Wonderful wonderful experiences..
.. that will last in my memory. Some time 6 months ago, i applied for 2 temporary jobs. 1 from NCS and another from AET. Since NCS is quite inconvenient for my travel plans, i decided to go with AET and i never regretted my decision.
In the 6 months of tenure as an office boy cum receptionist, i spoke to many people. People from India, Pakistan, Europe, UK, US, China. Because AET has the largest fleet of crude oil carriers around the world, many customers are knocking on our doors to look for business.
To be exact, my main jobscope is ship management. Throughout the stay, i learnt so much about veseels, rub shoulders with clients and even had this once in a lifetime opportunity to board the vessel.
Well, all temp staffs are restricted to go onboard due to several reasons. But my boss was kind enough and allowed me to follow my superintendent to board 1 of the vessel that was calling into Singapore.
I went super elated and excited and nervous. The feelings were all mixed up. Until the very day...
We set off from Marina South Pier.
After one LONG hour of ride to somewhere far out into the sea, we finally reached Eagle Venice. My eyes stared so hard at the gigantic vessel that they almost poped out. haha. She totally blew off my mind. She's HUUUUGGE..
Until i saw that ladder(we call that a gangway) hanging precariously by the side of her body for us to climb up. I tell you, my excitement instantly went sub-zero and my legs became heavy. The boat we were on was bobbing up and down, drifting left and right. If i missed the ladder, i will be crashed to death underneath. =x It was literally a leap of faith.
Not to mention that the ladder was suspended by 2 steel wires only. I didn't dare to look down. No safety harness, no lifejacket. To be honest, my legs were pretty jelly liao. I have a fear of heights. Probably about 20 storeys high? Totally no idea.
All handphones must be swtiched off once onboard. So i couldn't take anymore photos.
Basically, half my energy were gone by the time i went for the tour (used for climbing the gangway duh). After the tour around the vessel, i was totally drained. Climbing down into the engine room, cargo room, and up again was daunting. The stairs were all soooo STEEP. I was like cursing and swearing at every steps i took. Really really exhausting.
The whole tour took about 3hrs. Can you imagine? Every part of the vessel was visited. The bridge, decks, kitchen, chiller, toilets, helipad etc. It was a totally awesome experience that will always remain with me. All the sweat and energy spent under the sweltering heat were worthwhile.
Below is one last pic of how majestic the vessel looked like.
6 months quickly went by. My final week was lunch and dinner with colleagues and clients. It was a week full of treats. :D But 1-on-1 lunch was the scariest though.
AET had given me a whole new perspective in office worklife and provided me an insight to shipping industry. Office politics were pretty rampant, ahem ahem harassment also exist. Haa. I was shocked when he touched my butt! O.0 woot. But it was all pure play, to spruce up mundane office life?? I dunno.
In a nutshell, i am proud for what i achieved and i thank AET for giving me this fantastic opportunity and a once in a lifetime experience that i will always remember.
