Oh, Captain, my captain

Tonight was a Q&A with Captain Jeremy Kingston, and there were no holds barred.  The questions ranged from how much fuel the boat uses to what kind of car he drives on land.  Captain Jeremy came with three of his officers, Staff Captain Korney (the second in command), Hotel Manager Stefan (who handles all the food service and housekeeping staff), and Chief Engineer.  It was an interesting evening.

Our ship is really fast.  The promotional materials say it’s the fastest ship of its class, a statement that doesn’t really say much.  (My father used to quote a district manager who boasted the company was “the largest one of its size in the industry.”  Not all records need to be claimed.)  The captain said apart from its sister ship, the Voyager, the only cruise ship he knows of the goes faster is the QEII.  He’s had the ship over 30 knots, but says the top speed is really closer to 28.  We have four engines, and today we’re running on one, at about 14 knots.

We measure the fuel in tons.  We measure the cost in millions.  For this voyage, fuel costs are $3.5 million.  For the whole year, food costs are $1.8 million.  Fuel for the ship costs about 6 times what fuel for the passengers costs.

Captain Jeremy came on board in 2005, immediately after the ship reached Hawaii following the major storm in the Pacific.  He said it limped in using the navigation system from one of the lifeboats, steering using a direct connection to the rudder.  (It also had windows blown out on the bridge and in some of the cabins.  It was really limping.) 

The ship management company decided the captain needed to be relieved of duty, and brought in Jeremy, who was just finishing a tour with another ship.  He is one semester on, one semester off, working about 6 months of the year.  Others on the ship work closer to 10 months before getting vacation. 

He was asked what’s the worst weather he’s been in, and he said a storm in the Atlantic, on a different ship.  And that second was the storm we went through in the days just before Japan.  Even though he thought his personal gear was secured, one big lurch to starboard sent all of his drawers and doors flying.  In this, the captain is no different from anyone else on board:  the ocean doesn’t play favorites.

The most interesting questions were about pirates.  A few days ago, my boss Jim’s wife, Nancy, mentioned that it seemed as if we were going faster at night, and Jim confirmed that we were.  He said it was a safety precaution, to outrun any pirates who might be operating in the area.  Tonight, Captain Jeremy was asked what was the fastest we’d traveled, and he said about 25 knots, just after leaving Singapore.  What he didn’t say directly was that it was during the passage through the Strait of Malacca, another pirate haven.

He did say, with evident relief, that we had passed out of the area considered at risk for pirates about an hour earlier.  The pirates operating in the Gulf of Aden have been going further and further afield, presumably because of the presence of military ships deployed to their earlier zone of operations.  Now, the area of highest activity extends east to Sri Lanka and south to 10 degrees below the equator. 

It’s a calculated risk.  The captain told us they had been receiving intelligence reports from the UK and the British Navy has been monitoring our ship.  (I have no idea what they would do to help.  They are not exactly nearby.)  Most interesting, he said that the Navy’s evaluation of our ship is that it cannot be boarded if we are moving at more than 16 knots, due to the design of the hull and the pattern of the wake we generate.

And finally, a low tech defense system:  the crew is prepared to deploy high pressure fire hoses to flood any ship that tries to interfere with our passage. 

Back in Japan, when passengers were fretting about rough seas, I put my faith in the captain and the crew.  What other alternative did I have?  My anxiety would not have helped to steer the ship through the storm.  My reasons for wanting to live were no stronger than anyone else’s.  Those charged with our safe passage were doing the best they could.

As similar fears have been raised about piracy, I’ve taken the same approach.  Still, it’s a relief to know that we’re out of the danger zone.  Because this guy does not look like great protection.