Experience | Leader Onboard Ship

Leadership is genuine, it's essential, it's amazing, it's respected. Be that as it may, above all, it's accomplished, regardless of whether great or awful. 

At the center, the word lead basically signifies, "to manage somebody or to control others." 

On the off chance that we consider a guide, we think about a man who has been the place we are for the most part attempting to get to or a man who realizes the path by experience or bearing.

Now based on my experience, to the extent that I follow my Captain onboard ships depends to a great extent on the amount I trust and believe in my Captain's capacity to get me to the goal, the ability to communicate effectively, the capacity to deal with the unexpected, and the basic leadership capacity in a sufficient time when we are altogether looked with vulnerability. 

Moreover, my Captain, for the most part, takes us where we need to go, not where they need us to go. It's anything but an Autocratic Leadership however in a decent and proficient method for Diplomatic Leadership. 

"LEADER" signifies, "one who has influence"

Influence is best when earned through a series of positive interactions. For example, communications in person or electronically that start earning influence. 

Different methods for winning influences incorporate, yet are positively not constrained to auspicious gatherings, keeping your statement, likability, thoughtfulness, thoroughness, humility, confidence, character, integrity, sincerity, and even toughness. 

Influence is without a doubt earned. Be that as it may, it tends to be lost in one wrong move. So I generally watch my influence with remarkable reactions since it's my social capital that fills my leadership style in the future.

Staffing | Management

Staffing is a process of filling positions/ post in the organization with adequate and qualified personnel. Staffing comprises of the way toward obtaining, conveying, and holding a workforce of adequate amount and quality to make positive effects on the viability of the association. It is actually the capability of keeping an eye on the association structure. Staffing has expected more noteworthy significance in the on-going years because of the headway of innovation, an increment in the size of business, multifaceted nature of human conduct and so forth. The fundamental reason for staffing is to put the right man in the right occupation.

Source: Google Image

Source: Google Image

According to McFarland, 'staffing is the function by which managers build an organization through the recruitment, selection, and development of individuals as capable employees'.


The main objective of staffing is to understand all function in an organization, to understand the manpower planning so that people are available at right time and a right place and also to understand the issues related to job analysis and to overcome the problem.

Source: Google Image

Source: Google Image

Staffing is the most vital asset with an organization, without which it cannot move ahead in the competitive world. Staffing is an open system of approach. It is carried out within the enterprise but is also linked to an external environment.

Source: Google Image

My Idol | Hero

Everyone have their own idol in the world. Idol is a person whom you greatly admire or love. Idol can be anyone in this world, maybe singer, football player, politicians or a model. From my point of view, as far as I lived, my dad has been my idol since the day I was born. He is 63 years old. He has become a good father for his children and he really loves them very much. He is working as a Supervisor in a very big company. He seems to be very busy everyday as he is working six days in a week. That clearly shows you how hardworking he is in the age of that. He is so dedicated to his work that he is amongst the top ranked employee of his company and he has won so many awards.

Red Shirt is my dad

He tries his best to keep our family happy. He works hard to earn money for his family. He loves me unconditionally because I am the only son to be. He has always taught me good lessons and values in my life since I was a kid. But during that time I don't understand anything because I wasn't so matured but when I reach the age where I got matured, I can relate all the things that he has taught me in real life. Trust me there's nothing more valuable than anything else in this world. You all will be thinking seems I am the only son so I can rule and have anything I want. A strict no to the statement because he never spoiled me by buying all the things that I wanted. But at the same time he has also gifted me many things that I wish to have. Dad has always tries his level best to make me a good human being.

He is an extremely loving and caring dad. I always enjoy spending time with him. He has taught me to kick a ball. Till date I have won so many football matches. Not just in sports but he also helps me in my studies. He restricted me to go for tuition instead he personally sits with me to get my problems solved. It is because his grace that I perform well in studies. My dad is the most precious gift to me from God. He is the most gracious person that I have ever seen in my life. He wants me to be a good human being like him and that is why he always guide me to differentiate between right and wrong. My dad is the person I look up as my idol and he is also known as my HERO.

My dad with his dad

Myself with my dad

Hiking | Sports

Hiking. Why is it good to go for hiking? What does hiking means? Hiking is literally a recreational walking activity in nature. Hiking is an exercise that gives physical fitness. Hiking is an outdoor activity where it has plenty of fresh air around, provides a good smell, sounds and a beautiful view of the nature. Hiking is one of the strongest cardio workout, so it's good for you too.

      Benefits of hiking :

• Help to control your weight as you are burning your calories 
• Improve in balancing your body
• Strengthen your inner and outer core
• Enhance bone density, since hiking is a weight bearing exercise
• Lower the risk of heart disease
• Builds strength and the muscles in the legs and hips

If you're an amateur, start slow with a short or local hikes. Gradually build up your skills and go for trails with hills or uneven ground.

Safe tips

Hiking is a group activity. It is not advisable not to carry out hiking alone especially on unfamiliar trails. Bring a buddy along with you. A partner or group can help you navigate and even assist when you're hurt. Secondly, familiarize with the map before getting into action. Know the stuffs in and out before you go. That really helps you to do the activity in a successful manner. Good luck for the beginner hikers.

RADAR | Mariners Toy

In a 200 over meters in length of a ship is been controlled just by the tip of fingers by deck officers. Isn't it a coolest thing? Obviously yes, because it's a fact that we the merchant navy officers have been trained for it. During my diploma programme, I've been given the chance of getting into the simulators and sail the ship in and out of congested waters with high traffic density.

The main equipment for the ship's safe navigation is the Marine Radio Direction and Ranging (RADAR). Decades ago, there's no Automatic Radar Plotting Aid (ARPA) system for Radar to get the relevant information for safe passing distance and create tracks using the contacts. After World War II, the Britons has came up with this system which has the capability to calculate the tracked target's course, speed, closest point of approach (CPA), thereby showing the danger of collision with the other ships or lands.

ARPA RADAR Presentation

ARPA is more developed after the disaster of the Italian liner SS Andrea Doria collided with MS Stockholm in a restricted visibility and sank at the East Coast of United States. ARPA in marine radars established to emerge in the 1960's together with the development of microelectronics. A typical ARPA function gives a display of the current situation and uses computer technology to predict the situation according to the actions taken. ARPA actually assesses the risk of collision and enables the operator to see proposed maneuvres by own ship.

The following functions are normally provided by ARPA:

• Automatic and manual acquisition of targets
• Read-out of targets which provides courses, speed, range, bearing, closest point of approach (CPA) and time to closest point of approach (TCPA)
• True or relative motion presentation
• The ability to show collision assessment information directly on the Plan Position Indicator (PPI) using true or relative vectors
• The ability of trial maneuvers, including course changes, speed changes, and mixed course/speed changes
• Automatic ground stabilization for navigation purposes. 

Limitation
ARPA data is only as accurate as the data comes from inputs such as the gyro and speed log.

Black Jack | Cards

Blackjack is known as twenty-one game. It's about comparing a card game usually between few players and a retailer. Each player competes against the retailer only and they do not compete against each other. Basically, it is played with one or more deck cards of 52. It is mostly played casino game in the world. The purpose of this game is to beat the dealer as follows :

• Getting 21 points on the first two cards received (called as blackjack), without a dealer blackjack
  

• Reaching a final point of high points than the dealer without exceeding 21

• Or the dealer draws additional card until his hand exceeds 21 points, the dealer losses

Each players are dealt with two cards including the dealer, facing the card up or down depending upon the casino and the table rules at which you play. In U.S, the dealer usually faces one card up which means exposed and another down which means hidden. But in most of the countries it is played in such a way. 

The value of cards two to ten is their pip value of 2 to 10 respectively whereas face cards such as Jack, Queen and King are worth the value of 10. The only card is treated special is the Aces. It may worth one or eleven depending upon the number of card. The trick is that a hand with an ace valued as 11, meaning that the hand will not bust (exceeds 21) by taking and additional card, the value of the ace can be kept as one to prevent the hand from exceeding 21. 

Dealer plays the game once all the players have completed their hands. The dealer then reveals the hidden card and it must be 17 or higher in points. Players wins the game by not busting and have a total points of higher than the dealer. There are chances of dealer and players having the same total of points, in this case, this is called as push, and the player typically never win or lose money on the hand. Otherwise, the dealer wins.

Eight Ball | Pool Bois

Pool is actually a cue sport which is played on a short table with rails and six pockets where the balls are dumped into. Usually people more often get confused with pool and snooker. The major difference between pool and snooker is with respect to the number of balls used in play. 

Snooker Game

Snooker uses 22 balls including the white color striker ball. The other colored balls such as pink, blue, green, yellow, brown and black. That is a total of 6 and 15 are red balls. Altogether 22 balls are placed in a snooker table.

8 ball pool

The most commonly played game is eight-ball. The desire of eight-ball, which is played with 15 balls and a white cue ball, is to maintain a suit, commonly solids or stripes, pocket all of them, the finally sinking the 8 ball.

While denying one's opponent lucky chance to do the same with their suit (stripes or solids) either one. And without dumping the 8 ball early by accident. There are so many shops now in Malaysia that has been offering this game. The price is much affordable and the cues are really interesting. Cues are actually offered and if you have your own then there's no restriction of using it. Everything is been charged reasonably, we just have to show the skills on table.   
                    


                     

Best Loved | Legendary Classic (LC)

Every man has their own choice of vehicle. Mine mean to be a motorbike. It has a name, we call it LC 135. It's been 4 years been together without any complication. Sweet kan? She is from Japan and came all the way here to Malaysia to be mine. She had sparkle eyes and black kit. She's just a bit heavier than me. She always gives the odd look as you started staring at her.

She has been designed to give tough competition in the bike segment. It not only has stunning looks but it also comes in many color options ranging from pearl white, black metallic to pearl siren blue. Red and orange also available for the bolder types. The LC 135 is so cool to grab the eyeballs in the world of teenagers.

In performance, she proves that it is a cool bike in every sense of the word. It is one of the most innovative bikes ever built. The fire blade is powered with a 135cc liquid-cooled inline four-cylindered engine with a compression ratio of 12:3:1

The latest version of the bike has been redesigned and re-engineered to minimize weight including the side stand and wheels. Though Malaysian roads can be quite bad, the bike is well equipped to handle poor driving conditions. With such features, the price is understandably high at RM 8,700. Loaded with style and looks, this one is for true blue motorbike lovers.

- My choice never been wrong -

National Day | On board Ship

Hari Merdeka is defined as Malaysians 'Independence Day' and also known as Hari Kebangsaan (National day), refers to the day when the Federation of Malaya's independence from the British Empire was officially declared. To commemorate the event, Hari Merdeka was declared a national holiday in Malaysia and observed annually on 31 August. 

The day should not be confused with Hari Malaysia (Malaysia Day) that commemorates the formation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963, when North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore federated with the existing states of the Federation of Malaya. How is it to celebrate National Day on board ship for the first time?

31^st Aug 2017

We felt so lucky because we have just completed discharging cargo at Tokyo, Japan and proceeded to open sea. So we had the chance of celebrating or else we would have been working throughout day and night if the ship enters the Port. It's because that's what we assigned for, 'Work all day, Party all night'. 

Basically cadets are the organizer for any event on board ship. We four of us 2 Malaysian and 2 Yemen cadets been preparing all possible events to make it happen. 

Firstly, we started preparing the flags and decorated it all over the ship. Secondly, we have separated all the crews on board ships and divide them among groups. My ship crews made up of Malaysian, Philippines, Yemen and Indonesian. 

It was really nice to see them participating in the event although they barely understand anything. We had a quiz section, drawing, singing, poem and last the most waited event which is the photo sessions. Things went really fine and the cooperation and commitments given were really good and satisfying. We had the closing of the event by prize giving ceremony.

The point which I am going to make is that no matter where you are, with whom you are, if there's a will, you can find a way to make things happen. National Day is the most important day for all the Malaysian citizens because without independence we wouldn't be spending our life happily ever after. Appreciate little things around you, make people happy and always geared up when you're working on board ship. 

Sohai (So high) Trip | Genting Highland

Resorts World Genting originally known as Genting Highlands Resort is a joined hill resort development comprising shopping malls, theme parks, hotels and casinos, perched on the peak of Gunung Ulu Kali at 1,800 meters high and settled near the border between the states of Pahang and Selangor, Malaysia. So it is accesible by car within an hour drive from Kuala Lumpur because it's just about 35km.

Right after the first 6 months of intern onboard ships, we friends planned to catch up. And it's all started with a Whatsapp conversation of gathering here and there for a cup of coffee. And guess where we ended up? Yes, Genting Highland with beers and liquors. What a night trip without all these. And obviolusy it's wrong to drunk and drive but we always have a friend who's a teetotaler so he's the driver for the night. 

With temperatures no higher than 20 degree Celsius, the road curves becomes the first spot for us to get our drinks and to get a fresh breath. Later we continued still to the peak and arrived Resorts World Genting. To be honest, it was my first trip there in my 20 years of life so I were a little excited. 

Guess what would we been searching for once we reached the peak. Washrooms of course seems we've been drinking a lot of water. LOL. And there goes a mandatory mirror selfie with my boys in the washroom.

We continued roaming over the place and found the Casino. Manage to clear and finally entered the Casino. 'Strictly no taking pictures' I saw this and quickly takes out my phone and captured this pic. Lain macam ah.

Moving on, checking out the entire casino and watching people gambling. Time flies, about 5 a.m and we decided to leave because we started to feel hungry. We took the car and went down the hill, stops nearby and finishes the drink. And we continued to Brickfield for our breakfast and after that balik la bro. Nak tidur.

Banana Leaf | Rice

In Indian Cuisine

 Food served on a banana leaf in Karnataka, India. South Indian cuisine is usually served on a banana leaf, especially in the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh and also in the Northern and Eastern parts of Sri Lanka. On any festive occasion the food must be served on or in a banana leaf. The banana leaf is also used for wrapping fish, which can then be steamed. It is essential for Indians to use it for cooking and serving food because banana leaf is waterproof, large and decorative.

That's a wrap of the banana leaf history, And to those whom never had the chance of getting served by banana leaf, I'll tell you about what's been served actually. In banana leaf meals, white rice is served with mixtures of vegetables, papadum, pickles. The choice of banana leaves is mainly due to the broad leaves which can actually gives comfy to eat. Typically, only vegetarian gravy (sambar) will be served on the rice as it is meant to be a traditional vegetarian dish. 

However, sometimes boiled eggs, curried or fried meat or seafood are served as well. Traditionally, there will be two servings of rice with the first being served with gravy, side dishes and condiments whilst the second serving will be just rice with curd as a palate cleanser. The banana leaf acts as a disposable plate and it in itself is not consumed.Banana leaf meals are eaten by hand. 

Merchant Navy | Officer

I will tell you 'what is it like' to sail as a navigating officer on a 275 metre foreign going LNG ship. 

How do they control their feelings when they are always away from their family?

As a trainee (cadet), I did contracts of 6 months at sea. I found that it's a long stretch to be onboard and normally towards the last month I am tired and demotivated, just looking forward to go back home. 

I personally feel that 3-4 months is a good period of time when we spend time working not for too long and not for too short. 

However, leaving behind our loved ones and the constant feeling of missing them is an irrefutable fact and are often considered as the dark side of seafearing.

• Internet

We can't do what everybody does. We can only communicate with them via emails

• Satellite Phone

We use satellite phones (10 USD for 30 mins) to make phone calls to anywhere on Earth, in any case of emergency or if the internet decides to slow down occasionally. 

• Family Carriage

We are privileged to carry our wife/girl-friend (also husband/bf for female officers) and kids on-board (when not transiting high-risk area). Many of the top-tier shipping companies offer such family carriage where the wife/girl friend of the sailor can accompany them at sea. The family get the opportunity to be with their partner and roam around in ports and sail on ships for free.

How do they feel while always being surrounded with water?

To be honest, it's an absolute bliss. Every single day I come up on the bridge and take over my watch to witness beautiful seascapes of serene oceans. It's a wonderful feeling waking up in the morning to find ourselves floating on a gargantuan piece of steel in the middle of nowhere. A freedom we experience at sea. A moment when we realise we are out and away from all the civilisations and societies that tell people what to do and how to live.
I always love ocean cruising significantly more than coastal navigation for many reasons and the above is undeniably one of it. 
During coasting, the story is different. We see lands, mountains, islands en-route. Over and again we come across a lot of ships, barges, yacht and fishing boats resulting in traffic situations that demands cautious navigation. We encounter situations like this time and again.

With very little variety in life, doesn't they get bored?

Not really. We really don't have the opportunity to get bored and we simply don't have the time either. On a normal day at sea, I do two 4-hour watches (morning and evening) on the bridge. 
I spend 2 hours (not every single day) to take care of any monthly or weekly checks or the maintenance of any life-saving appliances. The rest of the time I'm off from work and indulge in relaxing and recreating myself with the whatever I have. It's limited, but trust me, it's good enough. These are the things we do onboard.

• Work out at the Gym. (Yes, we have one)
• Read books. (We have a library)
• Use internet. (We have free low speed internet onboard, 24/7)
• Watch movies. (We have a two TV saloon and a big collection of movies)
• Socialise with ship mates.
• Play video games. (We have an PS4)
• Play indoor games. (We have table-tennis, futsal etc)
• Enjoy the sumptuous meals. 

Once in a month, we have a bbq party and play a few common games with all the ship's crew. 

We have zero-alcohol policy and there is no chance to get drunk on board, unless we choose to get sacked. Sailors drinking rum with breakfast might have sounded coherent a century back, but not any more. It's just another fallacy. 

How are the dangers in their life (pirates, storms) and how frequently they face it?

• Storms and rough weather conditions.

We are very well planned on our voyage. We have highly accurate weather reporting systems and software that helps us to anticipate rough weather conditions, receive storm warnings and other sea conditions to prepare well in advance. We simply don't get into a situation that we are not able to handle. 

Despite the above, I have experienced pretty rough sea conditions with high rolling and pitching which makes it really difficult to work and even to get a sleep

• Piracy

I have transited the Palawan and Luzon Straits numerous times. These are identified as High Risk Areas (HRA)  and we observe strict anti-piracy measures to make sure we are safe. Over the years, with the initiation of IMO, Anti-piracy organisations and with the help of the naval forces of several countries, the piracy activity in the Somalian coast, Red Sea, South China Sea and Indian Ocean are reduced to absolute minimum. Navy ships and helicopters are monitoring some particular area continuously. Anti-piracy cells are keeping a close watch. 

From our side, we perform the following. 

a) Extra watches and look-outs are posted. 

b) Anti-piracy drills are conducted. Gears are rigged and kept ready to use.

c) Anti-piracy offices are informed and we keep reporting our position every 6 hours.

d) Some vessels have armed guards onboard.