True stories of courage lie beneath the facade

There is an old Chinese proverb which says that traveling thousands of miles is better than reading thousands of books, which suggests that one can learn more from travel than sitting at home and reading related books. Little did I realize that these words would come true, when I got an opportunity to closely interact with sailors as part of my recent interviews with China COSCO Shipping Corp Ltd in Shanghai and Guangzhou of Guangdong province.

I must confess that until these interviews, I had little knowledge of sailors or their lives, except for the vague impressions gleaned from books I had read earlier.

One of the impressions was that sailors are tall and strong as they have to face strong winds and storms at sea, an illusion that was shattered soon.

After conversations with over a dozen sailors, including the captain of the world's largest shipping business operator by capacity, my views and perceptions have seen a sea change.

The captain, a sailor for many years before taking the helm, told me that nearly 85 percent of global trade is completed by shipping, which means virtually everything we can imagine is delivered over water, be it a small fork or knife, or a huge A320 aircraft, or something as common as paper pulp for making milk cartons.

I also learned from my interviews that sailors often suffer long periods of separation from their families and loved ones. Typically most of them work seven to eight months continuously at sea, and then take a holiday for three to four months. Long departures from home have made it impossible for them to assume full responsibilities as fathers, husbands or sons.

Sometimes, the long separations and ensuing stress can cause health problems. During my interviews, Cai Liancai, general manager of the cargo technology center, COSCO Shipping Specialized Carriers Co Ltd, told me that his wife suffers from minor schizophrenia. Cai said he ended his more than two decades of maritime life to look after his wife. "It did hurt me at first that I could not pay proper or enough attention to my wife. Luckily, she has made good progress since we started active treatment," said Cai.

Despite the long odds, Cai did not prevent his son from following in his footsteps. His son, who studied shipbuilding at university, is working in a shipping company dealing with offshore wind power.

"When I am away on voyages, I always record something for my son about my experiences at sea, which may help him in his career," said Cai.

A ship is a small society and everybody has to be an expert in a special area, be it the electrical engineer, pilot, mariner or the cook or doctor.

They can tie dozens of different knots, understand the language - semaphore, and have a wide range of interests such as photography, reading, writing, playing the drums, guitar, basketball and table tennis.

I realized that though nearly 100 percent of the up to 50,000 sailors of COSCO Shipping are men, each vessel is called "she" and is christened by a woman before its first ocean journey.

During my interviews, I often wondered what makes sailors stay positive. The words of Cai Wanqun, marine business manager of COSCO Shipping Specialized Carriers Co Ltd, gave me some clues.

"I deeply love the sea and ships. Every time I see the ocean, I am in an extremely good mood. Once I am on board, I come alive, even the food becomes delicious. As the captain, I rule the ship. No matter how urgent or dangerous the voyage becomes, I stay calm and let nobody discover my nervousness."