Interviewing Frank Ntambara was like re-watching the movie ‘Titanic’, (not its fate, rather the entire gist and aura of life on a ship), or perhaps ‘Captain Phillips’ (without the pirates). 

Ntambara lives his life at sea. For months, he can go on living and working on some of the biggest tanker ships, commanding and navigating to ensure safe sails from one port to another.

For instance, his previous voyage was from Dubai to China, and it lasted 25 days. Such is the life he leads.

He uses navigation chats and nautical publications for his workshows.  

As second mate, he works as an officer in charge of navigation watch. He also commands the helmsman (a person who steers the ship) on giving him the course to steer.

On a ship, second mate is the third-highest position, and such a person is in charge of making proper route planning, monitoring and evaluation, overseeing navigational procedures, organising voyage plans, among other duties.

Though he is based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, his work has led him to places such as Beijing (China), Seoul (South Korea), India, Yokohama (Japan), Maldives Island, Singapore, and Malaysia, among others.

Life at sea

The glowing aura of the sea makes it such a grand place to be. Experiencing this 24/7 is a whole other affair altogether. 

The ocean can be beautiful but also harsh and desolate. There are coarse conditions, especially when the weather is rough.

Ntambara says often times they endure rough storms, however, alongside his team; they get meteorological information to plan and prepare ahead. 

Ntambara works as second mate at his work station.

"You have to be smart enough to learn the sea because it’s you who runs the ship, you work along with the captain,” he says.

Other than that, it’s normal life back at the ship. They have cabins, a library, Wi-Fi on-board and a helipad.

"Our ship is bigger than Titanic. It’s like a house, we have everything. We eat from the ship, we sleep in the ship, and work is done from there too—office work—because we give reports every day. We have a deck for sunbathing; we can move and do sports, we even do gym. It’s another world of its own, and I always feel at home. I sometimes forget that I am at sea until I look outside and see water,” the officer narrates.

Maritime 

Ntambara works with Manarat Alkhaleej Marine Services. They transport cargo. Currently, he is working on a chemical tanker ship transporting petroleum products / gasoline, jet, naphtha, and benzene.

His team (navigation team) is comprised of the third mate, second mate, chief mate and captain.

With a journey of let’s say 25 days, a ship works 24/7. "It needs a commanding team, and those are the officers I told you; the other two, the captain and I. We divide hours such that one works and the others rest,” he says.

Though the ship uses auto pilot, one has to monitor from one point to another; is there another ship on the sea, ice or any other thing that can cause an accident? You need to be able to detect. 

He studied nautical science at Dar es Salaam Maritime Institute.

"I need navigation chats, nautical publications (books with all information) that I need like depth of water, sea state of the area where I will pass in that specific month, meteorological information, radio channels that I will need. Such kind of information makes navigation easier.”

Joining nautical science 

Ntambara studied nautical science at Dar es Salaam Maritime Institute (university).

Nautical science is more about experience, he says, noting that for one to become an officer, you go through stages. 

For you to become captain, for example, there are a certain number of months you have to have spent on the ship, there are courses you must have to take and there are also a number of hours that you have to spend at the sea. Getting ahead is more about experience and the company trusting you, Ntambara explains.

He highlights how this experience has given him lessons, especially the ability to live with different people. At his station, he mostly works with Indians, Philippines, and people from Sri Lanka. Being the only African there has pushed him to adjust in order to be able to relate with all those diverse backgrounds. 

His challenge has mostly been being away from home for a very long time. Though he manages to come back once or twice a year. 

Ntambara also says his other trial was the fear he had when he was just starting out.

The navigator has worked on some of the biggest tanker ships. All photos/Courtesy

"When you are starting, you have fear because once a ship gets an accident when you are in charge, you can be sentenced to 50 years in jail. It’s the law. This is scary at the start, but you learn the rules and after getting used, it becomes easy.”

Other than that, the 27-year-old says he enjoys his job so much and is very proud of what he does.

"I enjoy my job a lot. It is really fun. Plus the adventures, meeting different people and visiting many countries. There is a lot that one learns from that. Of course I plan on doing this for a long time; I appreciate my work,” he says. 

Ntambara left Rwanda for Tanzania back in 2017 after securing a government scholarship for his university studies. He is so grateful for such an opportunity and ability to pursue such an extra-ordinary path.