A shore leave dinner together - they ate and slipped!

During our sailings we come across many incidents that bring back smiles and memories of good old days.

Description of a shore leave that never remained an ordinary outing.

Humour? but sure in good taste.

Read through complete article in the Maritime Shipping Essays and Articles Section:

http://www.pakistanimaritime.com/ship-sea-essays/shore-leave-merchant-navy.htm

pakistaniMARITIME.Com Mailing List / Newsletter

pakistaniMARITIME.Com newsletter is not a regular feature and is issued only when I have very pronounced information about the web site that may interest the subscribers.

Another reason for not having a regular newsletter is availability of time it requires to be fully operative - time that I have to squeeze out of a tight schedule of full time employment, web site updates, learning / reading and domestic responsibilities.

It may not be way-out considering my suggestion to join, in addition to this newsletter, any or both of eGroups offered on this web site: the PakistaniMariner eGroup and/or PakistaniMaritime eGroup.

These eGroups, catering needs of both maritime business concerns as well as merchant shipping employees and enthusiasts, not only provide the members a forum to discuss issues of common interest but does at the same time convey latest changes and additions to the pakistaniMARITIME.Com web site and the services it provides to the visitors.

If you are a seafarer or find yourself interested in ships and the sea, PakistaniMariner eGroup is for you. On the other hand if you are related to maritime business community you may find PakistaniMaritime eGroup of interest to you.

Another source of latest information about this web site is my blog, Pakistan Merchant Shipping - Maritime Business and Employment Blog gets the latest changes to pakistaniMARITIME.Com Website; sometimes even before they appear on it's pages.

Previous Pakistan Maritime Newsletters:

Old issues of our newsletter sent to mailing list subscribers can be assessed by using the links below.

• Pakistan Maritime Newsletter Issue 1 - June 2003
• Pakistan Maritime Newsletter Issue 2- February 2004

Opinion Polls - Covering Merchant Navy, Pakistan Shipping, Maritime Shipping and the Seamen.

We arrange polls to gather opinion of merchant navy employees: seamen, deck officers, engine officers and all interested in merchant navy; especially the Pakistan Merchant Shipping.

The polls are arranged at the PakistaniMariner eGroup section and any one can participate to add one's opinion to the results. The Polls are powered by Yahoo Groups - so is the PakistaniMariner eGroup.

To vote you need Yahoo Identity, that is your yahoo username and password and membership of the PakistaniMariner eGroup.

All the polls can be reached in the polls section of PakistaniMariner eGroup.

You are invited to add your vote to the following polls:

Your few minutes of time and responsible opinion will certainly help others to reach correct decisions about their career.The results can bring about general views about issues addressed and an in depth analysis of the future of merchant navy and it's impact on the seafarers can be evaluated.The results will certainly help you to compare your opinion with the majority.

1. Why do you want to join merchant navy or what influenced you most to join sea?
   
   
2. The days of merchant navy have changed and the profession has undergone extensive set-back so far as the Pakistani mariners are concerned, especially after 9/11 Pakistani seafarers are facing problems that had never risen before – from job un-availability to humiliating treatment on the ports by local authorities.
   
   It, however, remains a well paid profession and promises financial freedom for the ones who adopt it successfully.
   
   The question for this poll is:
   
   In this back-ground and other issues concerning Pakistani Seamen in national and international shipping companies, would you send your son to serve in merchant navy?

Details, explanation and results of the individual polls can be viewed on the PakistaniMariner eGroup section powered by Yahoo Groups.

Please visit the following web page: http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/PakistaniMariner/polls

Would you send your son to serve in merchant navy?

A new poll has been created for the PakistaniMariner group - Enter your vote today!

The days of merchant navy have changed and the profession has undergone extensive set-back so far as the Pakistani mariners are concerned, especially after 9/11 Pakistani seafarers are facing problems that had never risen before - from job un-availability to humiliating treatment on the ports by local authorities.

It, however, remains a well paid profession and promises financial freedom for the ones who adopt it successfully.

The question for this poll is:

In this back-ground and other issues concerning Pakistani Seamen in national and international shipping companies, would you send your son to serve in merchant navy?

• Yes
• No
• Only if he will not be able to get suitable employment / education elsewhere.

To vote, please visit the following web page:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PakistaniMariner/surveys?id=1853386

NOTE: You will need a Yahoo Profile to join PakistaniMariner eGroup.

Better seafaring for Pakistani seamen!

The interest in WWW is certainly beneficial to serving mariners in job search and otherwise for general info about the sea and the merchant navy.

Seamen must present themselves in the open market by using internet. Having a resume web site is not a big deal, but how many of us are presently having one?

In these years, I have noted minimal interest of our sailing staff in projecting themselves. A search in Google or Yahoo generates lots of results but very little present our seamen.

I have received contributions in the Essays & Articles section from several parts of the world but not a single on from out merchant navy officers. Is no body bothered about HIMSELF?

Until and unless we speak up and let the nature of our problems be known to all, how well can we expect to see a better dawn of seafaring career for Pakistanis.

There exist massive misunderstandings about seafarers and life a sea among landlubbers, until we will not explain to their understanding capacity how possibly can we prove the truth.

I wish if my fellow seafarers from Pakistan could contribute their feelings openly, bring their experiences about merchant navy and job 'hunting' to everyone's knowledge, share their success stories and problems in sailing - most of all: FIND DEEP WITHIN THEMSELVES A BURNING DESIRE TO HELP ONE ANOTHER.

We all need to contribute what we have learned the hard way but is not known to someone else - leaping to make the very same mistake.

For all this to happen we need to break a shell - a shell that won't let us think beyond our personal benefits. And what it WILL result in would be BETTER SEAFARING FOR PAKISTANI SEAMEN.