 “MV Sea Angel” was always a lucky ship. In fact a few days before the naming ceremony of the vessel the owner’s wife happened to see a beautiful painting of an angel in a museum in Paris. The angel’s face was radiating with kindness and the smile on her face was much better than that of Leonardo da Vinci”s “Mona Lisa” in the Louvre Museum at Paris. In the back drop the rising sun, the sea and the gulls added a lot of beauty to the painting. The owner's wife decided to buy the painting and gift it to the ship which she was scheduled to name in the forthcoming days and it somehow struck the couple that they should also name the ship “MV Sea Angel”. The painting was sent to the yard and the management at the yard appreciated the astounding beauty of the painting and decided to give it a special place on board the newly commissioned vessel. They re-designed the area in the vicinity of the Officer’s Mess and the Crew's Mess and made an altar for this painting.
The “MV Sea Angel” continued to be a lucky ship, she never gave any trouble, the crew loved the ship and always paid their obeisance to the Angel before and after every meal. The steward made it a point to offer a spoon of the sweet dish to the “Angel”, as soon as it was ready before it was served to anyone in the mess. The Cadets onboard always cleaned the painting and made sure that they brushed it very lightly for fear of spoiling her image and the gentle smile. |
Years passed and the crew's trust in the “Sea Angel” grew from strength and the “Sea Angel” also did her best to look after the crew and the cargo in her bosom at all times
UNTIL ONE DAY
“MV Sea Angel” was chartered to carry 75,000 metric tonnes of wheat from America to the hungry and needy people of Somalia. The UN consignment of wheat was of great importance to everyone in the world, a large number of organizations were eagerly looking forward to draw mileage from this important event.
The crew took extra interest in scrubbing the holds for loading this precious cargo and their efforts paid rich dividends when the charterer paid them a handsome hatch cleaning allowance. The crew was very happy and they profusely thanked the “Angel” for this reward.
To be continued… |
