Out at Sea
The Story of Marine Engineer Hank
What do the Army, an Australian bar, cruise ships and oil tankers have in common? The answer is Hank, an active Swedish guy who has worked in all of these places. He shares his story with us from a boat anchored out at sea north of Norway.
By Anne Brugts, Content Manage, Story Terrace
Daily Life on a Ship
As part of his studies in marine engineering, Hank is currently fulfilling internships on ships around the world. His day starts at 8 a.m. – if he can get up, that is. ‘I’ll go for a run, have breakfast and start the day at the ship doing my daily round, checking all engine-related material aboard.’
The ship where he’s stationed at the moment is anchored to an oil platform. ‘So far, there haven’t been any out of the ordinary happenings on this ship. On another, we detected fuel coming out of one of the pumps. There was a leak, spraying oil. We shut it down, took it out and repaired it. Though usually, there’s no big catastrophes’.
‘Because we’re anchored with this one, there isn’t much time to go off. Most nights I read, but tonight we’re going ashore. The nearest town is Hammerfest, four hours out, and luckily it’s got a few bars and a cinema. Still, life is quiet out here, totally different from, say, the possibilities when we’re on a ship in a US port.’
From Salesman, to Bartender, to Engineer
Australian Bar Paris
As second-generation sailors, the majority of Hank’s fellow students Hank have been dreaming about this life since they were little. Not Hank. After growing up in a small town near Stockholm, he didn’t choose a regular path like most of his friends. ‘Law school or business school were never for me. I get bored easily. Before I started school, I never did anything longer than two years. High school was the longest and therefore tough to stay motivated. So I figured, why do four years in college for something when you don’t want to do it anyway?’
After finishing high school, he was in the army for a while before he got a job as a salesman for a phone company. ‘One of my colleagues moved to Paris for a while. When she came back, we worked a lot together and she convinced me to join her back to Paris. I quit my job and a week later I was on the flight.’
Cruise ship bartending
He lived in Paris for a few years, working in an Australian bar. ‘Then I went back to Sweden and heard about vacancies on a cruise ship. So, there I went, bartending on a luxurious cruise ship crossing the ocean. I enjoyed the life on the ship, but I didn’t like the way they bartended there. Too many rules. One day, I got a tour through the engine room and I was instantly intrigued. I’d done seven months on the ship, went back to Sweden and applied for marine engineering study. Quite impulsive, that’s what my life always has been like.’
Extreme Conditions
Before Hammerfest, Hank was on ships near Gothenburg, to the north of Finland, in the Gulf of Bothnia and around Germany. In winter, it’s freezing out on sea. ‘The guys on deck are freezing their arses off, I’m privileged to be down in the engine room all day.’
The surroundings are always challenging. ‘Hammerfest is a little, natural bay surrounded by mountains. It’s minus 15 to 20, at the moment, Hank says. ‘Not too cold though, we’ve got the gulf stream coming up here at the moment, warming up the water.’
Light is another story. ‘A few days ago I saw the sun for the first time in a long while. It would get brighter in the sky during the day, but the sun would never really rise. Everyday, it shows itself a bit more and at the moment we have a sun rise and sun set in one: it comes up, is there for about an hour, and disappears again. Again, I’m lucky to be in the ship and not see daylight anyway. That way I don’t even notice the lack of light and don’t get depressed.’
At school
Committing…For Now
Hank has committed to finishing his studies now. ‘Life’s been spontaneous up till now, but I’m not going to quit this. I’m realistic: I’ve done 2,5 years out of four and soon, I’ll start making money and be able to travel around the world. Still, there’s no endgame for me.’
‘I don’t want to be some kind of rebellious guy. My life just happens and I go along. I’m never happy; I always want more. I just can’t live the ordinary life in which I’m excited about the routine of coming home after working on a ship for four weeks, like the men in the crew over here. The reason I’m satisfied with this job, is that I’m going to make a lot of money and I’ll have time to spend it travelling.’
Any clue about where he wants to be in the future? ‘I won’t be on ships for the rest of my life. I would like to have a nightclub or a bar some day. A nice, welcoming place. It could be a nightclub in Paris or a hostel in Cambodia. It could be anything.’
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This month we serve up stories in our monthly theme ‘Icy adventures’. Also read our article about Reindeer Herder Ellinor. What’s your most adventurous story in snow and ice?
