A Merchant Navy Officer’s Wife Retires

It’s a funny feeling I find myself with nowadays. Sad and sweet, but certainly not sour, as I contemplate the undeniable fact that as my husband, a merchant marine engineer of 42 years, chief engineer on oil tankers for 28 years, 24 of them with Teekay Shipping, retires in a few weeks at the end of his tenure on M.T. Australian Spirit, I too, retire as a seafarer’s wife… and it’s as much my retirement as it is his! I love sailing, and looking back on my 38 years of married life with an almost equal amount of time sailing on OBOs, VLCCs, Suezmax and Aframax tankers, really the only life I know, I’m filled with satisfaction, pride and a sense of accomplishment. I feel very grateful for the choice I made to embrace this way of life… because the man in my life loves his job, because he is great at it, and because over and over again it has proven to be wise to enjoy it and “make it your own” as part of the life of a seafarer, rather than treat it as an as an ordeal with an “I can’t bear this “attitude. Mine is a success story… [ ] a success story that is not without its share of heartache and tears. Separated from each other for long bouts at sea, missing out on the growing years of the children, skipping family gatherings, being unable to attend weddings and funerals are facts that are undeniably sad. My husband and I both lost our mothers while at sea, and had to mourn their losses with just each other. Nevertheless, we chose to balance this by scooping up a privilege – permission for officers’ families to sail on board. It redefined “quality time” as a family and made this unusual profession worthwhile. In fact, this was the thought uppermost in our mind when we first selected Teekay Shipping as the right company to serve – it was the only one to allow 3 children to sail. Needless to say, I’m a die-hard Teekay fan!! It’s a success simply because I have, at the end of it all, enjoyed being a merchant navy officer’s wife. I write this to young women everywhere who have reservations about being a part of a seafarer’s life and my advice is – dare to say “yes”. Good things will come of making his life your own, and loving it enough to build your own life around it. I write this for my peers, merchant navy officer wives who share my feelings of joy and pride and who, like me, form the backbones of their men’s choice of life. I write this, on board M.T. Australian Spirit, driven by an empty nest back to the only life I know – sailing! I write this knowing my life’s biodata will always end with this byline – 38 years of sailing experience at sea with my husband, chief engineer on oil tankers. Yes, I write this because it’s my retirement too! Hemlata Mohan Wife of C/E Pamidipani Mohan M.T. Australian Spirit