– Hemichand Morgan talks about life at sea
When you are the father of four children under 10 years old, being unemployed with no job in sight can stretch your endurance to the limit.
Not long ago, Guyanese, Hemichand Morgan, was working offshore on a supply vessel but the contract held by the company operating the vessel soon came to an end. Hemichand started thinking about what he could to do. “In this industry, if you are home and you don’t have any other skills, you still have bills to pay…” he mused.
Foremost on his mind were his four children.
Hemichand had heard about Strategic Recruitment Solutions Inc. (SRSGY), a dynamic new Guyanese company that was recruiting persons to work in the country’s emerging oil and gas industry. Most importantly, he heard that the company was particularly interested in Guyanese with job experience offshore. Reasoning there was a good chance SRSGY would be able to find a position for someone with his skills and experience, he decided to contact the company and offer his services.
Much sooner than he expected, Hemichand got a call from Chief Executive Officer of SRSGY, Kerri Gravesande-Bart. “She said, ‘Can you come to the office on Monday for 10?’ I was excited,” the seaman recalled. It was the call that put his life back on track again. Before long, SRS had recruited Hemichand and he was deployed as an AB Rigger with G-Boats, the Guyana affiliate of US marine transportation service provider Edison Chouest Offshore.
The new job gave Hemichand a highly prized opportunity to demonstrate his experience and expertise as a rigger—part of a team tasked with ensuring that all loads and equipment are lifted and set properly on the vessel, while maintaining the highest safety standards at all times and ensuring that each operation runs smoothly and on schedule. “This opportunity means a lot. It will give me personally the opportunity that any man with responsibility needs, and that is to provide for his family and provide a brighter future for his kids,” Hemichand said.
As a patriotic Guyanese, Hemichand is happy to be among the first locals who are benefitting directly from his country’s newfound oil and gas resources through early job opportunities that began with his previous engagement. Even beyond this, he sees his new job as a welcome career breakthrough, one that will enable him to reach new heights and fully justify his decision to work at sea; a choice he made many years ago after taking the advice of his Social Studies teacher who urged students to seek jobs doing what they loved most and this would make their working lives much easier.
Hemichand enjoys his job. Life aboard is comfortable with ample good food and opportunities for recreation activities. Based on his rich and varied work experiences, he rates working with SRSGY in Guyana as top of the line employment. He is especially pleased with his rotation, which requires much shorter times offshore than what he was accustomed to in previous jobs at sea. He works for 28 days offshore, and then gets a 28-day break. As a family man with young children, he described this as a very convenient arrangement.
With heartfelt enthusiasm, he declared, “Anyone with the intention of being involved in the oil and gas industry, it’s wonderful…you are a family out there, away from your family. But because of the culture and morals in that environment, it bonds you and makes you look out for each other. You are your brother’s keeper…you grow to like it,” he said.
However, if one wants to work offshore, he said they ought to be cognizant of the high priority employers place on safety, discipline and respect, which are key elements to success. “If you don’t have discipline you shouldn’t be in the oil industry. Why? Because safety and respect, looking out for each other; it’s very important. If you can’t do that, it doesn’t make sense…there is no room for ignorance. You must be able to take advice and give advice. You must never tell yourself that you know….you have to respect your colleagues…” he explained.
Underscoring the importance of safety in the offshore industry, Hemichand added that it is a component of his job that he takes very seriously, not only for himself but for his colleagues. “The bottom line: you go on board with all 10 fingers and all 10 toes and you go back home as healthy as you came with more knowledge.” As such, many train themselves to remain alert, even while sleeping.
He said there are two types of incidents: a near miss or when something has already happened. In the event of a near miss, then the incident is explored with a view to finding the cause and solution and taking steps to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.
He said it is vitally important to avoid complacency at all costs, which usually happens when workers believe they know a lot or that they know everything.
Complacency means that things can go wrong in the blink of an eye. “You don’t just sprain a hand or flake a fingernail or get a little scratch on your foot. No. It’s about severed limbs, broken fingers, hands, just like that,” he cautioned, adding that this is why one of the main concerns onboard an offshore vessel is avoiding complacency.
“That’s when you tell yourself you know it, you are overconfident… There is no room for complacency. If you tell yourself you know it, you don’t know anything yet. There is always somebody better than you, and even they wouldn’t say they know it all.”
“Every time I go out to work, every day I step out on deck, I treat it like the first time I am going out so I would remain…vigilant. I always go out there looking for something that might be a hazard to me or my colleagues…” Hemichand asserted. This concept of safety has become such an integral part of his life that he imparts it to his children as a way of life—something they accept completely and will never forget.
Hemichand is one of the recruits who is giving something back in order to boost the local content value in the local offshore oil and gas industry. As an experienced seaman he readily imparts his knowledge to newbies, especially the high priority of safety. This is one of the hallmarks of the work of SRSGY in the industry.
Gravesande-Bart said SRSGY has several models of recruitment. They can locate skilled personnel for a company, screen them and recommend them for a position. They also directly employ skilled persons and hire them out to companies. In a matter of only eight months, SRSGY has been able to secure a contract with G-boats, supplying crew members for two vessels, as well as Stena Carron. The more experienced seamen, such as Hemichand, play a key role in getting others up to speed.
Gravesande-Bart urges her fellow Guyanese to get all the training they can to be able to take advantage of the new and exciting job opportunities in Guyana’s emerging oil and gas sector.
SRSGY will officially launch its service in Guyana on Friday, February 22.
