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As the title suggests, do share about your honest experiences. Your story might help prevent regrets and bad experiences to cadets who join after you.
First.
Most engine cadets are used for cleaning and doing paperwork, rarely get taught or allowed to do hands on work. Questions tend to get harsh rebuttals as well.
Was told to my face that they don’t like females and can’t afford to let me get injured either. The very distinct memory of being told “You’re useless” stuck with me, became a source of motivation for years to come.
The very first training officer (Second Engineer) I met was an African, around 50s. He was proudly telling me stories about his family, especially his daughter of my age.
First month onboard was mainly spent cleaning and doing my training book assessments.
Around the second month, I started recording main engine parameters as part of training. As I bent over writing on the Engine Control Room console, the Second Engineer suddenly walked behind me and tried to hold my hand and embrace me.
It was a huge shock.
I pushed him away and shook in anger. Reported to the Chief Engineer, despite fear of being seen as a “trouble-maker” or get asked by company to sign off. Second Engineer apologised on the day he signed off.
Towards the end of 6 months, I was allowed to participate in jobs such as cleaning purifier bowl parts.
Contribution from a junior engineer currently onboard:
Well on my cadetship, I wasn’t promised the wonders of the sailing life. I didn’t get to travel much and the allowance definitely wasn’t much, albeit being a scholar. It was work, work and you guessed it, work from day 1. Most of the time, it’s either winter or summer onboard. you wake up cold in your cabin from the blast of the AC, uncontrollable not at your disposal unlike the ones you have at home. And then you enter a discounted version of hell, a 30°c and above working temperature. During NS, anything above 30°c is considered a code black and training had to stop. Not here, while onboard. You meet people of different cultures, nationality and work ethics. For me, i have a seatime of a year without a fellow Singaporean crew. That hits you different being the only representative from your country. There’s no one to relate to.
You meet people of two extremes. If you meet the nicer ones, good for you. If you meet the bad ones, most of the time you had to accept and work with them. Complaining doesn’t get you far in this line, sadly. It’s all about man-managing your colleagues.
If that doesn’t discourage you more, the food is a game of Russian roulette. There are 7 days in a week but you don’t eat good for 7 days. The occasional Sunday is as good as it gets. It all depends on the chief cook. You have to endure alot. It has to come to a point where you eat to survive rather than to enjoy. Takes a toll on you, eats you up slowly mentally if you allow it.
In my experience, there isn’t much greener side to sailing, especially if you’re in the engine department. I spend majority of my contract onboard working due to a workaholic 2e pushing for promotion. I didn’t ponder on why i chose this line as I’m already onboard. I had to tweak my mindset and make do with my situation.
Given that, I’ve learned alot doing jobs and it made me to the engineer I am today. It’s an ever constant learning process. It isn’t a life but it is a life. At the beginning you may suffer; but I’m hopeful at the end, the reaps are worth it. Seafaring is not for everyone, unfortunately, it’s an arduous journey only for the crazy and determined ones to embark on.
Tough times don’t last, tough people do. This is the reality of seafaring.
I was told that this career isn’t meant for female. Probably one of the reason why is due to sexual harassment.
I was in my last vessel as a cadet before i am done and over with this cadetship phase. Being the only female means you have to prove that youre as strong, mentally and physically as the other guys. No exception just because you’re a girl. However so, this topic on harassment, will always stay, and is never new to the females in the industry.
I was on my last vessel and 2 months before i was sent home, a new group of onsigners joined the family. And in that 2 months, i dont even feel safe being in my own cabin. Everyday, someone is always trying to open my cabin door. Dont worry, it is always lock. I get startled at the tiniest sound. So every time when someone put force on the door handle, my heart drop. Caught the person in act one day and brought it up to Chief and Master. Next port of call, Singapore. Call me lucky, i got signed off at my home port, with 14 days left of my seatime. I was given 4 hours to pack my stuffs as office personnel was already involved. (my captain was afraid that i will bring up to the higher authority so he “initiate” the idea first lol)
In that 14 days that i was left with, i was given another vessel and was told that i was an expensive cadet. Who sails for a month of contract? hah
But nonetheless, the person that put me in all this trouble is no longer in the company.
Contribution from a Fourth Engineer currently onboard:
Working in the engine room includes enduring the heat which is typically above 35degreesC. Completely drenched overalls. Sweat from other crew dripping on your arm while working together. Climbing the countless torturing steps. Adapting to the language barriers thus trying to understand the so called “Ship’s English”.
In the first month I was given day watch duties so I had the opportunity to tag along 4th Engineer and all that was assigned to me was staying in the control room acknowledging alarms. I would always ask him if there are any jobs which I can help out with but NO was all I received. Days of sneaking up on him in engine room and I would often find him carrying out maintenance for purifier, pumps, filters etc. Humbly approaching him to lend a hand, he would shove my hands off and tell me to get lost. “Singaporean will promote easily in this Singapore owned company, you don’t have to work”. Comments like these are thrown at me. And I was denied of any learning opportunity with him. Queries were turned down by his reluctant replies.
But this had only strive me to learn even harder, putting my rest hours to good use, reading up on all the manuals over and over again.
Regardless, I will still approach him readily to get my hands dirty. Soon engineers had seen my efforts and are starting to pass on responsibilities to me as well, the sense of satisfaction are starting to overflow while gaining the trust from others. Very soon 4th Engineer would even allow me to dismantle and clean the purifier by myself.
Food has been soul-destroying. Coming out of work mentally and physically drained with no high expectation of food alike what is served at home. Eventually I have lost 20kg throughout my entire 6 months onboard.
Nevertheless there are nice people you get to meet along the way as well. Still keeping in contact with some from different parts of the world.
Some highlights of my world venturing cadetship, visiting the pyramids in Eygpt. Watching the cows roam the streets of Karachi, Pakistan. Trying delicacies from China.
Hello all, heres my story of engine cadetship ~
It was year 2012, it was graduation and i had already made up my mind to take the sailing path. i joined ship on SG waters on a anchorage, not knowing what to expect on the first day, i wore my uniform with epaulette onboard… only to have a shock of my life in the next few hours.
i was guided to my cabin and was told to report to the engine room once i’ve changed. By then, sweat already soaked my uniform from lugging my luggage up my cabin. Excitedly, changed to my overall and managed to make my way down down to the heart of the ship, the engine room.
Guess what, i dont know what they were doing, but that seem to be a piston. Yes thats right a main engine piston overhaul on my very first day onboard. i vividly ask a greaser whats in the bucket, “diesel” he said. Next few hours were mainly observing, passing of tools, which i had a hard time understanding what they want due to the noise in the ER.
First few months were a culture shock, i did not know why im here. I was placed in Day work, 8 to 5, doing cleaning and moping everyday. i was really eager to do some engineer stuff, even if it is loosening a nut. One day i casually greeted raising my hand slightly to the 4e in the morning, The african 2E scolded me for being rude, i tried to explain but was put down even more. 2e relationship with Ce was really bad, and 2e cant to sign off, perhaps he was putting his anger on me. another incident was when 2e and i was working on forward winch.
“go bring few welding rods” he said. i walked to engine room, grab the rods, and delivered.
“go take hammar” i went back to engine room, grab hammer, went back.
“go take brush” this guy purposely? to and fro, 300m x 6 = 1.8km. i wont ever forget this guy’s name.
& The day he signed off, he wore a suit. Being a proper cadet, i carried his luggage down the gangway. Away he goes, without saying goodbye or thank you.Last few months I was then placed in 4E watch and subsequently 3E watch. It was then i gained more hands on experience,and started gaining more confident in myself. I found the gratification of cleaning a filter, fixing pump, cleaning a purifier, fixing a leak, doing actual maintainence as an engineer.
Life isnt easy as cadet, in fact its the worst & loneliness days of my life in my sailing career. However i held on to believe it will all worth it in the end, to attain my COC5.
New story from a 4E who did his cadetship last year!
Hmm so for me I remember on my first time travelling overseas alone to China to join the vessel was quite nerve wrecking, felt like super nervous cos it’s the first time & I didn’t know what to expect. So fast forward to when I joined the vessel, after I put my stuff in my cabin I was wondering around the ship looking at stuff. Didn’t even know if I was supposed to go in the engine room because I didn’t know where it was located and it had a “authorized personnel only” entry sign.
To be honest my first crew was one of the best ones I had, even though cadet job is basically cleaning and painting and bringing tools around, I got to experience a lot of new stuff that was taught in school but more in depth on ship, like because you actually get to do it & it will be running after you carry out maintenance.
My 2E was one of the better ones from what I heard from my friends about their 2E. Mine actually extended his contract till about 10-11 months but yet still has a very positive attitude and outlook and the ship, he taught me a lot of stuffs & guided me on my TARB book without giving me answers. It was more so of a learning session where he would give me questions and ask me to find the answers and explain it to him, which I felt that he actually put in the effort to try and cultivate & train the newer engineers.
I also did my first ever full generator overhauling, quite memorable but wasn’t sure whatever they were doing cos I had no prior experience & the lack of understanding of the machineries. But it was still something that I felt in awe when they were able to disassemble and assemble it back to working condition.
I was pretty lucky for my cadetship cos when I first joined the vessel, 1 week later we were in Japan for drydock for 3 weeks, so technically my first month of sailing was still onshore.
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