And so we have it.
The Bishop sums it up rather well, to a degree.
Seamen are, in general, mavericks. Be they MN or RN. In days of yore when I were but a lad, I sailed with just about every class of person one could imagine. Public School boys sailing as ABs, colliery workers offspring working as Captains. Some superb, others …..well, not so good. Always interesting to me was the way the more mediocre (let us say) were generally the ones who would “rip-off” the crew whenever they could…..to the advantage of their pockets. It was all a racket, and the owners knew it. But as long as the ship went where it was supposed to be going and came back with a voyage profit, well, who cares.
Back in 1982 I was “appointed” the MoD Rep on a STUFT ship. This ship was part of the Blue Funnel Line. Oh goody, I thought. How wrong I was.
I knew the Blue Flue and had even been a passenger on one (Patroclus,1964). I admired them and was always rather in awe of that company. But joining that ship in 1982 showed me just how much things had changed. Gone were the days of “smartness”. Not just the ships, but the attitude of the “Officers”. The ship I joined had, until it was rented by the Mod had a Sudanese (or possibly Somalian) crew. The ship and its accommodation were in a disgusting state. There’d obviously never been a “Captains Rounds” for months if not years. This crew were ejected and a crowd of Scousers came in their place. Knuckled down and took nearly a week to get the place habitable again. And this was Blue Funnel! None of the Officers wore any sort of uniform any more. “Why”? only elicited the response that nobody gave a "xxxxx" about conditions…..only profits. Nice guys all. Very professional and all that, but the “company” had put all the years of loyalty to one side.
So are you really surprised that when such an outfit as Blue Flue can just chuck out over a century of service and tradition that the “staff” follow suit?
Money, money, money is the name of the game now.Thank God I’m not a “proper” seafarer any more. BY.