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Showing posts from July, 2015

The Brawl Onboard

It was a party thrown to the officers and crew onboard Renaissance One  We were still trading in Sabah water then and that year was 1994.  It was our first party celebration in appreciation to the Master, officers and crew for their support. Though I don't drink, I did drink a little so as not to disappoint the rest.  Everyone was in a party mood.  We played games, had a lot of fun and plenty of booze (non-stop, unfortunately).  The party just went on and on.  Some were highly intoxicated.  When the party was at its climax, someone reported a fight.  Dropping everything, I rushed off to the scene with a few of us.  One gaming crew was quite badly beaten up by a stronger deck & engine crew.  Before, we could even settle down, another fight broke out somewhere again.  We rushed over to check out.  Pandemonium was everywhere and it was akin to a riot onboard.  Again, another fight happened.  It was never ending.  Basically it was between few camps, the gaming department, the ho

Wondering Spirits

It was on board one of our vessels, "Renaissance I" when a passenger complained that he felt something unnatural in the room.  Not long later, another one complained sighting familiar encounter.  Then, the Filipino crew claimed they saw something they were not supposed to see.  Soon, words went around that the ship was haunted.  Our boss was concerned it will affect our load and therefore, decided to engage a taoist priest (sifu) to exorcise the spirits. Through a recommendation, this particular 'sifu' was introduced to us.  My colleague and I brought him to the ship to conduct an inspection.  He had with him a small coffin which he carried in his hand.  When we were showing him around the ship, he will sometimes make a stop and then, placed the small coffin on the floor.  He will then open the coffin cover and then shut it, sensed around the place and then, continued on.  He repeated this few times.  After the inspection, he told us our ship was not 'clean

Dust, Powder Can Be Fire Hazards

My note:  This is written by a former colleague in the cruising industry who is a retired master mariner and it appeared in the ST forum recently.  Given his training and profession, he has always stressed on maritime safety.  The recent Taiwan party incident which took 2 lives so far and sadly, more might follow has triggered him to pen his thought. It is my pleasure to append his article on my blog for the better guidance of the readers.     Quote At least two died and hundreds were injured in Taiwan when clouds of multi-coloured corn starch sprayed on the crowds exploded and engulfed the young revellers in flames ("S'porean among 500 injured in Taiwan festival fire". Monday, and "Colour Run to continue in Singapore", Thursday). The cause is likely to be cigarette lighters or heat from stage lights.  The manufacturer had marked the powder as "flammable" , but the organisers ignored the warning.  They said they had never heard that such an ac

My Cruise Journal

I started working for a ground handling agent at Changi International Airport after completing my national service and not long later, I landed a decent job with an airline company which I worked for 5 years.  I was last with a travel company before I landed my first job in the cruise industry and it was by default too.  That year was 1991 where cruising to many then was only meant for the rich and discerning travellers.             Then it was a friend who called me one day to ask me to join him urgently but he didn’t elaborate much except saying it was a travel job which was related to cruising.  I was excited about the prospect of working for a cruise vessel.  When I dropped by his office, I was surprised to see him so immaculately dressed up like a high flier executive.  Yep, I was so used to seeing him in his tee and Bermuda shorts but what a transformation he had turned up to be.  Even the office personnel addressed him as “Mr Lim” and after I joined his company, I had to f