Golden Jubilee Year for SCI’s 1st PreSea Batch

Capt Deepak Laud –

As it turned out, 30 of them were selected to form the historic SCI First Pre-sea Batch of the company. It was the first time that SCI, to overcome its perennial shortage of seagoing officers, had decided to select the best and brightest, cut short the lengthy 2-year process of maritime training at ‘T.S. Rajendra’, and give them instead 6 weeks pre-sea training at a shore establishment, before sending them to sea for 3 years as Deck Cadets for hands-on experience. The company believed that these lads would be able to grasp the basics quickly before going out to sea on the vast company fleet of cargo, bulk carrier, tankers and passenger ships.

The excited lads assembled on 1st Oct 1974 at NITIE, near Powai Lake to begin the 6 week pre-sea training to acclimatize ourselves to the rigours of sea life. It was a military kind of training, with early morning wake-up calls, parade, physical exercises, shower, breakfast, classes the whole day, followed by games in the evening. After dinner, we were supposed to study. (Well, some of us tried!) Under the tutelage of Capt. P.C. Alexander, Capt. S.K. Anand, a host of other guest lecturers like economist Prof. Gadgil and the intrepid traveller Meher Moos, and the stern gaze of disciplinarian-with-the-heart-of-gold CPO(IN) R.P. Singh, the boys indeed prospered.

Friendships were made, fun was had. Rudimentary knowledge of Navigation, Seamanship, Cargo Work and Ship Construction was drilled into our close-cropped heads. Most importantly, bonds of friendship strengthened then have withstood the test of time.

We all joined the SCI fleet as Deck Cadets, worked hard, played hard and saw the world. We passed through SCI’s famous cadet ship system, honing our seamanship skills along with gaining valuable practical experience that would stand us in good stead in our entire careers. Arguably we had the best time of our sea careers on these ships!

We were fortunate to be in SCI when the company was massively expanding its fleet. We gained valuable experience working on state-of-the-art ships, equipment and machinery.

We completed our sea time as cadets, and passed our Govt exams to become officers. We all became captains in about 10-12 years from the day our training began at NITIE. As time hurried on, many of us quit the sea for opportunities ashore, but some of us stayed on and continued to sail as Masters on Indian and foreign flag vessels. We got married, had children, and in due course grandchildren too! Some of us settled abroad, going wherever the wind and tide of life took us. We lost touch with each other for a while, but with the advent of Internet, found each other again.       

5 of us have left for a better place.

There are only 25 of us remaining. But that only inspires us even more to stay in touch with each other. We are excited to be meeting at Goa on the 11th of Nov this year to recall the fierce heat of our summers in the coolness of our autumns…

May the stars continue to smile down on us. Thank you, SCI.

• Marex Media

BOX 1

What a nostalgic & fruitful life it has been to have joined the Merchant Navy, especially the SCI .The training stood us in good stead & we all excelled in our future positions. We were better than the best even in foreign companies.

As we complete 50 years of our 1st Pre Sea batch & most of us have retired or hung up our boots for next phase of our lives, it is with a sense of pride that I can say that it was best career choice to make.

Anil Sahni

BOX 2

By a happy coincidence, SCI’s video celebrating 50 years of Maritime Training features M.T. Chatrapati Shivaji, delivered in 1974, the year of induction of the First Pre-Sea batch, of which I am proud to be a part.

We worked on some excellent ships, we worked with some fine people, ashore and afloat. SCI equipped us with both the hard skills and the soft skills to make our mark in the larger maritime community.

Much gratitude to our alma mater.

Deepak Laud