以下是來自遠方的好友- 一位長年與大海為伍但內心和我們一樣渴望天主的教友的心情故事，傳協會會抽空將Jansen船長的文章翻成中文，更期望各位教友能多在部落格上留言，也多為我們船長及其組員的平安祈禱
Hello to everyone who reads the Church monthly bulletin for The Kaohsiung area.
I like to write in it from time to time as well. Somebody gives me the opportunity to do so. And I accepted with my both hands. I hope you will enjoy your monthly bulletin. I hope and pray that the bulletin will be a great success such a success that you can hardly wait for the next publication.
First of all I will introduce myself to you. A lot of people know me from Sunday morning in the Church. Not many people knows my name and what I’ve been doing. And why you don’t see me not more for this moment. I will try to explain to you.
First of all my name is Evert Jansen. 61 years young, born in the Netherlands, profession I am a captain by the merchant navy. The past 27 month I was trading with my crew on a container vessel between your lovely town Kaohsiung and the nice City of Cebu in the Philippines. It was for us a weekly run and most of the time we were able to arrive at Saturday evening early Sunday morning at your port of call Kaohsiung. Maybe you will think and what brought you into our Church, well please take your time and start reading and enjoy it.
When a vessel is arriving in a port somewhere in the world the vessel needs an agency who takes care for the vessel Captain, crew ship owners ,and cargo owners… With working for I mean it is the person who goes to the customs immigration to declare the vessel that the vessel arrives in the port paying bills, orderong pilots, and assisting the captain in all kinds of things that can happen. For example, Crew who have to go to see a doctor the agent makes the appointment and organize the transport, or when crew is flying home the agent assists the crewmember to the airport. Booking a hotel for visitors who have to stay overnight waiting till the vessel arrive. For all those kind of things the vessel needs an agent.
Mrs. Chou is working in a shipping company. I met her more than two years ago. It happens at a nice Sunday afternoon that we had dinner together around the beautiful lake in the north part of Kaohsiung. Yes !you read it well we were with more people MRS Chou, her colleague and his wife, my chief officer and myself. We had a nice conversation and informing each other about the country were we coming from. After that diner there came some more diners, between MRS Chou and I was growing a friendship. In other words a friendship be born. One day she asked me kindly if I would like to go with her and her children to the Sunday Mass.
I had not long to think about it and say “ yes please!” As seaman you get not many changes to go to a Sunday Mass. I must be honest to you I don’t speak or understand Taiwanese but the HOLY COMMUNION is all over the world the same so you are able to follow very well. And after the Mass MRS Chou translated for me what the Father was telling us. It was for me a great experience and I feel myself happy, very happy. I have the feeling that you all were accepting me as one of you. And in the past period all of you and I celebrated a lot of things together. And I can say only thank you very much that you accept me as a foreigner in to your community.
Exactly today 1 month ago our “charter” were be finished I will not going into details why the charter ended but it was for a lot of people a big shock even for people who have a very high position into the company’s were we were chartered too came it as fully unexpected.
The vessel was required back by the main charterers who gave it in time charter too Dinos international in Taipei and Mrs. Seacon in Singapore for whom we trading between the ports as I told you before. In both ports we had a emotional fare well. Not only me but my whole crew some of them are living in Cebu and some others had the possibility to see their family very regular. In the past time we built up a nice working situation and friendships. All this came abrupt to an end. Only the real friendship who I have been made over the past years is not ended. I have still regularly contact with some people in Kaohsiung. And when my dear friend MRS Chou ask me to write some articles for your bulletin I don’t had to think long and say yes I do.
After this introduction I will start to inform you how it goes after we left Kaohsiung for the last call.
From Kaohsiung we left with a full load of containers for Manila in the Philippines after discharging we had to load for HONG KONG, SHANGHAI, QINGDAO and Lianyungang. In LIANYUNGANG we got our new voyage schedule. Everybody was hoping that Taiwan has been taken in to our new route, that hope was being idle. We shut go trading between Two ports in China Qingdao Lianyungang 3 Ports in Japan Hakata Moji and Nagoya and Pusan in Korea it was be scheduled for one week roundtrip. It was a really hard working for my crew and myself.
My owners getting problems with the Charterers from the vessel about payment and last week they decided to withdrawn the charter with them. On board there were a little bit optimistic maybe there is a change we coming back into our old charter that is impossible on the moment. Last week we received the orders to load in Lianyungang and Shanghai for Puerto Lemon in Costa Rica and New Orleans in the USA. That was swallowing for me. I expected a lot but not this. I asked my company to replace me on to another vessel who is trading in Asia but the company refused to do so they had the excuses that they have not enough captains with experience to do such a voyage.
We are sailing over the Pacific Ocean. Passing the Panama Canal, to Puerto Lemon and New Orleans. 12000 miles, 22000 kilometers. In next edition I will let you know how the voyage was and I hope that you get an idea what our live at sea is.
*Charter is a kind of leasing/rent between ships owners and other shipping company’s who have cargoes but no vessels.
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