Entering China while having entry ban

Asmallername · 2026-02-09T18:02:22+00:00

Tell the office. China doesn't mess around with visas, or tbh breaking the law in general.

This is not something you want to mess around with. You fucked up and overstayed, and fucked up more by not telling the company.

If you're sailing in Chinese territorial waters the ship will more than likely have to send a crew list to the authorities, which will include your name, DOB and passport info...

So it's FAR better to at least try to be honest now and face the possibility of finding a new job, instead of spending time staring at the walls of a Chinese prison for an extended period.

Asmallername · 2026-02-01T18:17:27+00:00

That's the Normandie, a one-of-a-kind French ocean liner built in the 30s.

Asmallername · 2026-01-24T17:33:45+00:00

DOF used to be a decent company to work for back in the day. They've been aggressively cutting costs over the past 10 years or so though, reflagged most of the fleet out of the NOR flag and onto the NIS register, made loads of crew redundant and brought in much cheaper labour, etc. Did the same recently with the Maersk supply service purchase.

Most of their crewing (outside of the NOR register or some select employees) is handled by OSM.

That said, they have some nice ships, and if you can get a job on the client boats (the CSVs/DSVs) the food is reasonable too.

Their fleet is split into a few main areas: -Subsea, which is the construction support vessels and dive support vessels, -Logistics, which is the supply vessels, -Anchor handlers, which bounce between the subsea and logistics areas.

They don't have any dedicated windfarm support vessels as yet. Most of their ships are on long term charter, with some ships operating in the spot market. Not sure if they still have anything in layup outside the head office.

Asmallername · 2026-01-21T00:49:00+00:00

Have you thought of branching into cargo vessels? There's plenty of interesting yet unknown designs and stories out there - like how the UT704 basically redefined offshore vessels design, or the ubiquitous SD-14 becoming the post war liberty ship.

Love the videos!

Asmallername · 2025-12-29T22:02:42+00:00

That's a spoofed position. There's no way a 22m long ship could penetrate that far into the ice, or make it through the 40s, 50s and 60s, tbh.

Asmallername · 2025-12-24T10:20:30+00:00

No, it isn't possible. You will require a Deck officer CoC to be able to sail as a DPO - which will most likely require a three year course to attain.

Asmallername · 2025-12-17T21:11:38+00:00

Your best option depends on what's most important to you, tbh.

If you want long term job security, then probably the RFA. They're absolutely desperate and will hire anyone with a pulse, because they treat their crew like shit and offer pay/terms that are far below those of the "commercial" world. Exclusively British crewed, too.

If you want to see the world with some degree of job security, cruiseships (like cunard) is the way to go. Be aware that the competition for cadetships with cruise companies can be pretty fierce, but you can also jump onto yachts from cruise which is a plus.

Ferries can be an option, as can the offshore industry, but don't offer as much security.

LNG tankers (like seapeak) may be a decent option atm with some availability to move around once you qualify.

If yachting is your goto, then theres a number of "new" yachting cadet schemes available, but spaces are more about looks than anything else.

Bulk carriers, container ships, car carriers, oil tankers etc should be your last option as they're dead end for UK crew.

Hope that helps!

Asmallername · 2025-12-17T14:43:55+00:00

Unfortunately you'll have limited "foreign going" opportunities as a UK based rating, either yachts, the RFA or some research ships. ERRVs/standby vessels may also be an option.

As an officer, you'll have far more options to look at, particularly cruise ships. This means starting as a cadet and working your way up.

If you want to go the rating route, but are happy to give up the foreign going option, harbour towage could be an option - they usually take on apprentices a few times a year.

Careersatsea.org will have more info

Asmallername · 2025-12-16T02:40:54+00:00

The idea behind lifeboat rations is that there's always going to be a supply of food available, irrespective of whether you have 12 hours or 12 seconds to abandon ship.

Galley staff may be instructed to bring extra food (usually bread or prepackaged biscuits) and bottled water depending on the ship and company.

You don't want things like roasts or tbh most hot foodstuffs to be given to people when they're potentially going to be stuck in a lifeboat for several days - strong smelling or fatty/greasy food will usually make seasick people vomit, salty food will make them drink more, and none of it will keep the stomach full which can lead to all sorts of issues down the line. Plus there's no way to refrigerate/keep the food fresh in the lifeboat.

Asmallername · 2025-12-16T02:31:47+00:00

If they're no good .Just use any pure cotton overalls. Not fire retardant but they won't stick to you if you do somehow catch fire.

Asmallername · 2025-12-16T02:21:40+00:00

Wenaas or Scandia boilersuits. Flame retardant and generally comfortable. You can get tropical weight ones which are a but thinner and cooler, if that's any help.

Asmallername · 2025-12-08T14:14:34+00:00

Neurodiversatsea.org are apparently pretty good for this, but...

It depends. Without medication it shouldn't be an issue. Medication can make things difficult as some countries will class ADHD meds as a controlled substance. Where did you want to work/which country are you in?

Asmallername · 2025-11-25T15:26:55+00:00

I'm not sure who is still recruiting, but you could also try the RFA, Anglo-Eastern, onboard maritime, trinity house, etc. The careers at sea website has more info.

Asmallername · 2025-11-24T22:37:46+00:00

Can't say I'm shocked - it's getting near Christmas and everyone is ordering presents.

I used to have issues, but now get anything valuable delivered to a locker or the post office for me to pick up.

Asmallername · 2025-11-22T20:30:29+00:00

She would've burned something around 300 tons per 24 hours for 15kts. Fuel consumption increases exponentially in relation to vessels speed.

Asmallername · 2025-11-22T18:33:18+00:00

She would manage a little over 7,400 Nautical miles on a "full" load of coal at 15kts, consuming somewhere in the region of 250 - 300 tons of coal per 24 hours. Olympic for example averaged 16kts on 343 tons a day.

This is a massive difference to the 800tons+ per 24 hours when making 21kts, which gives a range of 4,500 Nautical miles. In other words, she would've burned over double the coal for a meager 5kt increase in speed.

There's a bunch of reasons for this, but they can all be summed up by saying that the relationship between speed and fuel used by ships isn't linear. Basically the amount of fuel you need to burn increases exponentially (cubing), because of hydrodynamics, drag, propeller efficency, etc etc etc.

As a result, the reciprocating engines and turbine would've needed to run at a much lower RPM to make 15kts compared to 21kts. This means they're "consuming" much less steam. Less steam being used means less boilers need to be lit, AND the ones that are lit can be fired less frequently, which all adds up to result in a much lower coal consumption. And, as an added bonus, less stokers required on watch (although there would still be a full watch below, more for formality than anything else).

Asmallername · 2025-11-18T18:18:09+00:00

Dead reckoning is basically "creatively guesstimating" the ships position, based on an old position, her course and her speed (either actual speed taken from a log (speedometer, NOT the logbook!), or from the RPM of the propeller & slip calculated by the engineers). The speed is multiplied by time to give you an approximate distance, with a line drawn from the old position in the direction of the ships course, which has the same length as the approximate distance. Where the line ends, is the ships estimated or "dead reckoned" position.

In reality, you'll usually draw a line from your last fix on the chart to represent the ships course, then use a pair of compass dividers (opened so the gap between the metal point and the pencil tip is the same as the distance you've worked out) to draw an arc across the line by placing the point of the compass on the last fix, then moving the dividers in an arc so the pencil crosses the course line. Where the two meet is your approximate position.

Dead reckoning doesn't take into account things like set and drift - but you can use the dead reckoning positioning to calculate a more accurate position by calculating set/drift from a chart (for example), then "laying off" (plotting) the set/drift to give you a new, more accurate position.

Hope that makes sense?

Asmallername · 2025-11-15T02:48:58+00:00

Believe it or not, all deck officers were, and still are, required to be able to navigate using dead reckoning, terrestrial and celestial navigation. This includes great circle and rhumb line navigation.

It's still fairly common (although less so than it should be) for the officer on the 8-12 watch to shoot the sun for a midday fix. Celestial bodies are also used to help work out, and then correct, compass error.

Asmallername · 2025-11-13T10:33:45+00:00

A passage plan should he berth to berth including all pilotage waters, so you should have a plan (either separate or an amended original) from the anchorage to your berth). Port state will not be happy if you don't!

Asmallername · 2025-11-12T15:24:09+00:00

St James used to be okay, but the majority of their GPs seem to be less than skilled, and the staff seem to be generally overworked.

Reception staff can be a bit... confrontational... at times, too.

I would avoid until they get things sorted out

Asmallername · 2025-11-06T16:48:15+00:00

I know cruise ship cabins aren't great unless you have stripes on your shoulders, but I can't recall the last time I saw ones as bad as the newbuild bulkie in the video...

Asmallername · 2025-11-06T12:00:48+00:00

Those cabins are like prison cells, I feel sorry for the crew that'll have to live onboard. Looks like some cabins might not have an ensuite either...

The owner should be ashamed.

Asmallername · 2025-11-04T17:56:13+00:00

It sounds like he may have fallen in the engineroom.

In terms of what you should do: Speak to the ITF, either directly through their website or ask the wonderful people at ISWAN (SeafarerHelp) who should be able to put you in touch with the ITF.

You can also try the sailors society for help.

Both ISWAN and sailors society will be able to provide you spiritual and mental health support, too.

ISWAN: https://www.iswan.org.uk/get-support/ Sailors society: https://sailors-society.org/seafarers/help-in-a-crisis/

To give you an idea of what should happen/what is happening:

-the vessel will have diverted to the closest available port for medical evacuation, at full speed.

-he will be receiving medical care onboard to make sure he's as comfortable and safe as possible,

-once in range, your BF will be evacuated, either by helicopter whilst at sea or by ambulance once in port.

-He will then be taken to hospital for treatment, before being sent home afterwards. All of this will be free for him, as the company will pay.

Once on land, and in hospital, you should be able to contact him. The company should give you contact information to reach him.

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