Neighbours

…In Bahrain I came aboard the ‘Gelderland’ as a reliever and there was also our big competitor.

The ‘Gelderland’ somewhere at anchor.

The ‘Thames’ of Smit Internationale NV.

The ‘Thames’ of Smit Internationale nv.

Strangely, however, we are good neighbours.
Although we did keep an eye on each other.

On Saturday we always started the engines to test them.
Smoke clouds circled out of the chimneys of the ‘Gelderland’.
The men from the ‘Thames’ came right on deck to see what we were going to do.
What had we heard what they had not heard?
Both ships were constantly listening for emergency calls.
As long as the anchor remained in it, they were at ease.

Thames’.

Are we always lurking at each other?
No, we just went to visit.

Then the differences between the shipping companies come to the fore.
At Smit, they were much more a hierarchy of ranks, while at Wijsmuller they were much looser.
The engine room of the ‘Thames’ was very open, almost empty, while on the ‘Gelderland’ it was crammed full.
The competitor had film equipment but an extra cup of coffee was already a problem.
We had enough beer and if the cook had not put down enough food for the watch, he would be taken out of his cage.
‘On short commons here’ was king of the ‘neighbours’.

Of course there was also a similarity: the ships always looked clean and well cared for, no rust spots, everything tight in the paint.

To get rid of that chatter, we sailed the ‘Gelderland’ to the other side of the Persian Gulf and anchored at Daiyir (Persia).

Only for beer and fresh water we returned to our neighbours.