COLUMN | Taking the long way round and ensuring seafarers' safety [Grey Power]

Do physicians still recommend a sea voyage as a cure for all manner of ailments, with the suggestion that salt-scented fresh airs and stiff breezes will leave the afflicted full of vigour and bounce?

It was a question that appeared in my mind after reading a report that has emanated from the Seafarers’ Happiness Index, that excellent barometer of opinion from those whose doctors probably would not offer them such a prescription.

Steven Jones, whose perceptive comments on the index invariably give one pause for thought, notes that the latest answers to the various questions posed to serving seafarers suggest that the longer voyages being endured by the non-availability of the Red Sea may not be regarded in wholly negative terms.

"It is surely a relief that the responsible decision has been taken not to risk lives by taking the direct route."

As some have claimed, a diversion around the Cape provides some time to relax, to enjoy a little free time without the remorseless grind of the shorter schedule to which they were accustomed, before the Houthis began their horrible attacks. It is said swimming pools have been dusted off and filled on these lengthier ocean passages, while the hopefully appetising smell of barbecue wafts around the superstructure of the vessels on these long hauls.

“More days, more dollars,” the shipboard philosophers used to say when the shipowner or charterer changed the plans and you were no longer homeward bound as you might have expected. It was hard on those whose personal lives were discombobulated because of such diversions, but if you were signed on for two-year articles (that shows my age) there was nothing really to complain about.

However, in the present situation with such global instability, it is surely a relief for all on board (and their families ashore) that the responsible decision has been taken not to risk lives and property by taking the direct route. The fact that this situation, more than a year on, shows no signs of change for the better means that the regular traders have now settled into the longer schedule and there are no more nasty surprises when the tour is extended.

It is well worth reminding ourselves that the crew of the vehicle carrier Galaxy Leader, which was captured by the Houthis a year ago, remain hostage in their grim captivity. Lest we forget.

"A long sea passage, as the doctors used to say, is a chance to gather breath."

While those companies which have elected to take the long way round deserve respect, there are still plenty playing the percentage game with the pirates of rebel Yemen.

It clearly is not all beer and skittles, especially if the weather turns out nasty around the Cape of Storms and the container lashings are sorely tested, but in general, you can appreciate that the long haul around Africa occasions far less tension than the passage through the short cut of the Suez Canal. After a half a dozen port rotations at each end of a container ship’s voyage, it will be a blessing not to be rushing to get the paperwork ready for the canal, or the next port on a frenetic schedule. A long sea passage, as the doctors used to say, is a chance to gather breath.

Of course, you can have too much of a good thing, and with this enthusiasm for slow steaming to save the planet, it might be that you hunger for something rather more than a sight of land, as viewed from a safe distance off. Even if your time in port is spent in fending off endless problems raised from the shore and you only get down the gangway to read the draught, some might think this is preferable to the sight of endless sea.

I can remember going aboard an old Liberty ship in the port of Auckland to visit a friend. They had been chugging across the Pacific for more than a month from Panama at 9.5 knots and were what might be termed “stir-crazy” by the time they struggled past Rangitoto. They had drunk all the beer, water was strictly rationed, and there was little left in the store from which the cook could construct anything that was barely edible. A few more days, my friend confided, and they would have been murdering each other. It was no great surprise when he elected to join our company, where ocean passages, if lengthy, were conducted at rather higher speeds.