I bet you re Gld the engineers are all sober guys

[robpage]

http://www.vesselfinder.com/news/224...rs-in-two-days

Oh to be a ships engineer , you don't find them doing these things anymore

[John Arton]

Rob
Maybe they were just trying to keep a well oiled machine running smoothly.

There is an increase in drunkenness amongst masters and crews of these small ships and whilst not trying to cast aspirations upon any one nationality there does seem to be a preponderance of ex. Soviet Union member states personnel amongst those accused.
Alcoholism was rife in the old Black Sea fleet of the Soviet Union to such an extent that by the early 70's alcohol was banned and crews rationed to 2 litres of wine, low alcohol content, per month, whilst on board. As they hardly ever got a chance to go ashore unless in pairs or with the commissar there was few instances of them having drunken nights, unlike most of us.
I guess with the breakdown of the Soviet Union and the greater employment opportunities for their cheap labour on non Russian ships, we can only expect to see more of these cases.
rgds
JA

[robpage]

I was quite surprised at the article , a s in my experience , the only mster I ever saw very well oiled was once in dry dock ,m amongst the cross channel ferries there were a few suspect second mates doing the night crossings , but excess drinking amongst deck officers was not well known

[Louis the Amigo]

Hi shipmates, the pilot told on the Captain? did he not get his bottles and smokes? what is going on today at sea? Most pilots were ex captains or masters who understood the life in my time.

[Captain Kong]

I was on a tanker sailing from Barry, the Capt. was drunk as a skunk, shouting `I`m master of this ship not you Pilot, I am taking her out without you. ` and falling all over the wheelhouse, he tried to get the wheel off the AB.

The Pilot told me to get rid of him
I dragged him off the bridge and locked him in his cabin. All quiet after that, the pilot and I could do our job of sailing safely.
.
I was on another ship sailing from Southampton, it was around midnight. the Captain was drunk, I was going on the Radar as we left the River Itchen and lining up for the Solent passage. There was a man stood looking in the Radar. not seen him before.
Who are you, I said, ` he replied, `I am the Landlord. `.
What the F..... Landlord of what? The Captain said , I`ve brought him back to see the ship from the alehouse.
Well get him off the Bridge and go with him. I said. bloody nuisance. I chased them both off. I did have my PEC for the Solent. So took her out easily once they had gone below to his cabin to carry on drinking. Unbelievable what some Captains got up to.
Fortunately we were just going round the land and back to Southampton a few days later.
Brian

[j.sabourn]

I never saw excessive drinking to the extent as made out as the excuse for the breathalizer laws they bought out. Before Cappy says I was maybe too drunk to have noticed, I wasnt. There was always a time and place for everything. I did not beleive in bar hours being policed either, to me a ship was a 24 hour job, and found the bar in most cases was best policed by those using it. The rare occassion it was abused the offender was barred by the bar committe for up to a week at east. JS

[Louis the Amigo]

Hi shipmates, My wifes uncle was a foreman/boss on cardiff dock for many years one of his jobs was talking to the Captain about the cargo and stuff, he was put into a cold shower after drinking a few too many vodka s' on a timber ship Russia, he had a few drinks on every ship part of the job? he died Age 90 years had a massive funeral, he was one of the very best.

[j.sabourn]

They talk these days as though having a drink is immoral. Beer was always a way of life in the UK and you didnt have to be a seaman to drink it. I have seen just as much drunkenness ashore if not more than on ships. Russian crews my experience with never saw them as drunks, but up in Murmask 3 trips in a row, saw more drunks ashore drinking Vodka out of a bottle. In Port Churchill in Canada after getting their wages the stevedores mostly Indian and eskimo adjourned to the Hudson Bay company to spend their wages leaving the crew to discharge the ship which was ok as they were on shore wages and beat painting over the wall. Chinese crews with the older ones it was opium, even the customs used to turn a blind eye to in most cases as it was all personal use. Philipanos most always seemed to be highly strung so suspect marijuana. As regards marijuana there was supposed to be a regular traffic out th the rigs in the North Sea, I never saw this but were quite often searched for same before sailing. With the crack down on drink, I think more have turned to other means as getting their kicks, which to me was much more dangerous. One post I put on here about the master being stabbed in Dakar, strongly suspect the culprit was high on some drug or other, wasnt alcohol. Cheers John S

---------- Post added at 08:38 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:25 AM ----------

#8... Indian crew were always chewing betal nut. What this is supposed to do was never quite sure. Maybe the B.I. or Blue Flu or the regular runners out east with Indian crew would know. JS

[Captain Kong]

Betel leaves and arica nuts are chewed by the Asians, as a stimulant.
and this causes ........................................
In another study, scientists report[19] the extent of cancer risks of betel quid chewing , in addition to oral cancer, significant increases were seen among chewers for cancer of the esophagus, liver, pancreas, larynx, lung, and all cancer.
So since I read this, I have stopped going round to my neighbours to get my usual supply.
Cheers
Brian

[Louis the Amigo]

Hi Shipmates, in Cardiff they all chew some kind of leaf, ghat ? many black/Asian young men smoke wakkie backey now Ramadan has finish the clouds of smoke/ smell have come back ? not one of them drinks alcohol in the local pubs. Not like the old days no one took drugs back then.