The dock was a hive of activity that hazy afternoon. Fresh food, barrels of fuel and other cargo were being hauled aboard HMNZS Te Kaha, the Anzac class frigate of the Royal New Zealand Navy that had anchored there. A group of children in their smart school uniforms, chaperoned by their teachers, were on the deck looking at the wharf and the bustle below.
Waiting at the port a couple of young officers checked our identities and ushered us inside the vessel. Through the narrow passageway we moved to the boardroom.
“Hello, I’m Shiv,” a young officer greeted us with a warm handshake. For the next few hours Shiv was to be our ‘guide’. Shiv is a Weapons Engineer who has been on board Te Kaha was the past 10 months. He has his roots in Raipur, Chattisgarh, but is born and brought up in New Zealand. “I do come to India and even been to Kochi before,” he says.
Te Kaha sailed out in February on deployment at the Gulf of Aden and is now on its way back home. “It was a wonderful and eventful voyage with some unforgettable moments thrown in….” Shiv suddenly stops and becomes alert as a voice breaks through the speakers. There’s a flurry of movement and the speakers come alive once again. “Just give me a minute, the Chief of Navy is coming,” says Shiv and moves out.
In the passage outside the boardroom the officers greet Rear Admiral Jack Steer as he smiles, talks to them and moves to the bridge. “Sorry. Now where were we? Okay, being in Turkey for the Anzac centenary was special. The 100th anniversary of the landing of Australian and New Zealand soldiers on a beach, now known as Anzac Cove, on the Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey, was an amazing experience,” Shiv continues.
Life can also be rough aboard; it can also be quite lonely. “We begin quite early, PT, shower, breakfast which is typically European - baked beans and toast. Ye, the chefs do a great job feeding us with just the frozen food they have on board. Then it is to our duties, to our watch, depending on which shift one is working on. It’s 24x7 on board for the ship. We do have our own ways to keep ourselves entertained like a library where books are replenished at every port of call, DVDs and some live entertainment too like our own version of X Factor,” he adds.
Leybourne JJ is the man who organises these entertainment events. With loads of experience, JJ as he is fondly called, is a combat system specialist who’s been with the New Zealand Navy for 35 years now. His cabin has just place for four. “I know all the 178 on board by their first names,” he says. “They are all well-rounded sailors. I say so because apart from their specialised jobs, each one of them is a trained fireman, experts in damage control. Looking at their faces I can gauge their mood; sometimes they don’t smile at you and I know there something wrong and I try and talk it out with them.”
Shiv had taken a few of his colleagues out for dinner to Fort Kochi the night Te Kaha anchored. “New Zealanders are generally outdoor people who love the green around them. Mumbai was a bit too claustrophobic for them. But they loved Kochi. And, wow the Kerala fish curry was simple awesome…”
The hot and spicy Kerala food found a firm supporter in Navigating Officer Sarah Thomas. There are 43 women on board Te Kaha and Sarah’s been sailing for a little more than five years now. This was a career that she opted for because it gave her the chance to travel and see the world, “And you get paid well for it. There’s gender equality and life aboard is not bad at all,” says Sarah. There are moments when, like other sailors, she misses her family but otherwise it’s a lot of fun and work. “If there’s something else I miss is shopping,” Sarah says with a board smile.
Inside one of the office cabins is Marnix Mooman. He’s a leading electronic technician and is responsible for maintaining the radars on board. Running across the cabin and right through the vessel are pipes coloured blue and yellow. Life can be tough and also risky at times and Mooman has been through it. “Fires do happen and there are times when one of the blue pipes that carry water can give way leading to flooding. Then it can be like what you see in some of those movies. We are geared up for any eventuality of course.” Mooman loves to play the guitar and is part of the ship’s cultural group.
Walking back, Shiv talks about being witness to the adventurous seizure of heroin off the coast of Africa. “We seized 260 kg of heroin worth something around 238 million New Zealand dollars. I was asked to do some of the questioning as some of the men spoke Urdu.”
In two weeks’ time Te Kaha, after a maritime exercise in the coast of Australia where the multi-Navies of the world will take part, will touch home port. A few weeks at home with family and friends and then the sailors will set sail, this time to the waters of South East Asia.
