Sylwester Mackiewicz – Career boost in the middle of the pandemic

On a sunny winter day in Bremerhaven, the “Al Bahia” rises up majestically in the Kaiserdock of the Bredo shipyard on the Weser River. The sound of hammers and grinding can be heard from far away, and sparks fly as welding is performed on the deck. For the last few weeks, the crew has been taking care of some cosmetic repairs on the giant container ship, which was built in 2008 and has a capacity of 7,300 TEU. Captain Sylwester Mackiewicz still has his hands full.

“These are some really crazy times,” Sylwester Mackiewicz says while he turns on the coffee machine and sets out two plates full of cold cuts, pumpernickel bread and cream cheese. He is wearing a dark blue sweater with the obligatory four gold stripes on the right and left shoulders. “I mainly sail on the Europe-Asia route, and we already heard in late 2019 that there was a new kind of virus circulating in China. But we didn’t really take it that seriously. We went ashore not knowing how dangerous the situation was going to get – it was the beginning of the pandemic.”

At the time, the 49-year-old was still working as a chief mate. “Then, in February, we saw the impacts up close and personal in the Port of Shanghai. No one came on board anymore, and everything was done via email. And, of course, there wasn’t any shore leave. We were only visited for a personnel identity check by one agent and two officials – dressed from head to toe in protective suits, rubber gloves and double face masks.” The officer cadets, he continues, were really frightened by the strange-looking people. “But I only said: ‘You should be more afraid of people who come on board without protective clothing’,” he adds with a laugh.

For almost six months, the native Pole sailed back and forth between the lockdowns in China and Europe. “China went into lockdown after we had departed. And right after we left Europe again, the lockdown started there. But when you’re on a ship and doing almost everything remotely, it’s like you’re living on an island. We felt safe at all times.”

In May, it came time for a well-deserved break and time with his wife, son and daughter. He also had time to work on his new house on the outskirts of Szczecin and to enjoy a brief holiday in nearby town of Barlinek. “Then the phone rang, and Finn Albertsen introduced himself as the new Director Crew Management & Training for the fleet managed from Dubai: ‘Could you come back on board again soon – as a captain?’, he asked me and invited me for an interview,” Mackiewicz recounts.

It’s easy to imagine how one feels after sailing the world’s oceans as a chief mate for over 17 years and then being asked the question of all questions. “To be honest, for the last few years, I’d been thinking about maybe doing something completely different,” admits this man with bright blue eyes. “But that was out of the question after this phone call. And my wife also said to me: ‘You won’t get this opportunity a second tim

So, on a Sunday morning, the veteran seafarer – who had been able to study the characteristics of a wide range of captains over his 17 years as a chief officer – completed two rounds of online interviews. “It was about everything you had to know on board, such as ship documents and certificates, IMS procedures and what you should do in unexpected situations, such as engine failures, pirate attacks or accidents on board. And it also touched on how I would manage the crew during the ongoing pandemic, such as if contracts have to be extended because it’s impossible to disembark.” As Mackiewicz sees it, these are questions that can’t be answered with a textbook in your hand, but only with years of experience. Then there was a lot of anxious waiting before the long-awaited decision finally arrived. “After that, the first thing my wife and I did was pop open a bottle of champagne!” he says.

“My first voyage in my new role was fantastic because I had a very good and long handover period,” the freshly minted captain says with a wink. “I was actually supposed to have a 10-day handover sailing from Hamburg to New York. But shortly before arriving, the captain who was supposed to shadow me discovered that his visa had expired – so he wasn’t permitted ashore and we did the whole tour together.” Charleston, Savannah, Le Havre, London, Rotterdam, Hamburg – ports that Mackiewicz had called at countless times as a chief mate he was now sailing into as a captain. “And, to be completely honest, I sometimes used to think ‘Oh well, a captain doesn’t really do that much.’ But now I know what responsibility means – especially in these times when you have to be there so much more for your crew and there’s so much uncertainty across the world due to Covid-19.”

At the moment, he continues, his job is still far from having become routine. “I’m checking everything twice and learning a lot of new things – after all, I’m responsible for everything I do. His experience also helps him now when it comes to communication and his responsibility for the crew. “Once again, I realize just how much truth there is in something I heard in one of my interviews: ‘A captain is only as good as his crew.’” A serious accident involving a bosun a few weeks ago pushed him to his limits, but he was ultimately able to gain control of the situation and reassure his crew. It was hard, he says, but they got through it together. “Hapag-Lloyd fosters a no-blame culture, which I appreciate very much because we can all make mistakes.”

After many years, he still hasn’t forgotten how much he benefitted himself from the appreciation and trust of his superiors as a young man. “When I went on my first voyage as a cadet to South America in 1994, there were a lot of old sea dogs on board. We worked extremely hard, but the older guys treated us younger guys well and always footed the bill in port because we didn’t earn much,” he recalls nostalgically. “With bulk carrier ships, we brought back bananas from Ecuador, Colombia and the Caribbean, as well as pineapple from South Africa and kiwis from New Zealand and Australia. It was fantastic! And everywhere we went, we were given huge palettes of fruit as gifts.”

One unforgettable memory involves Carnival and the 2014 FIFA World Cup games in Rio. “The laytimes were long, so we could really join in the celebrations. You disembarked without any big controls and simply came back at some point.” It was during this time that he got to experience what he had admired and envied as a boy about his brother, who is 10 years older than him. “We lived in Poland behind the Iron Curtain, but he was allowed to get out and he brought back stories and gifts from around the world.”

When asked what the future holds and how the pandemic will change shipping, the captain says it’s hard to say. “Maybe paperwork will become easier again, and I’m sure some companies are thinking about whether more business can be done online. Who knows?” Much more important for this man who was prompted in the midst of the pandemic is being home for the Christmas holidays. And looking back on Christmas, he says: “Like always, it was very festive – a Christmas with all the frills. And, like every year, we watched ‘Home Alone’ in the late evening, which is a tradition in all of Poland!”