A captain's dedication

It's an isolated life for crew charged with clearing the way for Kenya's new port

Working around the clock, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, his office as his home, several miles offshore - this is the lifestyle of Bai Fengqian, captain of the Chinese dredger Tianji, who is employed on the Lamu Port project in Kenya.

In the control room where he spends most of his time, he is surrounded by knobs and computer screens. Several processes are controlled from the room, including control and monitoring of the dredging process, and logging of reports.

This is in addition to dredging charts, diagnosis of the ship's machinery, positioning of the suction pipe and load monitoring.

Seated at the command chair is the dredger operator, carefully watching the computer screens as he adjusts an array of knobs to keep the bottom cutter on track. He pays no attention to the activity taking place around him. His focus is on his job. As a photographer tries to stand in front of him to take a photo, he signals him to move. Any disruption could cause problems.

The operator is among the 27 crew members working under Bai. His responsibility is to supervise the crew as well as ensure everything is done correctly.

The ship's work includes dredging the port's inner and outer access channels, turning basins, the foundations of berths and revetments, and reclaimed areas.

The dredging involves removing sand, clay and rock from the seabed and using it to create new land.

If the underground material is rocky, the ship dredges 20,000 square meters per day, and if it's sandy it dredges 35,000 sqm.

Bai arrived in Kenya in September last year and since then his life has revolved around the dredger. However, after four months, he went for a month's leave in China to be with his family and he is looking forward to his next leave in August.

"I miss my family so much but I have to work in order to put food on the table. When I go home on leave, I spend quality time with them, especially my 9-year-old son," says Bai.

His daily routine in the ship involves waking up at 6 am, going to the control room to check the operation of the dredging machinery and going through the previous day's data.

He then pays a visit to each department to ensure that all the crew members adhere to safety measures like wearing helmets. After that he goes back to his room to finalize other morning activities.

While life inside the ship might not be exciting, making the crew miss things that others take for granted, Bai says he is used to being with his crew members and they try to entertain themselves. They have TV sets to stay informed and updated on current events.

"When I get outside the ship, my legs feel numb because there is no walking space here. But we get to work out at the gym inside the ship. That keeps us fit and active," he says.

Bai, who is 36, has been working as a dredger captain for 13 years. The Lamu Port project is his first overseas assignment. He says it takes nine years to qualify as a captain.

One of the notable challenges in his current assignment has been strong winds, up to force 10. Fortunately, the the ship was able to cope and no damage was reported.

His passion for the job, keeps him motivated, despite minor challenges. "I love and enjoy what I do," he says.

The Lamu project is being managed by China Communication Construction Co Group. The first phase, consisting of three berths, a wharf backup yard and ancillary facilities like port roads and housing, is expected to be completed in 2020.

edithmutethya@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 05/26/2017 page27)