Chief Engineer Jonas Muff Kofoed: No pirates or shelling here. Whole
By Hanne Baltzer
Jonas Muff Kofoed is at home in Odense, but soon he will be travelling to work again. He is chief engineer on the container ship SAN RAPHAEL MÆRSK, which sails a regular route between Europe and South America. When he sailed tankers, he only knew the place and date of embarkation shortly beforehand because the ship was not in regular service. Fortunately, that's not the case this year.
In 2023, she docked in Algeciras in southern Spain on 1 December, after which they sailed into dock in Turkey. The ship was then sent to the Red Sea before returning to its normal route for a nine-week roll, and it was back to business as usual. For the crew, this meant a few days in a new route with extra attention. The voyage was via the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and back. However, Jeddah is not quite down by the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which is the main area where Houthi militia fire on civilian shipping.
"It was pretty clear that the Suez Canal was not as busy as usual, which was due to the fact that many shipping companies have changed their sailing routes because of the shootings. It wasn't dangerous for us - there is no shooting in that direction and the Red Sea is quite big," Jonas smiles.
Quick decision
Around 90 per cent of the ships that normally use the Suez Canal are taking new routes for the safety of crew, ship and cargo. Currently, the route is via the Cape of Good Hope. This is a detour of 9 days, 7,300 kilometres or 4,000 nautical miles. The Maersk shipping company was one of the first to change the route. This happened after an attempted attack on a container ship back in December. All captains and chief engineers receive regular updates from Maersk on the situation both in the Red Sea and elsewhere in the world.
"The shipping company was quick to decide to sail around it. It was good for everyone, because obviously the colleagues sailing in the area must be under pressure. "
Be able to share knowledge
They don't talk much about being challenged. They don't talk much about that either. SAN RAPHAEL MÆRSK has five sister ships. The chief engineers from the six ships have a WhatsApp group about engineering. There are can They share experiences: "There's not much we do in it. Everyone does their own thing. No-one wants to ask something that someone else might think they should know! But it's a bit silly when you could easily share knowledge," says Jonas. For him, one of the most professionally satisfying things is getting the engines running at maximum performance. Every day, he has to report a lot of data with different consumption to the head office in Denmark. They are also the ones he communicates with if something needs to be purchased.
Jonas is very comfortable sailing far from the Red Sea: "In our waters there are no pirates, shelling or stowaways on board. Our main point of attention is to make sure we don't get drugs on board, but we do check the ship for stowaways before we sail from South America. I sailed off Africa as a trainee for five months around 2000. Then we had to pay maximum attention to stowaways at all times, that everything was locked up so it wasn't stolen, pirates, etc. I like our current route. After busy calls in different parts of Europe, it takes 9-10 days to reach the next port in South America. During those days, there's the opportunity for more social time before working through the many calls in South American ports. That's why a barbecue is always popular."
Community on board
There are 24 on board. There are Indians, Ukrainians, Danes, Poles, Filipinos and a Brazilian. The working language is English, which everyone respects. It is also spoken at mealtimes if several nationalities sit at the same table. On previous ships, Jonas has sat at a table for four where the other three spoke the same language. It's exclusionary.
"Yes, we are very aware of harassment and bullying on board. As a senior officer, I've been on a course on how to handle conflicts and how to behave properly. Every six weeks, we also hold exercises on how best to behave towards each other. Here it is possible to speak up. The company also has anonymous hotlines and biannual satisfaction surveys. For me, the biggest problem is false accusations. However, I know that this is something the company also focuses on. I myself am mindful of treating others well. I practise a flat management structure with great responsibility for the individual, while at the same time they know and accept that I am in charge."
The internet is on board and all MARKS ships are now equipped with Starlink for better online connectivity, but a large amount of data for the office and customers is "eating away" at the connection.
"Each container is equipped with a chip that constantly updates on various parameters. There is also, for example, live monitoring of the main engine and occasionally on the bridge. This means that much of the internet connection is already in use. So there's not always much connection left to contact family."
Boxed
Jonas Muff Kofoed
- Danish chief engineer
- Employed in MÆRSK
- 2006: graduated as a mechanical engineer
- Father of three, married to Hanne
- Working 9 weeks away followed by 9 weeks at home
- Member of the Board of Directors of the Seamen's Mission