“It’s like living in a bubble on board” - Apprentice Jacob Schwarz on Board during the Covid-19 Pandemic
He was one of several hundred seafarers who weren’t permitted to leave their ships due to the kept safe in uncertain times – and a bit fun, too!
The aspiring nautical officer cadet boarded the 335-metre-long “Budapest Express” in Vancouver on 1 December 2019. The original plan had been to take the North Pacific route via Seattle to Busan, South Korea, then stop in several Chinese ports and lastly Hong Kong, before going back to Ningbo-Zhoushan in China in February and spending about a month there on the ship while it had a scheduled dry-dock period. “I definitely wanted to be there for the shipyard experience, and then I planned on going on a fishing vacation with my father in Norway,” says Jacob Schwarz, describing what he had planned to do after his apprenticeship and before starting his nautical studies in September. But things turned out differently than planned.
Uncertain voyage to China
Though only 20 years old, Jacob already has a lot of experience at sea. When he was 16, he attended the “Vacation Voyager” summer program on board the “Chicago Express”, one of Hapag-Lloyd’s training vessels. Then, in August 2018, he started his apprenticeship with the company, during which he has already taken three longer voyages. “Having my last onboard assignment include a shipyard stay was really a stroke of luck for me,” he says. “Christmas and New Year’s Eve still went according to plan. But when we sailed out of the Port of Seattle on 21 January and started heading to China, we learned that a first case of COVID-19 had been reported in Seattle, meaning that the virus was spreading,” he recounts. “Then we knew that it wouldn’t be a normal voyage.”
On 8 February, some of the 26 members of the crew disembarked in Busan as part of a crew change. “Those were the last ones to be replaced,” Jacob says. He stayed with his crew and spent his last shore leave at the Mission to Seafarers club in Busan.
Not part of the original plan: Charts for other waters
They were only allowed to discharge their last cargo in Shanghai on 11 February under extremely strict safety precautions. “Now the uncertainty had really arrived,” he says. They anchored off China for a month while they waited to go into the shipyard, which had temporarily closed. Then they had to sail to the southwest, to Port Kelang in Malaysia, to pick up new provisions and make a crew change. But, to do so, they first had to anchor in Singapore to bring on board charts and sailing directions for the unplanned voyage into Malaysian waters. “In these uncertain times, our spirits were absolutely lightened by the news from Hapag-Lloyd regarding our further plan of action and the meals freshly prepared by our ship’s cook,” Jacob recalls.
He assisted the safety officer, which required him to prepare safety drills, inspect the fire-extinguishing equipment, check vents – and now also measure the body temperature of every crew member on a daily basis. “I spent a lot of time on the bridge and planned the new route with the officer,” he says. “I was supposed to sign off in Port Kelang on 17 March, before a new date for the shipyard stay had been set. That was a big disappointment for me.”
Staying cool in the pool on deck
But then Malaysia also closed its ports, and he had to stay on board anyway – and continue waiting. “But we made the best of it,” Jacob notes. “And there was still plenty of work to do. With no cargo on board, we were now able to perform new maintenance places that are otherwise hard to access, such as hatch covers. What’s more, we were able to secure the lashing equipment in preparation for the dry-dock stay.” The crew spent its evenings together at the pool, watching movies, and playing basketball, table tennis and football. Jacob even built a minigolf course in the officers’ mess. “Since it was over 35 degrees [95 degrees Fahrenheit] off Malaysia, my fellow apprentice set up an outdoor pool,” he adds. At the end of April, they finally went into the shipyard in Ningbo-Zhoushan. But they weren’t permitted to leave the grounds. After that, for what was now the third time, they spent another month at anchor waiting. “Without a new trade or a new service, we started to feel completely irrelevant.” When the news arrived that the ship would sail elsewhere to bunker, Jacob learned that he would be allowed to travel home from Korea.
Returning to “normal” life
At the end of his odyssey, he arrived at his home near the central German city of Erfurt after intermediate stops in Seoul, Amsterdam and Frankfurt. When asked what it feels like to be back home after six months on board, Jacob says: “My friends have asked me how it feels to have solid ground beneath my feet again. Well, it’s different. It’s like living in a bubble on board. Before long, everything is familiar, including the sounds. On the other hand, back home, everything is very still at night, and there’s no breeze to be heard. It’s a bit of an adjustment.”
We wish Jacob all the best during his nautical studies!
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