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From the galley...
It is no well kept secret: Against all expectations, the man at the helm, does not live in the captain's quarters or on the bridge. That guy may have the rank, but he is certainly not the most important man aboard! If you wonder about the men's lives and sorrows, only one guy knows the latest news ... he is the guy standing at the hot stove in the galley. Ask who the most important man on board a ship may be. They will all respond, without blinking - the cook. Therefore, the freshest news from the galley.
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A rare victory in battle against pirates |
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Written by Johan Smith
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2012 barely started when the first shots were fired in the battle against piracy. In the next months I want to use this blog, among other things, to tell you about the realities of piracy and the tragic consequences it entails for seafaring men and women, shipping companies and eventually the world economy. The story that follows is the latest about an encounter with pirates in the past week.
Copenhagen, Jan 9 2012:
A Danish war vessel freed 14 Iranian and Pakistani hostages after a battle at sea, launched by Somali pirates, the Danish fleet reports.
On Saturday, the battleship, Absalon, part of a NATO guided programme against piracy, followed a fishing vessel that had been under surveillance for some time. They thought that the vessel was one of the mother ships enabling pirate operations.
The operation took place as planned, without harming the ship’s crew, the hostages or the pirates, reports Captain Carsten Fjord Larsen, captain of the Absalon.
After three hours, the 25 pirates surrendered. Some started throwing weapons overboard and others followed, Larsen says.
The Absalon fired warning shots and verbally instructed the pirates to surrender. Upon inspection, the fishing vessel, that the pirates took over from its crew earlier, was equipped with small motorboats, fuel and weapons allegedly used in previous attacks.
The pirates are now under arrest, while the fishing vessel is in custody of the Absalon, to be returned to its lawful owner.
There was no information about the period that the hostages had been held. Larson says that they contacted their families.
Somalia has been without a functional government since 1991 and the country became home to pirates that launch numerous attacks on commercial vessels along the Somali coast.
It is a rare victory in the battle against piracy.
(Adjusted and translated from NATO web site)
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Written by Johan Smith
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Pray constantly. We often disregard this advice and often we live . . . as if we do not need prayer, as if we can survive life and its dark times, totally independently from something bigger than ourselves.
One thing that I notice every day while I work with the men and women working at sea, it is that they understand something of being dependent. They seem to know that there is something larger than themselves and the world they live in. In the words of Uys Krige, well-known poet, I want to ask ‘Do you, Sir, know the sea?’
The blue water never allows you to forget, or be untouched by its majestic vastness. There cannot be a hellish storm without your soul seeking something larger than the power of the angry waters. Perhaps Uys Krige, in his poem, touched on knowing the sea, like no one else. It seems that no one, not even in a thousand letters, managed to touch upon this wonder. He explains something of the fear, of the chance that the sea could swallow you quietly. I just wonder, are our lives as land-dwellers so different? I think we may also be floating on the oceans of life and perhaps we feel that we do not need prayer as much . . .
Yet, people that have experienced the storms, people that have been swept off boats, know that they need constant prayer. Without prayer, the boat or ship will hardly stay afloat.
Do you know the sea? (free translation)
Do you, Sir, know the sea?
Now it looks like your shiny porch floor
and calm, like so few things here below
But it is more dangerous than flame or fire
Yet, Sir, you say the catch is dear...
What about the ever-present storms?
You always sit in your kitchen, wet and miserable
and you hear the increasing anger of the wind
and there’s not even a chip of wood left for your fire
Yet, still, Sir, you say the catch is dear ...
Have you ever been swept from your boat, like a feather
by a grey wave as high as the jail wall
How will it help to struggle and shout "No, no"!
First swallow the salt and acid water
Then you add, Sir, the catch is dear...
Do you see the old woman there, Mrs Mathee,
She always stares at the sea
She thinks the breeze will bring back
Her sons in time for tea
All three are asleep behind the cemetery wall
And still, Sir, you say the catch is dear...
~ Uys Krige | Ken jy die see?
Ken jy die see, Meneer ken jy die see?
Hy lyk nou soos jou voorstoep blink geskuur
en kalm soos min dinger hier benee
maar hy's gevaarliker as vlam of vuur
Dan sê jy nog, Meneer die vis is duur...
Wat van die storms wat nooit ophou raas?
Jy sit pal in jou kombuis klam en guur,
en hoor die wind al woester, wreder blaas
en daar's geen sprokkel hout meer vir jou vuur
Dan sê jy nog, Meneer die vis is duur...
Was jy al van jou bootjie soos ʼn veer gevee
deur ʼn grys golf hoog soos ʼn tronk se muur
wat help dit om te spartel en te skree "Nee Nee"!
Sluk jy eers daardie waters sout en suur
Dan sê jy nog, Meneer die vis is duur...
Sien jy die krom ou vroutjie daar, Mevrou Mathee,
Wat telkens ver, ver oor die golwe tuur
Sy dink die briesie bring
Haar seuns betyds terug vir tee
Hul slaap al drie agter die kerkhof muur
Dan sê jy nog, Meneer die vis is duur...
~ Uys Krige |
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