|
Driving on the West Coast Highway along
Singapore’s port, it’s easy to see the signs of
recession. Cranes that usually move containers
24 hours a day have their booms fixed up in the
air. “Hands up,’’ the seafarers call it. The
view to the horizon, normally obstructed by huge
mountains of containers, is now wide open. As
the shipping industry is hit hard by the global
economic downturn, container ships from all over
the world lie idle at Singapore’s shores.
“For the seafarers, it feels like being locked
up in prison,’’ said port chaplain Christian
Schmidt. “The psychological strain weighs
heavily.’’
About 290 vessels lying at anchor in Singapore
right now have already been there long term,
often several months, Schmidt estimated.
As business is shrinking, many shipping
companies lay off vessels.
“If a ship is being laid off, the companies will
just keep a skeleton crew on board,’’ said David
See, assistant chaplain from the Mission to
Seafarers.
The captain and some engineers stay, “the rest
will be sent home,’’ See said.
Those sailors who are forced to kill time on
board their vessels, are grateful to have a port
chaplain around for a chat, who are often their
only link to the outside world.
Every day German chaplain Schmidt from
Singapore’s Lutheran Seafarers Mission board
ships like the ‘’Sea Matrix,’’ the ‘’Pacific
Honour’’ or the ‘’Northwest Success,’’ which
dropped anchor in Singapore several weeks or
months ago.
In the beginning, it’s great to have a break
from the daily routine, nice to sleep in and
have some leisure time, sailors stranded in
Singapore told Schmidt.
But after finishing all maintenance work which
needed to be done, times get tough.
“It’s the same with people working on
short-time. At first you like it, but after one
week you don’t really know what to do,’’ said
Schmidt.
Many laid-off container ships are anchored quite
far away from Singapore’s coast, See said, thus
giving the sailors no chance for a shore leave
and make them feel isolated.
Contact to the outside world per internet is
rare, as most ships don’t provide an internet
access for workers.
Keeping in contact with the family at home via
mobile phones soothes the nerves of the
seafarers.
But once the phone cards are exhausted and the
lines to loved ones are cut, the atmosphere on
board becomes tense. According to Schmidt, who
meets sailors from all nations, “causes for
conflicts and quarrels are rising.’’
The fear of not getting a follow-up contract
makes the crisis a lot worse for many sailors.
‘’For non-European workers on board the crunch
has come,’’ the port chaplain said. “They build
a house at home, or they have to pay school fees
for their kids.’’
Most workers on board the container ships come
from the Philippines, the world’s largest
supplier of seafarers.
It’s the Filipinos in particular who ask Schmidt
to pray for them and their families.
But despite all worries that the sailors stuck
in Singapore’s port might have, their
professional ethics do not really allow most of
them to show any sign of desperation, Schmidt
said.
‘’To reveal weakness or fear, that’s not their
cup of tea,’’ he said.
‘’It’s not the first time that the shipping
business is going down,’’ a captain from Romania
told him. ‘’If you can’t handle that, you should
stay away from ships.’’
The ‘’Inspector’s Blog’’ on the website of the
International Transport Workers’ Federation
reflects the same sentiment of fearlessness.
‘’As usual’’ the men and women who crew ships
are left in a precarious position, the blog
commented on the consequences of the global
recession.
It’s a kind of ‘’professional rigidity’’ what
keeps most sailors on track even in times of
crisis, Schmidt learned. ‘’They are just very
good in saving their face.’’
Source: DPA
|
