Success stories: Sergey Vasikov, second mate on tankers

Sergey, why did you choose the sea?

Both my grandfathers, my father and even partly my sister are all connected with the sea. I can not say that this is a tradition. It’s more of a lifestyle. Complexity, ease, pluses and minuses no longer matter. You just choose this path in life for yourself. I knew what I wanted to do in life, even when I was in school. I prepared and purposefully went to enter the seafarer. I went to preparatory courses, studied with teachers, prepared for exams. We were the first to take the ZNO, and it was not easy. But then, after the last year at school and preparation for admission, it was easy. Most of the time before entering, I spent on textbooks, and when I entered, I had a lot of free time, and I could really pay attention to each of the subjects.

Was it hard to study?

Probably not. It was interesting. And I really liked the shape and everything. What is connected with it. My father taught me how to properly put it on, wear it, iron it, cook it … Plus, the training itself: the team, the very walls of the educational institution – all this inspired me.

How did you get into your first internship?

After exams and an interview, I received a referral to a tanker. In general, I have been building my entire career so far only on ships of this type. I have worked on all types of tankers: product carriers, chemical carriers, ships that carry crude oil. So far I have opted for the latter. The last time I saw the ship before arriving at practice was when I was little and came to work with my dad. So the first practice was memorable: Houston, a lot of oil terminals, a lot of lights, big ships… It was something special for me. And this would be the first time when I left home alone for a long time, and I myself was responsible for my decisions and actions.

Columbia is my second company, I’ve been here since 2015. Prior to that, he worked as a fourth assistant in another company. Both friends and family members advised me to go to CSM. And for good reason: it is really very comfortable to work here. Therefore, I do not regret that at one time I passed the interview and immediately took the position of third assistant already at Columbia. You know, it is very important for a seafarer that the company is reliable, that they are paid consistently, that there is a certain life schedule. The sailor needs to understand how much time he will spend at home, when he should expect the next boarding of the ship, and so on. In CSM, this is not a problem: you discuss everything with the inspector at the very beginning of the holiday, even the sizes and types of ships. You discuss everything and work calmly.

What qualities does a person need to build a successful career at sea?

Knowledge. This is important in any profession, and a sailor simply needs to have them. In the specific environment of the so-called sea family – these are people who have been in close contact for a long time – it is important to be honest and decent. To hide something, to deceive, to hide in such an environment is simply unworthy, not even for a specialist, but for a person in general. It is important to have aspirations and desires. You will grow in office in any case, it’s just a matter of time. But if you have the desire and ability to communicate, and most importantly, listen to the advice of more experienced colleagues, then you will be much more successful in your career.

How does your day at work usually go?

Every day is not the same. I try to plan a week and dedicate it to some activities. Planned work – shifts and time after them that you devote to your duties – plus sports and self-development. And sometimes you just need to relax. Therefore, you always need a day to communicate with family and friends. This allows you to plunge into the atmosphere of the house. I pay a lot of attention to communication. Being a navigator does not mean interacting only with your department. If you aspire to become a captain and want to be successful in your chosen profession, you must know not only everything about the management of the ship, but also how different mechanisms work. You adopt the experience of different people and try to understand how things work.

The eternal question: navigators and mechanics – what’s the difference? Where is more interesting? Where is it easier?

The most noticeable difference is that the mechanics are much more friendly. The navigator and the captain are, in fact, very lonely people. They spend most of their time on the watch, alone, and, in addition to the watch, they do their work themselves, at most accompanied by one of the privates. And the mechanics work collectively, and they rest together. They are more friendly and partly therefore, perhaps, they feel easier on the ship due to communication. But still, it all depends on the people.

I was lucky, I did not have bad crews. There were different people, but the crews were all good. And it is always interesting, adopting experience, to look at the lifestyle and management style of a person. I had an experience of working with a wonderful captain, who turned out to be not only an excellent manager, but also a wonderful person. He always tried to arrange a holiday for people. Well, imagine: for example, he knows that he will fly to the ship before the New Year. And what does he do? He prepares, makes a list of gifts, looks at the ports of embarkation and cities along the route of flights to the ship in order to understand where and what he can buy in addition. No matter how many holidays I met on the ship, I never saw anything like this again: competitions, gifts, and not banal, say, a razor or money, but very homely, sincere. And everyone took part in these holidays with pleasure. And the situation on the ship is noticeably improving. Such live communication in the age of the Internet is very important. And it is important to have such inspiring examples in front of you so that you yourself can later strive to be a good captain, about whom sailors will respond with warmth.