Sea and human relations are centuries old, seas fascinating human beings and attracting them towards them. The early references of sea, boat or ship are found in the story of Prophet Noah (pbuh) in almost all the major religions of the world. Since early days of mankind, human beings kept on trying to explore the seas, and for that boats and ships were invented.
Before the invent of internal combustion engines, sailing boats were used for crossing the seas and rivers. Huge sailing boats or ships were maneuvered using oars, and slaves were the main force to push the oars. That was the most laborious job. Those slaves were even not provided with ample food and water, thus many suffering death and serious ailments. The life on board in those days was miserable, but in search of new worlds and opportunities of trade, man took up that challenging job.
In search of western sea passage to East Indies, Cristopher Columbus in 1492 discovered America. His voyage was for the lucrative spice trade, but he returned with slaves and discovery of a new world. That was one of the major voyages and opened new routes and sea passages for the sailors to explore.
When Pakistan appeared on the map of the world, the country had a limited number of sea-going vessels; it inherited a fleet of only four privately owned cargo vessels, that too very old. Some owners of private shipping companies acquired old ships, which were built for only one voyage of crossing the Atlantic for transportation of soldiers during the Second World War. Those ships were mainly used for the pilgrims during the Haj season, and for transportation of cargo. The Pakistani seafarers operated those ships efficiently, though they were constructed for only one voyage.
In 1963, the National Shipping Ordinance was promulgated, and the National Shipping Corporation was established. The national fleet comprised 53 vessels, which were owned by 10 private companies. The national fleet grew to 71 vessels before the separation of East Pakistan. In 1974, the government of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto nationalised many industrial units including the shipping industry. Two state owned shipping companies-National Shipping Corporation and Pakistan Shipping Corporation-which, subsequently, merged to be named as the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation. That was the starting point in the downfall of the shipping industry of Pakistan, with the number of sea-going vessels steadily declining.
The status of the Pakistan Marine Academy, one of the finest institutions of the country, must be upgraded with graduates passing out from the academy having security of job on ships
The Pakistani ship industry suffered an irreversible loss during the dark era of General Zia’s rule. The number of ships declined drastically, and as a result, Pakistani seamen who were in great demand were welcomed by foreign flag ships on very attractive salary packages. They became one of the major foreign exchange earners for the country, and always remitted their foreign exchange through recognised and established banks and never thought of using other channels such as hundi etc.
The marine studies are unique in a way that apart from imparting the professional education a lot of emphases is on the environment and safety. A seafarer is highly conscious of his responsibilities in regard of environmental protection and safety standards, and on these two vital aspects a seafarer cannot compromise under any circumstances.
Many Pakistani mariners have reached the highest positions in leading shipping lines and many industrial and commercial organisations globally. Such achievements by marine engineers and deck officers are the result of a very high standard of competency examinations conducted by the ports and shipping wing of the ministry of communications. Major credit goes to the Pakistan Marine Academy in Karachi.
When Pakistan came into existence there was no regular institution for training and education of seafarers. The Pakistan Marine Academy was established in Juldian, now Bangladesh; after parting ways with our Bengali brothers, Pakistan was once again left without any proper training institution for future merchant navy officers. Late Commodore S M Anwer, with much difficulty, succeeded in establishing the Pakistan Marine Academy in a makeshift arrangement at the Haji Camp in Karachi.
The Pakistan Marine Academy at Haji Camp even attracted cadets from foreign countries like Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and Ethiopia; most of those foreign cadets are serving at high post in their respective countries. With hard work and struggle, Commodore Anwer succeeded in getting land allocated for establishing the Pakistan Maritime Complex near Mari Pur, Karachi. The foundation stone was laid by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the than prime minister of Pakistan. The idea of establishing a maritime complex in a third world country was a unique one; its purpose was to impart basic training and education to the young generation in the field of marine engineering and nautical studies.
When the government of Benazir Bhutto allowed establishment of power plants in the private sector to meet the demand of electricity in the country, marine engineers, considering it their national duty, left lucrative jobs on ships and actively contributed in establishing, erecting, commissioning, and operating of sophisticated power plants based on liquid fuel technology. It was a technology that was alien to most of the people in Pakistan, apart from marine engineers.
Seafarers, quietly and calmly, keep the wheel of industry around the world in motion. Most of the people around the globe are experiencing isolation for the first time in their life, but who can better understand the meaning of isolation than those working day and night, for weeks and months away from their loved ones, in high seas, in rough seas, in storms, in gales? The most adverse circumstances and working conditions never shatter the will of a sailor. They keep on navigating as per the plans, with the propellers rotating. The rotation of this small propeller is the guarantee that the wheel of industrial empires around the world are in motion.
When the world is facing one of its biggest challenges, never encountered before on such a large scale, seafarers are quietly busy in their duties on ships. Away from their families and loved ones, getting news of the spreading virus, they must be in great agony. Every sailor, irrespective of his rank on a ship, rushes towards the nearest phone facility once their ship is berthed on a port to call their loved ones to get news of their wellbeing. Under the present atmosphere of the coronavirus epidemic, ships are sailing, as usual, in the high seas when no one is allowed to go ashore or to come in contact with anyone from shore. How miserable it must be is beyond the imagination of those sitting in their homes and remaining in touch with the outside world via phones.
Sailors’ remaining almost in isolation for long periods are quite used to of a life of “solitary confinement,” during which the only ray of hope and solace is reaching a port, going ashore and touching the earth practically after walking on iron and steel for days. With this pandemic engulfing the entire world, the hardest hit in terms of mental agony are seafarers who are virtually in a state of solitude and loneliness with tons of worries in their minds of their respective country, their loved ones, their friends, and their countrymen. Yet they quietly continue to transfer thousands of tons of goods on their ships from one corner of the world to the other, to make the world beautiful and comfortable for its inhabitants.
In the present circumstances, no sailor is allowed to sign off from the ship; signing off is the term used for getting relieved from ship after completion of the contract. It is what every sailor desperately waits for; they count the days of their signing-off. But as no flights are operating the question of signing off doesn’t arise; this means even if one particular sailor has successfully completed their contract of duty, they would have to remain on ship for an indefinite period, till humanity wins the war against the coronavirus. What a state of uncertainty and hopelessness that must be.
Sea pilots-those responsible to manoeuvre a ship to and from a port to open sea-are busy doing their duties, risking their lives by exposing themselves to different environments, by interacting with the nationals of different countries even the ones badly affected by the coronavirus.
The worst and the most painful thing is if, God forbids, a sailor gets sick on board a ship, he would not be repatriated to his motherland owing to no air traffic. He would have to remain in complete isolation in a foreign land, sometimes, in a country where any one hardly understands English. These unknown and silent soldiers in white, like doctors, are fighting with great courage and determination the war on coronavirus, supplying liquid fuels, LNG, to us so that transport vehicles remain on roads, and ambulances keep running, transferring the sick to hospitals. They make sure that their ships reach their destinations on time, carrying tons of life-saving drugs, and necessary medical equipment for the suffering humanity. Salute to all these unknown and silent soldiers, with good wishes and sincere prayers for their health and happy reunion with their family and friends.
Unfortunately, in Pakistan, the expertise of seafarers has not been fully utilised as is the norm in the developed countries. As a result, a vast majority of seafarers are migrating to the developed countries where they find attractive options to exercise their expertise and help those countries in developing their various industrial units.
There were times when Pakistan’s ship breaking industry was at the top in the world. The ship breaking yard at Giddiani was itself a mini state with ship breaking activities taking place round the clock. Now there are not many job opportunities in that field, in addition to quite a substantial loss of foreign exchange in the national exchequer. The vested interests of those in command during the dark era of Zia-ul-Haq’s rule deprived the nation of this industry to gain certain benefits.
Still, it’s not too late; the incumbent government must come up with concrete steps to remove the unnecessary restrictions on Pakistani seafarers and revive the glory of not only the shipping industry of the country but also the ship breaking industry. The status of the Pakistan Marine Academy, one of the finest institutions of the country, must be upgraded with graduates passing out from the academy having security of job on ships.
In this regard, government of Pakistan should enter into agreements with various countries, especially the Islamic states, to make sure that graduates passing out from the Pakistan Marine Academy find jobs in those countries’ shipping lines. Cadets from brotherly countries should be invited to join the Pakistan Marine Academy and avail the highest standards of marine education.
The writer is a former marine engineer and is presently serving in a private organisation