Introduction

My choices of Marine Engineering as my college major and Merchant Marine as my professional career were influenced largely by my childhood and schooling. My father, like many of his generation in India, was the first in his family to get a college education. He Worked for Semi government service in Food and supply dept. I graduated from Translam Academy in 1999. This schooling provided me with an early exposure to India's diverse and rich ethnic mix. Our travels during this period of my life also played a significant role in shaping my aspiration to travel the world and learn more about other countries.

I was especially drawn to Sciences and Mathematics throughout my high school years and wanted to pursue a career that would utilize my quantitative aptitude. The decision to pursue an education in Marine Engineering was motivated by my desire to find a career that would allow me to develop my interest in physical sciences while offering the opportunity to travel widely. In July 1999 I was offered admission to ICMS along with 80 other students

My education at ICMS was great mix of classroom learning and hands-on experience in engineering labs and shipyards. The curriculum encouraged us to develop our ability to apply the theoretical knowledge to practical problem solving. The ability to roll up your sleeves and work with your hands forms an integral part of a marine engineer’s profession. To get an idea of real life issues of managing a ship on high seas we regularly worked as interns on ships at ship construction and repair yards. Apart from providing the training in marine engineering, the school’s curriculum also laid a lot of emphasis on extra curricular activities such as sports, physical training and cultural activities.

ICMS education encouraged my love for tinkering with machines but it also tempered it with providing me with the ability and discipline to read the machine's manual before opening the machine. The graduation from the college was not the end of my education though. In 2003, I started my career as a fifth engineer for a foreign shipping company. The career progression for a marine engineer is based not only on his professional performance and length of service but also on continuous learning and training. The requirements for the next level of responsibility are formally incorporated in a series of accreditation examinations. Only when a marine engineer has completed a certain minimum length of sailing and has passed the required certification test can he or she become eligible to be considered for the next higher level of responsibility. During a span of five years of my professional work I qualified to sail as Second Engineer (the hierarchy being Fifth, Fourth, Third, Second and finally the Chief Engineer). The fact that I rose to the rank of Second Engineer in such a short span of time speaks of my professional capabilities and willingness to upgrade my knowledge base continually.

My work involves managing and maintaining all the machinery of the ship when it is on its voyages. The machinery ranges from cranes for handling cargo to the main propulsion plant and power generating plants. The highlight of my career has been to develop a safe and efficient work culture. Communicating this concern for high quality safety procedures to my colleagues and seeking their advice in improving the safety standards has been a great learning experience for me

I have worked on highly specialized Oil tankers and Chemical tankers. I have worked for shipping companies from India, Denmark, Singapore and United Kingdom. Joining a ship can be compared to joining a new company wherein everything from the working environment to the systems being followed is entirely different from the last assignment. On every ship I had a different crew and often the crew changed during my tenure. This forced me to continuously change my approach towards managing personnel of different backgrounds and nationalities and bringing them together as a team. Teamwork on a ship is critical, not only for the performance of professional duties but also for the very survival of the team members. The ability to work together in a team at short notice is one of the most cherished learning experiences that my professional work has brought me.

By writing this blog I am trying to help those who need this information and i am gaining what i need :- Satisfaction

Good luck for all those who are in this career or trying to join in ..
Welcome Onboard "JALTARANG"