Ahoy! And once again you’ll receive mail directly from our crew: this time from Stephen. He has been with the Sea Punks for two years, and our person for crewing: Stephen helped setting up our crewing department and got it running and, together with the others in the crewing team, ensures that we always have people on board who know what they do. He has also been aboard other NGO ships several times as a human rights observer. And would have gone on our planned September rotation as Head of Operation – but then we had to cancel it. Why? Read for yourself.
Ps. The repairs in Malta are taking a long time and – as of now – cost us at least 80,000 euros. 🤯 The crisis is not over yet. We need money. Please help us by sharing our appeal for donations or becoming a sponsor yourself. Thanks!
ARRIVAL IN MALTA
Finally. After weeks of preparation, tension, anticipation and numerous online meetings, the next rotation is close. For this rotation I was crewed as Head of Operation, basically the operations manager on board. The person who, together with the captain, maintains an overall overview and directs the crew. In the two weeks before arrival, we had several online meetings with the entire crew to get to know each other and discuss operational concepts and positions. Already then, two things became clear: Everyone is very keen to get the ship back into the search and rescue zone, but unfortunately the rotation might be canceled if the repairs in the dry dock and the subsequent examination take a long time. It was also clear that the ship would still be in dry dock when the crew arrived. Of course, we crewed well in advance and we had also planned with enough time to buffer any extensions in the dry dock time. Or so we thought. But a postponement or cancellation can never be ruled out – we have already learned and experienced that in recent years.
REALITY HITS BACK
When I arrived on the ship in Malta, the reality hit me. Some of the cabins for the crew have still been removed and there are still huge holes in the hull. However, the schedule should still be adhered to. So get to work: create a training plan, plan accommodation, clean, tidy up and cook. The crew will arrive in a few days and then the training will start. In order to stick to the schedule, there was no other solution than to have the crew travel to the dry dock.
TRAINING IN THE DRY DOCK
In the meantime we have prepared enough sleeping places and prepared the deck so that we can also train in the dock. Luckily our RHIB is in the water, so the RHIB crew can carry out proper training. The next few days blur into a long tunnel of repetitions. Every morning a repeating technical update from our Chief Engineer: “More metal is being cut out and more metal is being welded back in.” Same shit as every day.” – Any news from the shipyard management when we will be back in the water? – “No, but hopefully we will know more tomorrow.”
This time we have a very motivated crew in which each member is responsible for give trainings themselves, carrying out inventories and participate in training processes. At the same time, we will probably have to struggle until the last day with the question of whether and when the rotation can finally start?!
BAD MESSAGES FOR FREE
Then one morning came the next pile of bad news: the shipyard made a hole in our ship while welding. Admittedly, the metal was just through at this point. So the hole has to go and as quickly as possible. So write new plans, request a new offer from the shipyard and clarify the work with the classification society. Endless meetings and training at the same time and not letting your mood change. After two days it was clear that we could still finish on time and go on rotation. Fingers crossed. So keep training!
A few days later the next bad news hit: the shipyard had not discussed the repair work with the class and the class had not approved it in this form. So meetings again and the result: the repairs have to be done again. But first the class wants a full inspection of the ship. She doesn’t trust it anymore. We don’t let our heads down and carry on; We are looking for various experts who would have time to come to the ship immediately and do the examination report so that the repairs can continue afterwards. But the class holds us back and the days go by.
THE BIG BANG
The mood in the crew is slowly changing. Why is it taking so long? Everyone knows that the operation is now in real danger. A few days later there came the big bang: the class rejected all of the assessors we suggested who had time to come early. Instead, it is sending its own reviewer, who will not be available again until the end of next week.
This is the end. This rotation ended before it even began. We get the email at 7:30. At 8:00 a.m. our crew is at the morning meeting and I inform them. The disappointment is palpable in the air. Despite consistently transparent communication and the knowledge that we were forced to play poker.
So once again a civilian fleet ship is stuck on land, even though the resources, crew and shore support were there. Once again, a gap is emerging in the search and rescue area in the Central Mediterranean. It’s hard to imagine what this means for those people who are currently taking the life-threatening escape route across the ocean.
IT WAS NOT FOR NOTHING
Nevertheless, there is hardly any time to realize it. Now it’s time to prepare for the departures and do a debriefing. In the debriefing everyone agrees. This crew would have pulled off a good rotation. And the training was definitely not for nothing. Everyone has learned so much, settled into new roles and will be back soon. Either on the Sea Punk I or on another ship.
On the same day I return from the ship to my normal Sea Punks job as Head of Crewing. The departure, which has now been postponed for an indefinite period of time, presents us with completely new challenges. The next shipyard time, which we had planned in Sicily with numerous helping hands, has to be postponed. Likewise the next rotation and the subsequent yard time. This means writing emails, making phone calls, canceling crew members, looking for replacements and redirecting people from Sicily to Malta. Somehow business as usual in crewing. Things always turn out differently than we could have planned.
I am now back in Germany. The stress continues and some of the frustration has subsided. We should actually be in the search and rescue zone right now. Instead, the ship sits on dry land and I sit in front of the laptop. I regularly check the Internet at where the other ships in the civilian fleet are and see the large empty spaces – where ships are needed but none are. Neither are we.
Just recently, ships from Italy’s civilian fleet were arrested again and Mare Jonio is even said to have removed their lifesaving equipment. So the madness at the external borders continues and even if we can only ever be a drop in the ocean in this structure of madness, violence and horror, the fact is that we can’t even be that at the moment because we are stil in the dry dock.
At the same time, preparations for the next rotations continue and I see all the support that continues unabated after our last call for help. This gives me courage again and allows me to look forward with a fighting spirit, because where there is a will, there is a way!
Love & Rage
Stephen