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The year was 1969. A young man embarked on life as a seafarer. His salary? 50 dollars a month as a cadet. It came with a sea of opportunities to see the world, make friends, and taste adventures. After 35 years at the helm, in December 2023, Captain Nordin, 74, signed off from his last ship. SeaVoices finds out why he ‘signed up’ for a maritime career and how he made it an enduring one.
The story went back to pre-independent Singapore. Growing up in the 1950s and 60s, Nordin had the chance to come up close to ships. His father worked for the British Navy; as Head of Drivers, he supervised chauffeurs ferrying British officers to and from the naval base in Sembawang. Young Nordin got to be on these rides occasionally. Like an eager child on an outing, he savoured the sights and sounds of the surroundings and “the smell of ships.” “I can’t quite pinpoint what, but maybe it’s the paint or metallic structures. I was drawn to it. Being a curious and adventurous boy, I wanted to explore the world out there.
Nordin took to the sea, working his way up and honing his skills. Timing was everything and, just as important, having the right skills and aptitude to seize the opportunity that came knocking. In 1988, Wallenius Wilhelmsen, a Norwegian shipping company, was looking for people who could command ships. “I can!” he told his prospective employer and was hired.
If one’s career is a piece of canvas, his is a colourful one filled with challenges of all kinds. To him, these were adventures, even the harrowing ones. He remembered having to steer his vessel through melting icebergs in the Atlantic Ocean. The ship, a large cargo vessel, was en route to Montreal. As global temperatures rose, the icebergs became unpredictable and increasingly unstable. Retelling the incident brought back vivid memories of each moment, he said. It took absolute concentration to manoeuvre through the icy maze. In another incident, he described the wrath of a typhoon in the South China Sea unleashed on his ship: “The towering waves and howling winds tested his ship’s resilience and his crew’s fortitude. The sea was like a giant beast trying to swallow us whole.
In both incidents, and many more like these throughout his career, skilled navigation, knowledge of the ship’s capabilities, and quick decision-making were crucial in averting disasters. “We didn’t have GPS at that time. We relied heavily on celestial navigation and paper charts. Sextants, chronometers, and compasses were our primary tools. A ship’s course was plotted with precision, but it demanded a deep understanding of the sea and the sky, as well as constant vigilance. Weather forecasts were very basic; updates were available every six hours, not real-time like it is today.”
Nordin’s encounters weren’t limited to natural disasters. “One morning in 1992, I woke up to the sounds of shooting. We were docked in Colombo. Bullets were flying all over the place. The pirates had slipped onto the ship and were harassing us into ceding control of the ship and cargo. I ordered the crew to take cover and coordinated a defense to deter the attackers until help arrived.” Some 1700 miles away in Singapore, Nordin’s wife, a newscaster, got wind of the incident. Worried for her husband’s safety, she called him and was relieved to know he was unhurt. A close shave with death was scary. To Nordin, it was an adventure.
In another incident, he was not so lucky. He fell when the sudden lurch of the ship threw him off balance. He injured his back and, till this day, lives with chronic back pain. And there was the grisly death of a crew member onboard following a gang fight. Eerie sightings were reported thereafter. He took it upon himself to maintain morale during this unsettling period. He had to ensure that the crew remained focused and cohesive to complete the mission.
If life had a reset button, would he do it all over again, SeaVoices asked? His answer is an unequivocal ‘yes.’ “Sailing had fulfilled my love for adventure that doesn’t fade with age. I felt a sense of satisfaction having overcome formidable challenges, a sense of accomplishment after each successful voyage. Many of the friendships struck onboard have lasted all these years. Yes, there were hard knocks, but the sacrifices and inconveniences were well worth it.”
How time has passed! His daughter who joined him on one of the voyages at the tender age of 3 is now 36 and working in the accounting line. The captain himself had signed off from his last ship in the US, capping a 55-year maritime career. The industry had undergone change, in small steps in certain respects and big leaps in others.
“Technology has replaced much of the manual work. In the past, there were 49 crew members onboard; nowadays it’s just 19. You have to pray hard there will not be a shark attack,” he joked. He noted an encouraging development—more female mariners are holding their own in a male-dominated industry. He had personally met and worked with female crew members who are SMOU members of caliber.
While the captain has come out from the deep sea, sailing will always have a place in his heart. He has been a member of SMOU for 46 years and counting. As a General Council member, the link to shipping remains active, and there is still unfinished work, he noted: “Singaporeans remain a rarity onboard. It is not difficult to understand why. We must continue the work to improve the wage prospects of seafarers and the attractiveness of seafaring as a career for young Singaporeans.”
We wish Captain Nordin all the best in the years ahead, and may he inspire more young Singaporeans to seek a career at sea.
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