Cargo ships are merchant ships or freighters which carry goods, and materials from one port to another. Last week, the important world news was about the blockage of Suez Canal, Egypt by a Panama registered huge cargo ship called 'Ever Given'. This triggered the memory of my voyage to and from Cochin to Bombay in April 1963 with my late father. In my earlier blog I had mentioned about my father who was running a wholesale grocery business in Cochin, India and my enthusiasm for travelling. Scindia Steam Navigation used to offer free cabin travel to and from Bombay to my father by cargo ships as an incentive. Once when the shipping company offered a cabin to my father, he asked me and my younger brother to join him.
My father was living in a first floor flat above the warehouse, with a balcony with breathtaking views of the backwaters which anchored ships. In those days there were a lot of vessels docked on the quay and labourers were loading and unloading jute sacks full of grains resting on their head. The ships were normally anchored in the middle of the backwater, where the depth was high. To get in and out of the ships, there was a side ladder on the hull, and the rocking boats needed to moor close to it. Myself and my 12 year old brother arrived in my father’s quarters on the previous day from Trichur, India. The cargo ship we intended to sail on was ‘Janaki’, a fairly big ship, anchored behind our quarters and was visible from our balcony. My brother got scared after watching the rocking boats, people holding on to the ladder and climbing up to the deck of the ship. He turned down my father’s invitation, and went back to Trichur. But I was thrilled to undertake the voyage and visit Bombay. Next day a boat came to the pier allocated to my father's business, and my father and myself with our luggage got on the boat. It dropped us by the side ladder on the ship, ‘Janaki’.
Cargo ships are specially designed for the task, often being equipped with cranes and other mechanisms to load and unload goods, and come in all sizes. Those days, there were no fixed size containers, as we see on Suez stuck 'Ever Given'. The deck had two cranes, and the living area was on the stern (back) of the ship. The receptionist led us to our cabin which was on the top deck with a balcony. My initial impression was that the cabin was compact with a bunk style bed. We had to use the common toilet and shower. On the deck, there were heaps of sacks with dry ginger, emanating the spicy smell. The dining room was under deck level, where there was only one dining table put across the breadth of the ship, with 15-20 chairs. A steward, who introduced himself as ‘Ummer’ served us with sumptuous dinners. In the dining room, we met other passengers who too got free voyage. The ship set out for sail after midnight. A tug accompanied the ship until it reached the open Arabian Sea.
Depending on the stoppage at other ports, it could take 48 to 72 hours to sail from Cochin to Bombay. The sea distance is 660 miles. In those days trains took a longer time of 72 hours to get from Cochin to Bombay, because they took a circuitous route. When it comes to speed, 60 years of maritime development has changed little, as those days cargo ships like Janaki and her twin ship Janhavi were plying at a speed of 22 - 25 knots per hour. My father spoke to the first officer called ‘Gomus’ and he asked about the sailing of the ship. Gomus informed him that the ship would be stopping at Badagara, Mangalore and Goa. I had no difficulty in sleeping on the upper of the bunk bed, and I experienced no sea-sickness due to the rocking of the ship.
When I woke up,I noticed the ship was
docked at Badagara. A few passengers among them a disabled teenager
boarded the ship. His name was Rajeev, originally from Gujarat,
introduced himself to me. He was with his parents, and since they were
all vegetarians, brought their own food in several improvised old
coconut oil tins. One of his lower limbs was wasted due to polio and he
walked with a dipping gait. He told that he had difficulty climbing up the ladder. As the ship started sailing again heading north during
the day time, I had a glimpse of the Indian coast nearly 10-15 miles away.
The next stop was at Mangalore, where I watched the loading of goods brought
by a commercial big vessel, using the crane of the ship. Standing on
our balcony, I viewed teenagers in dhoti emerging from the vessel,
jumping into the sea and swimming. I thought it was hazardous, but those
teenagers returned to the vessel effortlessly.
Unlike
cruise ships, cargo ships have no provision for entertainment. Rajeev
gave me company throughout, and we shared our future plans and
ambitions. With other passengers, we played cards and talked politics.
Gomus took us to the engine room and bridge wing where the captain was seated. Every day, we enjoyed delicious food in the dining room, as such
we required more exercise. Ummer used to bring tea into our cabin, and
as I asked he started providing me with snacks. Unlike cruise ships,
cargo ships have no lifts, so climbing stairs is one way of getting
exercise. Cargo ships are not suitable for elderly passengers, because
of the lack of lifts and medical facilities.
I remember, that it was on Good Friday, we reached Goa. We were
supposed to observe it as holy day. Although my father was a religious
person, he thought we could not do a lot except not eating meat on the
holy day. The ship officer, Gomus was an Anglo Indian, with three other officers, he lowered one of the white coloured rescue boats, placed it
on the sea. They rowed towards the coast of Goa in the rescue boat and I
focussed on the boat until it disappeared. After three hours they
returned, lifted the boat and fixed it to its original place. 8
hours or so after docking, we continued our journey towards Bombay.
As the ship was sailing, I watched other ships crossing and large
vessels coming near to our ship. I also sighted a few sea lions coming to the surface and somersaulting. There were plenty of gulls and
albatross following the ship. The weather was reasonably good, and I did
not experience much rocking of the ship, until it reached Bombay.
Prior to entering the backwater for docking, the ship anchored in the
sea for a while. I was told that the pilot and port officials would be
boarding the ship for routine checking and navigating it into the best
place for docking. I had a glimpse of ‘Gate way Of India’ on its route
to docking. Unlike in Cochin, the ship docked very close to the wharf,
and we disembarked walking down the wide staircase. We had arranged to stay in the business accommodation of our uncle, close to Masjid
Bunder, suburban station for the next two weeks. That was the first time I
visited Bombay.
The return journey, back
to Cochin took only two days as there was no stoppage. We were given
similar cabins, but we had the company of new passengers. One of them
was an expert in fishing with fishing rod and bait. I noticed, some
others were painting pictures of the sun set. Unlike cruise ships,
passengers in cargo ships required to find their own way of entertainment. But we felt more homely with
the small number of passengers with whom we could socialise.
Formalities are more in cruise ships, especially on an international
voyage. Once I waited at least two hours in the QE2 ocean liner auditorium
for disembarking after docking at Brooklyn Port, New York. I waited
further after disembarking for clearance at immigration and customs. For
me the voyage in that cargo ship was very fascinating and exciting.
Travelling on a cargo ship was a thrilling experience those days
and the voyage was a real source of fulfilment.
Dr.C.J.George
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