Interview with Captain Jeremy Kingston, Master of the MV Explorer

Captain Jeremy Kingston is from the UK. It was at the age of 12 that he first decided he wanted to go to sea, inspired by a dramatic photo of a warship in heavy weather, which was advertising careers in the Royal Navy. He joked that it must have been temporary insanity!

At the age of 15 he applied for a scholarship to the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, but being a shy child “I failed to make the grade,” he said. Two years later he applied to join the Merchant Navy and has been at sea ever since, becoming a captain of a cruise ship before he was 40.

The Institute for Shipboard Education, a not-for-profit organization, first acquired the Explorer in 2004 on charter, after the original owners went bankrupt, and purchased it from the banks in 2007 at below market price.

The ship is owned by ISE, but the operation and management of the ship is contracted out to V Ships, a ship management company. They are responsible for all aspects of the operation, including supplying the crew, purchasing food, fuel, spare parts and maintenance.

The Academic program is provided by the University of Virginia.

Q. How did you acquire this job? How long have you been Captain of the Explorer?

In 2005 I was working for another of V Ships’ clients, Radisson Seven Seas Cruises. The ship I was in command of was about to be sold, and there was no place for me after that in their fleet. At the time Explorer had suffered its “wave incident” and the captain who had been on board needed a break, so I was asked if I would like to take over from him. Having asked what other alternatives for employment there were, I was told that there were none, so I happily agreed to join the program. (The ‘wave incident’ damaged the bridge and other parts of the ship during a bad storm.)

Q. What is the normal speed of the Explorer, and what is the fastest that we have gone?

Ideally, for the reasons of fuel economy, we travel at relatively slow speeds, on average about 14.5 knots, which requires only one engine in service, which we rotate, to ensure equal usage.

During this Semester, we briefly reached a speed of 26 knots shortly after departing Singapore.

Q. How much fuel do we use a day? How much do we spend on fuel and port costs?

Using 1 engine we can achieve about 14.5 knots and our consumption would be about 57 metric tonnes per day. Using two engines we can achieve about 21 knots and our consumption would be about 96 metric tonnes per day. Using three engines we can achieve about 25 knots and our consumption would be about 134 metric tonnes per day. Using four engines we can achieve about 28 knots and our consumption would be about 172 metric tonnes per day.

For the year, we anticipate spending approximately $12,000,000 on fuel, and about $3,000,000 on costs associated with our port stays.

Q. What was the worst storm you experienced?

The worst storm that I experienced was in 1986, whilst crossing the North Atlantic on a refrigerated cargo ship. The second worst was probably the storm we experienced the day before we arrived in Yokohama. On our crossing from Honolulu to Yokohama, we had stayed south of the regular route, and successfully avoided a series of storm systems. However, on the last couple of days before Yokohama, there was one more storm system. We tried to pass safely to the west of it, but unfortunately the storm did not move as fast as was forecast, and it was also much more intense than forecast. As a result, we had to put up with waves of up to 30 feet and winds that were gusting to 65 mph.

Q. What about piracy on the seas? What is your form of defense?

In this part of the World, Somalia and the Gulf of Aden are considered to be the “hot spots” for piracy, but due to the concentration of international naval forces in that area, the pirates have moved their operations further afield and the risk now extends all the way to the west coast of India & Sri Lanka and as far south a 10 degrees south of the equator. Before and during our passage across the Indian Ocean, we have been receiving intelligence reports on the level of piracy activities. We were also registered with the British Naval Forces who were monitoring our progress as we crossed the area. Before sailing from Cochin, there had been no reported incidents for several weeks. Our principle defense from pirates consists of staying out of any area where there is a risk of contact, and also our speed. During the passage, we had additional security staff and lookouts posted, and high pressure water hoses prepared, which would prevent pirates from getting close to the ship and boarding, and would probably sink their boats.

Q. What is the role of the pilot in each port? Which is the best port to do temporary maintenance?

The role of the pilot is to give us the benefit of his local knowledge, and we work together as a team when entering and leaving harbor. The pilot knows the port, the navigational hazards such as currents, shallows and which berth we have been assigned. He can also better communicate with the various harbor services such as tugs, mooring men etc. However, I maneuver the ship and berth it. I have a better knowledge of the ship’s unique handling characteristics, and I am always responsible for the ship. As far as maintenance, we do as much as possible ourselves, using the ship’s staff. In certain ports, such as Saigon, we have a long association with some of the contractors, and the cost of labor is relatively inexpensive.

Q. What happened in Rangoon, why were we delayed in pulling into port? What is the least depth that Explorer can handle?

Communication with Myanmar is difficult. They do not have advanced internet systems and despite many requests for information, they did not reply until the last few days before arrival.

The river is very fast flowing; there is a considerable amount of mud and silt carried down the river. As a result, the shoals and sand bars are constantly changing. In reality, the ship arrived at its scheduled time, which is determined by the tides. You may have noticed that as we turned around in the river before docking we were drifting sideways up the river at a speed of about 4.5 Knots. We are not allowed to enter the river, unless the tide is flooding, so this determined our arrival time. Due to some of the SAS travel arrangements, we tried to arrive a day earlier, but were told that they would not complete the dredging of the berth by that time.

Technically, as long as the ship can float, we are OK. In reality there has to be a safety margin of a minimum of 10% of the ship’s draft, say 2.5-3 feet, but that is only at very low speeds. Ideally for maneuvering we would like to have at least 10 feet beneath the keel.

Q. How about dry dock time?

The ship has to have periodic dry-docking, for routine inspections of the underwater hull and fittings, as well as maintenance. The last dry-docking was in December 2011 and the next one will be at the end of April 2014. They occur during the periods between semesters, and routinely the ship is out of service for 2 or 3 weeks. To permit this long period of time between dockings, we carried out an “in water” inspection of the ship’s underwater hull in Singapore. In recent years the dry docking has been completed in the Bahamas, due to the close proximity to Port Everglades, where the semesters have been ending.

Q. Where does most of your staff come from? Do you have much of a turnover?

The majority of our crew is from the Philippines and India, with a few from Europe. We have very good retention rates, so there is little turnover. They are recruited by V Ships, which has a chain of regional recruitment offices around the World. Whilst on board, the crew has various facilities available to them, as the ship is their home for several months. These include a gym, a lounge & bar, dining area and reasonably well appointed cabins. Due to the nature of the program, they all have the opportunity to go ashore in various ports. They go on vacation on a rotational basis. The crew works 6-8 months on board, and will then ideally have two or more months off. The officers work four months on board and have two months of vacation. Myself, I work a semester on the ship and have a semester off the ship, so on average I work six months a year.

Q. Why do you wear whites? What was your favorite moment/memory with SAS?

Wearing whites cuts down on wardrobe planning. Traditionally, in hot climates a white uniform is cooler than the heavier “blue” uniforms with a jacket. My favorite and most amusing memory would have to be a night out in Saigon with the Hotel Director. We were having a quiet drink at a small table in one of the better-known nightspots in the city. On the next table was a noisy group of expatriate guys who presumably were living and working in Saigon. As the evening progressed, every couple of minutes a student would walk past, recognize me and ask if they could have a picture taken with me. After about an hour of this routine, the guys at the next table were clearly wondering who this celebrity was! It made my evening!

That you, Captain Jeremy, you made my day and my semester at sea!