This past summer, a veteran captain of a large container ship told me that the future was not looking good. I was a bit surprised and asked my old friend why. His answer was simple: “We have just received provisions for the voyage, and the company cut my request for tomatoes. Whenever times are tough, the first things to get cut are always the tomatoes.” The ship has returned twice since then, and the captain was right, two crewmembers have been removed from the usual complement. Most routine maintenance on the ship has ceased, and stores have been cut.
The ship now steams at reduced speed to save fuel and reduce costs.
Our conversation continued on cargo-related matters. To maximize revenue, cargo is being accepted at reduced rates. The captain believes many of the containers are overloaded. He substantiates this by comparing the actual sailing draft of the ship, which is considerably greater than the calculated draft. The contents of many containers carrying scrap metal can now be heard banging against the sides of the container as the ship rolls at sea. We both agree that a large percentage of the containerized cargoes are being misdeclared both in weight and contents.
A bit more troubling is that many of the provisions of the ISM Code are not being adhered to, or enforced. Also, seafarers who have recently come aboard are not as proficient as their predecessors. Most disturbing is that, despite of all the regulations emanating from the International Maritime Organization and flag states addressing “quality,” the quality of the operation of my friend’s ship, and many others, has fallen dramatically.
The captain, who has been at sea since the late 1950s, has seen the ebbs and flows of business a number of times. He emphatically states, “When they take the tomatoes from our salads, watch out; we are in for a bad year.”