by Captain Michalis Fragkias
I was a Second Officer on the “Athina Zafirakis”, a beautiful 28,000DW cargo ship, which we received from Hakodate shipyard of Japan in August 1968. It was the second of a series of ten ships that the company of Georgios Stavros Livanos had ordered at this shipyard.
One beautiful morning in January 1969, we were sailing through the Tsugaru Strait, the strait between the two major islands of Japan, Hokkaido and Honshu heading towards the Pacific Ocean. I had the shift from 08.00 – 12.00. Good weather, a breeze, clear visibility and a single ship on the horizon that was crossing us from the port side!
This is where the story I want to tell you begins!!
At 10.00 the captain came up on the bridge for coffee! After taking a couple of walks in the wheelhouse, he stood in front of me and, pointing to the ship on our port side, said to me: – “Do you see the ship, Michalis?” – “I see it, Captain”, I answered him!
– SEE it, he tells me, with a strong tone. – Do you know that there is no one on her bridge? – The truth is that I was shaken. The ship was some distance away, I did not understand what I had done wrong. But I found the courage and asked! – How do you know that there is no one on the bridge of the other ship? – I do not know, he replied. – But tell me if you know … and opened the chartroom door and left. Without drinking coffee! And I was left wondering what the poet wanted to say! I was no fool. I understood that at that moment the captain told me not to be sure that the other ship would guard us (as it was obliged to) and that it would maneuver to pass our stern, because we were showing the red light. Had or not have an officer on the bridge. But to be ready to make a move to avoid a collision, if necessary! In short, apply regulation 17 (the most important) of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions (ICC) at sea.
And for those who don’t know, I quote what this regulation stands for:
“RULE 17: HANDLING OF THE VESSEL HAVING PRIORITY a) The guarded vessel shall maintain a steady course and speed. b) The guarded vessel may handle if it determines that the guarding vessel is not handling properly in accordance with the Rules of Procedure. 2. The guarded vessel handles when it determines that a collision cannot be avoided by handling the other vessel alone.
In short, this regulation stipulates that even a person not obliged to operate a ship must do everything possible to avoid a possible collision. If this regulation had been implemented or if it were implemented as it should be, many incidents of ship collisions would have been avoided. Let us recall here one of these sad incidents:
Case study : “January 2018, the tanker Sanchi , with 136,000 tons of cargo natural–gas condensate which departed from an Iranian port for South Korea, collided with the CF truck Crystal 160 nautical miles off Shanghai , China. The collision occurred in good weather conditions. All 32 crew members of the Sanchi lost their lives. The crew of the CF Crystal was rescued.
At this point I think it’s time to tell you who this captain was!
Dimitrios Saliaris! Captain Mikes (from the Russian Mikias). That’s how everyone knew him. That’s how we called him too.
I was fortunate enough to study the sea alongside this great Captain on three different cargo ships for about five years. All three were newbuilds.
November 1963, Stavros Livanos’ company sent me as A.B (Able Seaman) to sign on the “Antonios Dimadis” in Pula of the then Yugoslavia (today’s Croatia). A 26,000 DW cargo vessel. It was the eighth in a series of 10 new buildings. Five in Pula and five in Split. It was the last order of the late Stavros Livanos. We sailed on St. Nicholas Day 1963. Captain of the ship (completely unknown to me) Captain Mikes. After 18 months, he promotes me Second officer. I stayed with him, on this ship, for another 18 months. A total of 3 years. I left in December 1966 to get my Second Officer’s certificate. In 1968 the company was building another package of ten 28,000 DW cargo ships in Hakodate of Japan. Captain Mikes called me to be the Second Officer, at the delivering of “Athina Zafirakis”. I attended for almost two months the final stage of the construction of the ship. We sailed in August 1968. After a year the company assigned Captain Mike to take over from Hakodate the eighth ship in the series. The “Atlantic Helmsman”! And he took me with him! Almost another year, without going to Greece.
I could write an entire book about the knowledge and experiences I gained and the cases I experienced close to Captain Mikes. A very educated, charismatic and above all a special human being! Especially for that time when the education of Captains was not at a very high level. He spoke seven languages. An excellent sailor and nautilus! And the most important thing. He transmitted knowledge and advice in a completely unique way. With parables, like Jesus Christ. In today’s era, when the concept of mentoring is taught, it should be referred to as a “case study” Captain Mikes Saliaris. After several years, when I was taught the concept, principles and value of mentoring, I realized that everything Capt. Mikes taught me was what we today call mentoring.
Strict and difficult in his work demands from Officers and crew, but whose good health and living he cared for and took care of accordingly. But also, with a lot of humor, at times, in his behavior! He sought excellence in everything. Church was the bridge. The voyage planning had nothing to envy or lack in today’s Passage Plan. Must were the daily lines of position and the ship’s position calculations by using the dawn and dusk, stars. The gathering of the Officers on the bridge for the meridian latitude was a ritual. Coastal navigation was a science. It is inconceivable that we would not know the identity characteristics of the navigational aids. Lights, buoys, etc. And not only of the area we were navigating but also of those we would encounter. Light Tables and the Pilot Book were in immediate use. In bad weather conditions, fog, crossing rivers, canals, etc., he never left the bridge! Even with a pilot on board. In these conditions, the current bridge resources management was in full effect. The ship’s maintenance was to high seamanship standards. All three ships I worked with were like yachts. In what I saw him do, in what he told me from time to time, in the advice and in general in my apprenticeship with him, it may sound excessive, but I believe that it represents 80% of what I became or what I achieved later in my professional journey in shipping.
For this captain, I wrote the article in the magazine “Exantas” in March 1994, “Oh Captain my Captain ”, reposted on LinkedIn in November 2020 .
This was the captain who one evening, explained and taught me, in a few minutes, the principles of what we today call “Situational Awareness and Weak Signals”! How there is never, ever, quietness on the ship, how I should always worry, why I should worry and what I should do about the things that cause me concern. All of which I developed in the article I uploaded to LinkedIn in June 2023 entitled “Situational Awareness–A Mentoring Case 58 years ago”.
Captain Mikes taught me to find the ship’s position even by smell. He told me! Don’t be afraid of the sea, Michalis, but respect it. Several times he assigned me to do things that I had never done before. And he burdened me with many more responsibilities than a Second Officer usually has. But he was also supportive wherever needed. The truth is that I never disappointed him.
So just before I cast off both anchors of my life, I decided to tell you a few words about the captain who said to me… “Do you see the ship, Michalis? You know that there is no one on her bridge? And many more. Countless memories in these five years that I had the blessing of working with him, about which, as I said before, I could write an entire book!
For Captain Mikes Saliaris. My own Mentor!
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N.B. After his command in the “Atlantic Helmsman”, Captain Mikes served, for a few years, as Port Captain in the crew department of S. Livanos – Hellas in Piraeus Greece. In 1985, he died at the age of about 75 from cancer disease!
