Golden Jubilee: Celebration of success, fame and glory

by F R Chowdhury

At about 10:00 hours on 3rd September 1962 in a remote village called Juldia, after a brief recitation from the Holy Quran, Commodore Mohammed Asif Alavi, PN, in the name of Allah, the merciful, declared (in presence of the cadets and staff) the marine academy open. I was one of the 42 cadets from all over Pakistan with whom the Academy started its journey. I was also fortunate to be its commandant for a brief period in 1977.

Disciplined armed forces are always a matter of pride for every independent sovereign nation. They normally have dedicated academies to train their officers. Service in the merchant marine, though not considered a part of the defence forces, is still considered much a disciplined service. In the good old days of British Empire, they used to say that sun never sets in the British Empire. Britain is an island nation and had to depend on trade. In the process they also conquered territories all over the world. Obviously they had the largest merchant fleet in the world. They also had the largest naval fleet to protect their trade, fleet and territories. “Conway” and “Worcester” were two famous training institutes run by the British Government though most of the cadets used to be employed by private shipping companies. On the banks of the rivers Clyde and Tyne grew the ship-building facilities. These also turned out to be marine engineering apprenticeship training centres. After the end of the Second World War the newly independent commonwealth countries availed some of these training facilities. Mr. QABM Rahman, the first chairman and managing director of the Bangladesh shipping corporation, Capt. M. Shafi, the first director general of shipping, Engr. Sakhawat Hossain and Engr. Zahedur Rahman were the product of those famous institutions. I am sorry if I missed out some of the names. They were the pioneers of what we know as merchant marine in Bangladesh. I must mention here that Britain also set up a similar institute near Bombay known as “Dufferin”. Some of its cadets joined the Royal Navy during the war. I understand Commodore Alavi (the first commandant of the marine academy) and Admiral MH Khan, former Chief of Bangladesh Navy were trained in “Dufferin”. Those institutions do not exist any more.

In Pakistan there were several private shipping companies – Pan-Islamic, Mohammedi, Baksh Line, Gulf Steamship, Trans-oceanic etc. In East Pakistan there was only one company known as Pakistan Steamship owned by Late A. K. Khan. I still remember the company had two ships – “Fatehabad” and “Jahagirabad”. Mr. Hossain was the General Manager in Chittagong. Shipping flourished in Pakistan after the creation of the state owned National Shipping Corporation in 1963. However, in the middle of 1950s the government felt the need for a training academy. No sooner this matter came for consideration there was a big demand to set it up in East Pakistan. There was a letter written by one Mr. Hussein of Barisal published in the Pakistan Observer in support of this movement. I understand finally Late Sabur Khan influenced its location to be in East Pakistan. For some reason the project was abandoned halfway. Soon after the cyclone of 1960, Mr. Azam Khan, the then governor of East Pakistan saw those abandoned buildings and inquired about it. On his persuasion the central government was forced to start the Academy in 1962.

As I try to recollect my memories, the Academy had very few text books, just a few tools and machineries for the workshop. But there was no shortage of spirit and enthusiasm. The dynamic leadership of Commodore Alavi inspired everyone to do the best. Captain Nazar Hussein Shah was the head of nautical studies. He was also in charge of routine and discipline. Commander Ansari was the chief engineer, in other words he was the head of the marine engineering department. Lt-Cdr. Asrarullah was the chief education officer and used to teach us English and Mathematics. Mr. Nurul Amin, Education Officer used to teach us Physics and Electricity. They all used to love us as their children. Their dedication laid the foundation of what the Academy is today.

Those days’ people in East Pakistan knew very little about ocean-going ships. They had no idea about life on a merchant ship. No idea about officers being trained and certified for operation of such ships. For me it was very difficult to explain anyone as to why I joined the marine academy. Some time some of the elderly members of the family used to ask me if one day I would be able to become a “Serang”. I would normally smile and nod my head. Only person who knew all about it was my maternal grandfather (Nana) Khan Bahadur Mohammed Mahmud, the first Muslim shipping master in Calcutta during British-India.

We have come a long way. In 1975 – 85 we had to recruit senior officers from abroad, now we have hundreds of Bangladeshi merchant navy officers serving on several foreign flag vessels. It is not all because of the marine academy. Once people came to know about opportunities in merchant ships then they started finding their way. Many of them joined ships directly; others came with naval or fishing vessel background. Then people with technical degree or diploma joined as electrician, air-conditioning and refrigeration engineer. But fact remains that marine academy paved the way. Almost 90% of the academy trained cadets reached the peak of their career obtaining highest sea-going qualification as master mariner or first class marine engineers. Apart from service on sea-going ships, our mariners are also employed ashore in very respectable positions in places like UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, PNG, Hong Kong, Cyprus, Singapore, Dubai (UAE) and Saudi Arabia. The academy earned such a good name that it has been made a branch of the World Maritime University. That is a big honour for Bangladesh. I understand that the GOB has already decided to upgrade the academy into a maritime university. The academy and the marine community deserve every respect for their achievement. Congratulations. On this day we pay tributes to those who worked hard to lay the foundation. Let us celebrate the golden jubilee as a celebration of success, glory and fame looking forward to achieve even higher glories in days to come.

Today there are a number of private marine academies. They operate on commercial basis and charge high fees. Only the rich can afford it. Yet, they deserve some admiration for finding job opportunities for young Bangladeshis. The case of Bangladesh Marine Academy/ Chittagong Marine Academy is different. It is state owned and government operated. It is open to all (rich and poor) provided they meet the grade and other requirements. This national institute must remain and flourish in national interest.

On this occasion I shall call upon the Government (Department of Shipping) to introduce Alternative Training as provided for in Chapter VII of the Convention. This will allow the future generation of officers to qualify for both disciplines and eventually qualify as master mariner as well as first class marine engineers. Surely they will have better employment prospect in the international market.

I shall conclude my article with a word of advice for our younger mariners. Broaden your horizon of job opportunities by acquiring specialised knowledge and skill. Attend specialised courses and gather experience on tankers including chemical tankers and gas tankers. Serve in a lower capacity for a few days if required. It will pay you in the long run. Offshore sector provides newer avenues of job opportunity. Qualify as a DP navigator. Develop proficiency in operation of ECDIS. Try to gather experience on AHTS (anchor handling tugs) and on rigs and FPSO (floating production, storage and off-loading). The wages are much higher than on ordinary merchant ships and there are more job opportunities. We have achieved a lot and we have to achieve lot more. May Allah help us.

[The writer is a former Commandant of the Marine Academy and ex-Director General of the Department of Shipping. He was also Deputy Chief Examiner of the UK-MCA]

<fazlu.chowdhury@btinternet.com>