From the outside, working on a ship looks like an adventure—endless horizons, foreign countries, distant ports. But once you step aboard, you realize it’s a completely different kind of life. I work as a third engineer on board. For now :)
Time flows differently at sea. You rarely know what day it is because you live by shifts, not calendars. Day and night blur together, and in the engine room, the work never truly ends. As a third engineer, I’m responsible for maintenance, auxiliary machinery, and daily inspections. It sounds technical, but the essence is simple: the ship can never stop. Everything must keep running.
Getting used to the shifts was tough at first. Working in the engine room from midnight to 4 a.m., then trying to stay awake for the rest of the day—it takes a toll. Space on board is limited: small cabins, narrow corridors, the same faces in the mess room every day. Yet the view from your window is never the same. One day you’re surrounded by the endless blue of the Indian Ocean; the next, you’re watching a sunset paint the Mediterranean in gold. No one on land can truly describe what it feels like to sip coffee under a sky full of stars in the middle of the ocean.
The hardest part is the internet—limited, slow, sometimes nonexistent. Talking to your family becomes a privilege. Every message, every short call feels like a lifeline. Things that are ordinary on land become treasures at sea. The longing—that’s the real weight of ship life.
You’re never truly alone, though. People from all over the world work beside you—Filipino stewards, Indian oilers, Turkish officers. At first, it feels strange, but over time they become a second family. You work together, eat together, share the same challenges. With a good crew, even the toughest days become easier.
Life at sea isn’t easy. It’s not for everyone. But what it gives you is priceless—patience, discipline, resilience, and a wider view of the world. One day your contract ends, you step back on land, meet your friends, and every hardship turns into a story worth telling.
For me, the ship isn’t just a workplace. It’s one of life’s greatest adventures.