The captain who rowed a marathon on the Osaka Express

Ice cold encounters off Canada

Martin Specht knows from his time as chief mate that you can also break a sweat near ice: "We were underway shortly before Newfoundland with the 'Quebec Express' heading for Montreal, a 4045 TEU ship that we had taken over under the German flag at the time. Due to the bad weather, we were sailing so slowly that, according to the nautical chart, we were virtually going backwards. The next night, just before dark, the lookout called out: Chief Mate, Chief Mate, iceberg!", and sure enough, a growler was peeking out of the water in front of us. Growlers are chunks of ice that reach only a few meters above the water surface and are up to five meters long, but they are extremely deep and are difficult or impossible to see on radar. Most of the time, one doesn't come alone." After Chief Mate Specht took turns navigating with the captain toward the St. Lawrence River unscathed, the crew spotted the next obstacle on radar: "A solid line, which meant nothing more than a closed ice sheet. None of us knew what to do. It was already dark, so we switched on the searchlights and slowly felt our way forward, always changing shifts, six hours of sleep, six hours of bridge. The next morning, the pilot finally came and guided us the remaining 18 hours to Montreal. After a mission like that, you look forward to your vacation even more," grins the 37-year-old.

Freshly promoted to typhoon

At some point during this time, Martin Specht thought for the first time, "Actually, I can do it now." Becoming a captain, making decisions, finally taking full responsibility for the ship and crew. "In my eight years as chief mate, I've experienced just about everything. From storms to accidents, from the endless Pacific to the Bosporus." The latter, he says, is always an adventure: "It's so narrow there in places that you can see what people have on their plates on the balconies without a binoculars."

In 2019, the time had finally come: "We were on the road with the Tsingtao Express when personnel manager Arnold Lipinski called me and said 'If the next assessment is as good as the last one, we should meet!" No sooner said than done - Martin Specht received his captain's certificate after the usual procedure at Ballindamm, flew to Los Angeles a few weeks later and took over the Osaka Express. "After a week of familiarization up to Oakland, the captain gave me his cell phone number, said 'If anything happens, call! ' and left the ship. That's another thing I appreciate about Hapag-Lloyd: you're not left alone." A double deployment followed, from Oakland to Japan, over to China and back again, twice six weeks. "The first trip was relaxed, the people very experienced, the weather a dream. But the second time, we had a typhoon warning between Japan and China. Our route advisory suggested three ways to get through it reasonably well, but as captain I now had the final say and decided we would let the typhoon pass in front of us. Protecting the crew, ship and cargo is paramount!" emphasizes Captain Specht. He finds two other things important: "Even if some colleagues don't like uniforms that much: I think they simply belong on board. Not just because they look good, but because they serve a useful purpose: When someone comes on board, they can tell right away who's captain, who's chief mate or watch officer, and they don't have to spend a lot of time asking their way to their contacts." And what's the other thing? "That has more to do with morale and rust. There are jobs that no one likes to do, but they have to be done. For example, derusting and painting the Sunken Spaces below Cross Bays. It's permanently damp down there and consequently prone to rust. If you don't do it properly right down to the last corner, you might as well not do it. However, as long as everyone is doing their job reasonably, I don't need to be behind there all the time.“

Of Christmas markets, puzzles and free time management

The fact that Martin Specht had to deal with the pandemic right at the beginning of his captaincy was no big deal for him. "We couldn't go to a Christmas market, so we held one on board. With mulled wine and everything." In addition, his hobby came to his aid: "I've been doing puzzles for as long as I can remember, our whole house is full of puzzles, mostly maritime motifs. On the last voyage, I brought a 5,000-piece puzzle, an antique nautical map, on board. It was in the wardroom and everyone who came by put a few pieces together, we actually finished it as a team. Proudly, the captain adds that there is even a 13,200 piece jigsaw puzzle hanging at home. An old world map that he had put together with two fellow students at the beginning of their studies. "It's now hanging on our wall!" says Captain Specht happily. And how did he get the idea for the marathon on board? "Oh, I've always wanted to do that. Due to family reasons, I gave up rowing at home in the club. Last year, I started training on board again and used my free time just before I got off the boat. After three hours and 15 minutes, I was exhausted, but also pretty proud." That, in addition to the many other things, is the beauty of being at sea: "When it suits you, you can manage your time freely and even row a marathon sometimes.“