STUDY
Until the mid-eighties, we worked under the red flag, without questioning the convertibility of our diplomas or the value of our education on the international market. There was work, good money, confidence for many years ahead – the life path was clearly visible until retirement. And now...
Fortunately, there are no schools that specifically train deep-sea captains and their mates. A captain is not a specialty, but a way of life, or even life itself. And those who want to move in this direction enroll in a secondary or higher maritime school, and then begin to show interest in what has become their profession.
For example, after school I went from Moscow to Odessa to enroll in the Odessa Higher Maritime School. After the final session and sea practice, I was issued a certificate as a navigator of small navigation. A certificate is the same as a diploma from a land-based university, and small navigation is just a name; you can sail any distance, but until you gain experience, you cannot hold a position higher than second mate.
Working diplomas are not colored "red" or "blue," and there are no grades for specific subjects. It simply says – "navigator of small navigation."
QUALIFICATIONS
In general, until quite recently, to obtain this specialty, as well as the specialties of radio operator and mechanic, it was not necessary to study for 5-6 years at a university. That is, if you wanted to, of course, no one stopped you – enroll, study, but a person could simply, after finishing secondary school, go to sea and sail, accumulating experience and passing qualification exams. This way, he obtained the specialty of navigator and a "working" diploma.
But now the requirements have become stricter. Not only here – all over the world.
By and large, the outcome of any voyage – and its safety – depends on the qualifications of the crew. Therefore, compliance with qualification requirements is not a wish, but a strict necessity, and compliance is monitored by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which unites all countries involved in shipping.
Our maritime diploma is highly regarded. I became convinced of this personally when, once ashore in Marseille, we were caught in a raid – a total document check: of our entire crew (Filipinos, Egyptians, and several of us), only we had no problems.
ASSIGNMENT
When I graduated from maritime school, the Ministry of the Merchant Fleet still had Glavkadry – a structure that handled the assignment of young specialists, and its "recommendations" were strictly mandatory. For example, if they sent you to Murmansk to the fishing fleet, you would spend your entire life at sea for ten months on some vessel that calls at some backwater port once every six months. Moreover, the atmosphere on fishing vessels is incomparable to the merchant fleet. However, with some effort, you could avoid this assignment and go not where you were supposed to, but where you wanted.
The most attractive for service was always the merchant fleet. The auxiliary fleet was very undesirable. The worst thing is not even that you would have to serve on some tugboat for three years, but that after that, no one would take you anywhere (meaning into the merchant fleet). As for home ports, the best was to get to the Baltic – there are many trade lines and a stable transport flow.
Most of my graduating class tried to stay on the Black Sea, but I, making every effort, sought an assignment to the Far Eastern Shipping Company. On one hand, they work a lot and hard there, but on the other, they advance quite briskly up the career ladder. That's how it turned out for me.
Arriving at the Sakhalin Shipping Company as a navigator of small navigation, I sailed like that for a while – gaining experience and building up time. Then I began to slowly move up to navigator of deep-sea navigation. Meanwhile, my classmates who stayed in warmth, comfort, and civilization were still serving as fourth mates – a position, let's say, not very significant: in the Far East, we didn't even have such positions in the staffing table.
It was there, on Sakhalin, that I became a chief mate. In international maritime terms – Chiefmate.
THE PATH
I worked at the Sakhalin Shipping Company until the early 90s. Despite various Soviet formalities, everything was going great: Sakhalin was considered equivalent to northern territories, so while keeping my Moscow registration and apartment, I gradually settled on the island. There was enough money – we were paid about $300 a month plus northern allowances, travel allowances, and other things – and in total it was very good. I bought a small house, clothed and fed my family, bought a Japanese right-hand drive car for $200 (no mistake!). The isolation from the mainland didn't bother me much and wasn't even too noticeable: my wife and I even flew to Moscow a couple of times for weekend trips to some trendy concerts.
Then everything began to fall apart, and for the first time I regretted not staying in Odessa.
In 1993, they stopped paying money altogether, and the opportunity not only to travel somewhere but simply to buy food disappeared. Life on the frozen island began to seem increasingly pointless; we were preparing to move to the capital, where at least there was work, and in the meantime (well, you can't go on strike!) I started inquiring about the possibility of working abroad through a friend who not only worked there but also lived there.
However, his help was not needed. As soon as we moved to Moscow and I began to look around and get used to the new life, crewing companies started to appear. At first, it seemed a bit strange that all this was happening in Moscow, a rather landlocked city, but I wasn't the only one who had run aground!
I visited all these companies and left my details everywhere. After some time, I received calls from several agencies at once, offering a number of contracts on ships that I already knew from previous times.
CHARTER
The maritime transport market, despite its apparent vastness, is quite tight and firmly divided among transport companies and ship owners. Long ago, cargo flows around the globe were established, routes and trade lines were drawn up, and for each, the tonnage and optimal number of operating vessels were precisely calculated.
Companies that managed to break through and occupy this tonnage niche operate like trams – on a strict schedule: arrival time, departure time, and loading time are scheduled to the minute. Any disruptions or delays can only occur due to the intervention of the elements.
Crews on these – liner – ships are usually hired on a permanent basis, and the captain and crew – if they do not conflict with the shipowner or employer – can feel confident about the future and be at ease about their earnings.
Another matter is a tramp vessel (from the English – vagabond). They are chartered anew each time. For example, they bring something to Houston, unload, charter to Sydney, from there to Marseille – and so on without any system or regularity. It is never known what the next voyage will be, and everything depends on the operator's ability or inability to conclude a profitable contract. Sometimes very profitable charters come along – money flows like a river, but sometimes the ship hangs around at anchor for months without any work.
Also read related material: HOW TO BECOME A SEA WOLF, Part 2
"Zagranitsa" No. 11, 1999