The Curious Incident of the Ukrainian in the Night Time

At Sea
March 3, 2015

"It is sunny and getting warmer," she said hopefully. 

Today is another day and maybe we will have tropical weather and I won't eat too much. I am taking the stairs in lieu of the elevators, and I am walking much more than I do at home. If my Fitbit hadn't broken right before we left I could tell you exactly how many stairs and how many steps.

This was a typical day at sea, so I'll just fast forward to dinner. We are sitting in the dining room and suddenly there is an announcement from the bridge. They are asking a particular crew member with a Slavic name to call ext. 1400 immediately. I have never heard this particular type of announcement before. It is very unusual for any announcement to be broadcast in the dining room.

Five or ten minutes later there is another announcement. They were still looking for the guy with the Slavic name. That certainly gets the attention of everybody in the dining room.

After another five or ten minutes the Captain himself makes an announcement. He says they are looking for the 2nd Engineer, they are concerned about him, he is Ukrainian, he is wearing a blue shirt and has a slight build, etc., and if anyone has seen him, please call. This is extremely unusual and everyone in the dining room begins speculating. The best theory at our table is that his shift was supposed to start at 8 pm, he didn't show up, and he had last been seen drinking.

After another five or ten minutes the Captain announces that the Ukrainian has been found, he thanks us for our attention, and (ominously) he will see the erstwhile engineer in the morning.

Musical interlude

I later found out from another officer that the man had indeed been inebriated and as a result he had been put off the ship in Hawaii. There is zero tolerance for that sort of conduct. The ship has "designated drivers," so to speak. Officers have to get permission to have more than one drink, and if they get permission they are taken off the "safety list," which means they will not be on call in the event of an emergency.

Being on a ship is kind of like Upstairs, Downstairs or Downton Abbey. There is a lot of drama going on behind the scenes. Most of the time the passengers are never aware of it.