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Things to do onboard Front Champion


WORK There's always work of various kinds that can be done. The master, chief officer and chief engineer have plenty of paper to be worked, and the ordinary seamen are always busy painting, cleaning, checking. When the ship's at anchorage, there are stores to be loaded, guests to be greeted and both officials and inspectors to be accommodated. And, of course, charterers want their cargo, so, in port, there are cargo operations to be attended to. Transporting the precious black stuff around the world is the sole reason why the Front Champion exists! There's always something to occupy the mind and body.
CHAT TO THE SUPER And if there's not enough work (which there always is) there's always time for a chat with the Superintendent. Chandramohan Mukundan is on the lookout for disasters to prevent and problems to fix. He can supply ship with stores and spares if they're running low - he just needs to know.
CHECK OUT THE BRIDGE The Front Champion doesn't navigate itself, you know. That's why the ship's officers, under the careful command of Captain Vladimir Neznanov, watch on where the ship's going. Captain Neznanov pops onto the bridge four times a day on the open sea and takes up a near-permanent station in shallow and narrow areas like the English Channel.
CLEAN UP What Chief Officer Aleksandr Panchenko likes most about his tanker is that it's clean. Really, really clean. That's because he used to work on a OBO vessel carrying grain and coal. "After loading or unloading coal my face and hair were black. And there was dust everywhere when we carried grain. Conditions here are different," he says. Panchenko points down to a tiny black smudge that bravely clings to existence on an otherwise gleaming surface. "That mark on the floor will be gone by tomorrow," he says. You'd better believe it.
EAT SOUP All that work makes a man hungry. So when it's time to eat, it's time to head to the mess. And, on a Russian-crewed vessel, that means fabulous soup. Boiled and seasoned pork balls in a pale thin broth with a side order of vinagrette with greens. And then the there are the salads and spiced meats to enjoy.
CELEBRATE BIRTHDAYS Panchenko has had a long seafaring career. "Oh, I'm very old!" he declares. "In a few days, I'll be 51!" he adds. "But for now, I'm still 50. On my birthday, cook will make some cake," he says with relish. And because we've already tasted Russian cuisine, we know that the prospect of Russian cake is something to be very, very pleased about.
EXERCISE After eating all those soup- and cake-calories, it's time to burn up a little energy. Third Engineer Oleg Kharitonov recommends a little table tennis or some light jogging. "I do sport - there is a good ping-pong table and running machine. There are good facilities onboard to do sport," he says.
STUDY It's important to keep up to date. "After six pm I learn from an instruction book on machinery," comments Kharitonov. And Chief Engineer Andrey Martynenko adds that likes to read technical magazines - when he gets the chance.
PHONE HOME Ordinary Seaman Sergei Medvedev has been on the tanker for about seven months now, having joined ITM about a year ago. He's been on duty for about seven months and, as you can imagine, on his off-duty hours, the first thing he does is phone his family.
OR JUST RELAX "Sometimes people like to play dominos, sit and talk or just watch TV and talk about life," says Martynenko. The Captain likes to watch comedy shows on DVD or listen to soft rock - Queen and Deep Purple, mostly.