The future of the tanker industry is inextricably linked with the people who are making it function on a day-today basis. The leaders set the tone; management translates that into an action plan; but those who ‘action’ this plan have a crucial role to play. If they get it wrong, then the whole plan is compromised.

Umesh Kumar Bhatia is a 28 year-old chief officer on products, chemical and gas tankers. Born and brought up in Mumbai, he completed his secondary education in 1993 on the Merit List from Rizvi High School, and two years later graduated from Intermediate College with First Class.

He applied to join V.Ships as a deck cadet and underwent a pre-sea training programme at the National Institute of Port Management in Chennai, followed by two years of shipboard training on products tankers, chemical carriers and gas carriers, before he obtained his Second Mate’s Certificate in 2000 and his First Mate’s Licence in 2004. He was promoted in June 2005 to Chief Officer of the V.Ships-managed Brali, a 48,581 dwt chemical tanker built in 1985.

His father and his uncle both sailed as Master. As a four or five year old, he and his family would sail with his father for one or two months at a time - usually on bulk carriers. He was inspired by the responsibility, by the leadership - and by the uniform.

Today, Umesh’s life as a senior tanker officer is different from the life enjoyed by his father. Long periods are spent away from home and family. "But it’s not as tough as people think," says Umesh. "You keep working. You are immersed in your job - totally immersed when the ship is in port, although that reduces when the ship is at sea."

"There definitely need to be inspections. But the timing of in-port inspections is bad. In an ideal world the inspector would accompany the ship - but this does not happen often"

And when life is quieter on a long sea passage, how does one occupy one’s time? With the computer (Umesh is admirably proficient in this field), working out, listening to music, reading, watching films, keeping abreast of ongoing changes in ship operations. He does not find it hard to adapt himself to the shipboard environment.

However it is this hard work at sea and absence from home that are one of the main factors behind the current shortage of seagoing officers, he adds. Opportunities ashore look more attractive, though he is earning more now at sea than friends working in shore jobs. Some young people perceive working on a tanker as a dangerous job, but Umesh believes it is a safe job provided safety procedures are followed.

Umesh particularly relishes the responsibility placed on young seafarers at a young age, but stresses that no one on board a tanker does his job as an individual, working instead as part of a close team with the officers as team leaders. "The division between officers and crew is rather old-fashioned; so also is the ship’s master who is aloof from his men."

"You cannot forecast an accident, but you can do your very best to avoid one by working correctly and accurately"

Another factor that will put young people off from a seagoing career is the trend to criminalise accidental oil pollution from ships with the spotlight on the Master and senior officers. "This is a very concerning issue," he says. "It is essential that the international shipping community does something about this." He adds that high-profile media coverage of the Prestige incident in Spain and the Tasman Spirit incident in Pakistan, and of moves to change to change the law as a result, is causing some to leave the tanker industry, and others not to join it in the first place.

We talked of the pressures on seafarers. Umesh is adamant that the huge, even excessive, number of inspections of tankers should not be done during cargo operations because they increase the pressure on the officers and might compromise safety if they were to cause an officer to take his eye off the ball at a crucial moment. "There definitely need to be inspections. But the timing of in-port inspections is bad. In an ideal world the inspector would accompany the ship - but this does not happen often, except when the V.Ships inspector is on board."

He also talked of the fine line between safety and commercial pressures. Safety comes from rigorously adhering to procedures. If a vessel has been fixed ahead early on a tight schedule, then a tired seafarer might feel pressured to compromise on procedures, especially if ship staff are made to carry the blame for costly demurrage. He believes that it is very important that the shore side staff work in a way that does not inflict such commercial pressures on the ships.

It is breaches of procedure that cause accidents and pollution. It is by following the correct procedures at all times that accidents and oil pollution can be prevented, stresses Umesh, and that the tanker industry can satisfy the general public’s zero tolerance for oil spills. "You cannot forecast an accident, but you can do your very best to avoid one by working correctly and accurately."