The Ascent(1)

Hello dear fellow human beings :) 

Greetings from the beautiful Kusadasi, Turkey. Right now, during my 1.5-hour break on the crew deck, I wanted to give you new insights into the world on the ship.

Unfortunately, I couldn't go out today because I have In Port Manning (IPM). IPM means that even though I have free time, I am not allowed to leave the ship. In addition to our tasks on the ship, each crew member has a safety task on the ship. In the event that something happens while we are on land, we must be able to ensure the evacuation and provide assistance. All employees are divided into four groups: A, B, C, and D. Each day, a different group is responsible and cannot leave the ship. Since today is Group A's turn, I had to spend my free time on the ship.

To be honest, it's also nice not being able to go out. This way, there's no pressure to go out and you can do your laundry, catch up on sleep, or simply enjoy a few pages of a good book. Since I will be visiting many places on my journey twice, I will have the chance to visit the places I haven't been able to visit in two weeks.

IPM is only a small part of the safety obligation of each individual crew member. We were prepared for all these topics in Hamburg. In addition, we have several trainings per week and also have to complete regular online courses. I will tell you more about this in my next post.

Where did we actually leave off? Oh yes, the morning I saw the ship for the first time and as they say in sailor's language: 'Aufgestiegen' (ascended). At 9:00 a.m. on the designated day, we were picked up by several taxis from our hotel in Civitavecchia and taken to the port. Suddenly, seven other ascenders came out of their rooms and together we went to the taxis. My excitement became immeasurable. I was really worried that my folder was not complete, which we were supposed to submit to the personnel management. The following things are important (contract, seaman's book, ID, certificate for safety training, ascension examination, several medical certificates, vaccination passport, etc.)

If any of these things were missing or incorrect, you were allowed to board the next plane and fly back home. There was a long line in front of the 'Crew Persers' office. Everyone handed in their documents and waited for the allocation of rooms. In front of me was a German man who had actually forgotten a document, and they promptly let him 'Absteigen' (descend) again because he didn't have his seaman's book with him and apparently forgot it on another ship. My heart started racing and I thought, what am I going to do if I have to go home too? I have no apartment, no job, and I had already prepared myself to come back at the end of August. Now it was my turn. Luckily, everything went smoothly. After I received my boarding pass, was assigned my room, and was given more documents, a nice girl named Laura came and showed me around the ship. Laura is the restaurant manager on the ship and is responsible for four restaurants.

I would love to tell you more about the first hours on the ship at this point, but unfortunately, I have to work again soon.

Why I thought in the first night that I would go back home tomorrow and why I am still here, you will find out next time.

Best wishes, your sailor