Boatswain
"Thanks to excellent staff coordination and dedication, safety is assured and service to customers is guaranteed!"
Trond Haukås joined BOURBON in 2005. Coming from a seaman-family, he started as a fisherman and worked for 10 years on long liners off Norway’s coast. At the age of 30 he went back to class and integrated straightaway Bourbon Offshore Norway as an AB (able bodied seaman).
"In March 2015 I will celebrate 10 years working for BOURBON. I have sailed on standby, supply and anchor handling vessels nearly worldwide! I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work together with so many dedicated and good colleagues."
His desire for greater things led him to where he is today, Boatswain of the Bourbon Rainbow. Becoming a Boatswain does not involve any specific studies or training upgrade. Perseverance, experience, interpersonal skills and Master’s trust together with the company agreement are the key elements leading to this position.
"I learn something every day and I keep developing my skills in the field. Challenges are different depending on the operation and if the vessel is working in the North Sea, West Africa or in a cold climate such as Russia."
Liaising operations between the deck and the bridge
Trond’s job has several facets. In one hand, as part of AB’s team, he works in close cooperation with Chief Officer to plan the day to day maintenance and ensure effective execution of all maintenance work. Chief Officer together with the Boatswain and AB's has a meeting at the start of a mission where they plan maintenance work priorities. This cooperation brings interesting inputs and ideas. He knows he can count on a strong cohesive team, who can work in synergy.
"Our former Master, Tom Petteresen and our Chief Officer, Morten Reite, were both in Ningbo, China, when the Bourbon Rainbow was built over there. Their presence and involvement in monitoring the vessel’s construction were a great help for the whole crew, allowing us to better understand this state of the art equipment."
In the other hand, as a work leader on the deck, he works together with the crew on deck and coordinates communications with the Chief Officer. Before any operation, Boatswain and ABs get the necessary information from the Chief Officer or the Master depending who is on watch. On a daily basis, his role is also to care for crewmembers safety and use of proper PPEs, as well as reporting any non-conformances and near-misses experienced.
Looking forward to new challenges
Being very ambitious, Trond was also given a second mission: MOB-boat (man overboard boat) pilot. He took a shore based course and participated to practical training to get a dedicated certificate. His role: being ready to respond quickly and safely in case of an emergency as well as inform and work in close relation with the bridge.
In order to be reactive, he trains regularly on the open sea to get the experience to carry out his mission in the safest manner the D-day. "The vessel can also work as a standby-vessel near a rig. Then we prepare the MOB-boat in order to respond quickly in case of someone falling overboard", he explains.
For Trond, BOURBON is a company he really enjoys working for and the work ethic of the group has a lot to do with it. "Thanks to such excellent staff coordination and dedication, the pieces of the puzzle all fit together so well, safety is assured and service to customers is guaranteed!"
