A great many folk quiz me about life at sea. A few of them, have a look of horror & incredulity, as they seem to wonder how such life can be endured. A laundry list of the common myths and stereotypes, that are carried about sailors are:
- They are drunk for better part of their life on board a ship.
- They are uncouth.
- Their family ties are not as strong as those that landlubbers share.
- Sailors have no rules.
- They are loose with their morals.
- They earn a great deal of money with little effort.
While I'm not going to defend sailors in this short, piece, I will recount, a story from last week, involving an Indian Captain and his ship off the coast of Taiwan, in the China Sea. I'm quite familiar with these waters & can tell you that the density of fishing craft is high.
The ship, with the Indian captain, apparently did not stop to assist a sinking fishing trawler. It so resulted that some of the fishermen perished, in the rather turbulent seas that the ship was traversing.
The Captain has since been arrested & charged with' second degree man slaughter', which could lead to a fairly lengthy jail sentence. The captain's defense is that, he was not on the Navigation Bridge, at that point of time & was not informed by the navigating officer, cuts no ice with the marine court that has been constituted. He was the Captain and so takes the cake! He is simply responsible for what goes on on his boat and not assisting another sea farer in distress is desertion and is a strict no no in marine parlance.
Mu question, is, how many of us stop on the road to assist, an accident case? Do we care at all? The CEO of an IT major at Bangalore was surprised when, he was held responsible, for the death of a lady employee who was raped & murdered. The CEO's punishment, was but a slap on the wrist.No jail term for him. No penalties for those of us, who turn away, in horror from a road accident & move on.
Life at sea is very well regulated and disciplined. Most ships do not allow the consumption of alcohol on board and sea farers are some of the most greatly trained folk around. Their commitment to work is simply superb.
Next time you bite into, your favourite nan or roti, remember the sailor because, he would have ferried the wheat for you from a Canadian or US port. The next time you take your favourite SUV out for a spin, remember the sailor because, he got the petrol for you.
As for our Indian captain, when last heard he was cooling his heels in a lonely cell in Taipei and possibly contemplating his rather bleak future.
I rest my case with the question, as where do you think life is more civilized?
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