying goes that there is hardly anything that is good and comes cheap so I skipped them too but who knows, maybe their courses are good. I don't want to prejudice something I have not actually experienced.

As a a conclusion there is a lot on offer but it is not cheap and it is not easy to ascertain the value in such courses as well how they are regarded in the maritime industry. When looking into these outfits I would carefully read the fine print and then look into the accrediting bodies that are displayed on their pamphlets. The key is the accrediting body and knowing which bodies are recognized in the industry and reputable, not very easy as for me this appears like entering a jungle. I understand there are also the "flag of convenience" outfits ashore too that are more interested in you loosening purse strings to their benefit than educating you.