MCA Graduate Surveyor’s week with South West beamer
One of the new generation of MCA surveyors emerging under a
graduate training scheme, Charles Blyth joined Brixham based Waterdance’s 33
metre beam trawler Margaret of Ladram
for a trip, aiming to gain an insight into the practicalities of commercial
fishing – during the hottest week of the summer.
"I’m a year into a four-year graduate scheme,” he said,
explaining that he came to the job straight from university and graduates with
RINA-accredited degrees in naval architecture or marine engineering are
generally candidates for this.
As part of the scheme, budding surveyors are required to
spend time at sea, and a trip on a beam trawler was seen as an ideal
opportunity.
“Next I expect to be spending a trip on a container vessel,”
Charles said
He explained that this was a seven day trip on Margaret
of Ladram with chief mate Sean Beck sailing as skipper ,replacing
regular skipper Adam Cowan-Dickie who was on a well-earned trip off.
“The mate was Steven, and the others were Zac, Gary, Roland
and Roger, who was also the cook. There was one cooked meal each evening for
the whole crew, and in between we were all able to prepare our own food.”
At Sean’s suggestion, Charles opted not to share the deck
crew’s six-on-six-off routine, and instead worked a twelve-hour turnaround that
allowed him time to work with both shifts and also to spend time in the
wheelhouse to get acquainted with the bridge routines.
“This is a ship that runs like clockwork,” he observed.
“Sean and the rest of the crew were very welcoming and helpful, and from day
two I was working with them – doing what they do to earn their money.”
During the trip he was given a taste of everything on board,
from hauling and shooting the gear to sorting and gutting the fish, to working
in the fishroom to pack the fish in boxes.
‘Of course there are areas of the ship that are naturally a
dangerous environment. It’s an unstable platform and you’re working with
machinery. But my biggest safety concern was the fishroom as there’s ice and
the floor is slippery down there. The floor has a non-slip coating, but with
boxes being moved around, this wears away.”
“The attitude on board to safety is absolutely first class, things like no going out on deck without a life jacket. There was also a safety briefing at the start of the trip, with the alarms sounded and the muster stations identified. On the whole, everything about the way Margaret of Ladram and its crew operate is highly professional,” he said, commenting that there were a few surprises along the way – mainly pleasant ones.
“The attitude on board to safety is absolutely first class, things like no going out on deck without a life jacket. There was also a safety briefing at the start of the trip, with the alarms sounded and the muster stations identified. On the whole, everything about the way Margaret of Ladram and its crew operate is highly professional,” he said, commenting that there were a few surprises along the way – mainly pleasant ones.
“Apart from seeing how important safety is, it was good to
see hygiene taken so seriously as the ship is immaculate throughout. I was also
delighted to see as soon as we sailed that the environment and protecting it
are taken very seriously by all of the crew. The waste we generated was
separated for recycling and stored securely on deck until we returned to port,”
he explained.
“It was surprising to see the extent of environmental
pollution which was present in every haul we made from the sea. The waste
collected ranged from cans to old bombs, and a surprising number of shoes.
Every haul was littered with various bits of plastic. Thankfully everyone on
board was keen to retain any litter which was collected, and this was sorted
and stored along with the waste generated by the ship for processing ashore. I
was also amazed to see the volume of spent ammunition and ordnance hauled up
throughout the trip. A lot of it is safe to handle but there is no guarantee
there won’t be something potentially live and deadly in the hauls that they
bring up.”
Charles Blyth commented that while he is no stranger to
manual work, having been a labourer during his university years, he was still
unprepared for the work rate on board, not least with the switch to sandy
grounds and shorter tows to ensure that the catch quality remains high.
“I could see right away that the easiest way to earn the respect
of the crew would be to get stuck in, while balancing that by not getting in
their way. Those guys really work hard. They certainly work for every penny
they earn. So this was a hugely valuable opportunity to get first-hand insight
into how they work and the hazards of fishing.”
“The only other surprise was just how positive and welcoming
the Margaret of Ladram’s crew were. It was
great experience and 100% worthwhile to spend time on such a well-run vessel
with a highly professional crew.”
“This was a unique opportunity for a young MCA surveyor to
get out there and really understand what fishermen do,” said Waterdance Managing
Director Nigel Blazeby.
“As a company, Waterdance is keen to work closer with all
government agencies Involved with fishing to ensure we have an industry that is
safe and compliant across the board from vessel standards to fishery
regulation. Opportunities and joint working like this go a long way to
bettering the small but vital fishing industry we work in.”