Neste Shipping’s M/T Palva sails, amongst other places, to the United States, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Philadelphia and Houston. The tankers of Neste Shipping Ltd transport oil products to Europe and e.g. the East Coast of the United States. One of these tankers is the M/T Palva, which began transport operations in 2007. The ship’s facilities are well planned and designed. However, there is one essential thing that is in fact still missing from the vessel: the damn sauna!

The tankers of Neste Shipping Ltd are very familiar with e.g. the Baltic Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and even the waters of the Arctic regions. The M/T Stena Poseidon and its sister ship the M/T Palva, which were taken into service in 2007, regularly operate to the United States. The crossing of the Atlantic Ocean takes about a couple of weeks. The ports of destination behind the herring pond include Houston, Beaumont, Port Arthur, Philadelphia, New York and other towns located on the East Coast. “The Yankees are in fact quite astonished when they see five women on the deck of the vessel” the women who serve on the M/T Palva laughingly say in the day room.

Female members of a crew are not a sight of wonderment for Finnish people at all, but somewhere else in the world female seafarers could be a little more exotic. In fact in just one of the M/T Palva’s shifts, the chief steward, the cook, the second mate/able bodied seaman, the able bodied seaman and the motor man are all women.

“Nobody here on the ship really thinks about the female issue. There is work to be done and this consumes all our thoughts”, say second mate Tiina Ruhanen and motor man Saila Piippo in the ship’s corridor, from where Saila rushes down to the engine room. There are many jobs that can only be done when the ship is in the harbour. Therefore there is only a limited time to clean the engine. The M/T Palva has just arrived in the Port of Kilpilahti, Porvoo, from England. The vessel will stay in Port of Kilpilahti for about four days, during which time the old cargo will be unloaded and the new cargo loaded. After this a course will be set for Amsterdam and from there the ship will continue its journey to the East Coast of the United States.

Olli Kauranen, who has worked on ships as a chief steward, says as he explains about the changes that have occurred in the ship’s kitchen that, “Nowadays, it is not recommended to use salt tablets as they might cause damage to kidneys.”

Last year was the company’s best year ever regarding occupational safety

Ilppo Minkinen interviews able-bodied seamen on the deck of the M/T Palva. The equipment seems to be in order. For example, the ropes are always replaced with completely new ones. They are never spliced i.e. the ropes are never joined together. In large tanker ships the ropes must hold securely. Explosive sensitive cargo – and human life – cannot be endangered by compromising over safety.

In Neste Oil tremendous emphasis is placed on occupational safety. Last year was the company’s best ever year regarding occupational safety results. The Finnish Seamen’s Union’s Industrial Relations Officer Ilpo Minkinen and chief shop-steward Olli Kauranen are also satisfied with the condition of the M/T Palva and its occupational safety issues in general and they have no significant comments to make.

The men and the crew consider that “everything seems to be in relatively good order”.

Check the decibel level in your working environment

There are many dangers in the working environment of a kitchen if deficiencies in the place of work or in the equipment exist. Chief shop-steward Olli Kauranen checks the M/T Palva’s galley. The lid of the stove was broken for a while but fortunately it has now been fixed, explains chief steward Jenni Lempiäinen and Niina Karhu.

“Burns, scalding and the risk of slipping are the major hazards in the ship’s galley,” confirms chief shop-steward Olli Kauranen.

Comprehensive attention must be paid to workplace ergonomics and the functioning of the working environment. Many people often overlook the fact that for example, the level of noise in the working environment is a significant factor that strongly influences job satisfaction and how well the work is performed. The cooker hood in the M/T Palva’s galley gives out quite a high level of decibels when the extractor fan starts going. And at the moment the ship’s galley does not have a freezer. The freezer is currently located in the storage room downstairs, from where the cold provisions must be carried up the stairs every time separately.

The M/T Palva is missing “the damn sauna”

After a long day’s work it would be nice to have a sauna, but at the moment there is no sauna on the M/T Palva.

“Yes, we absolutely – and as quickly as possible – need a sauna here”, can be heard on the lips of each member of the crew.

At the moment the vessel’s sauna facilities are only in the construction stage. The silver coloured foil on the walls of the empty room, do not warm the mind or the body, which has become cold amid the wind and the snowfall.

Text and pictures: Saana Lamminsivu