Helping to keep our waterways safe, Marine Cadet Officer Joel Hinds, is a ‘Special Person’

Oct 15, 2017 News

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“You actually have to leave your home and your family to satisfy the needs of others. We have to ensure safety once we are on that waterway, it might not be on a passenger vessel but a cargo vessel, we have to ensure that whatever is being done on those vessels is done safely.”

By Sharmain Grainger

There are several modes of transportation that many of us have made use of over the years to

get to our destinations. In each instance there are always some measures in place to help ensure the safety of the travelling public.
For those who take to the skies, the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority is the watchdog and those on the roadways are monitored by ranks of the Guyana Police Force.
But have you ever wondered who is responsible for ensuring that safety measures are adhered to on our waterways? Well just in case you didn’t know I have the answer to share.
Safety on our waterways is monitored and enforced by people the likes of Joel Hinds.
Hinds, a recent graduate of the Maritime Administration [MARAD] Cadet Officer Programme, not only possesses the wherewithal to manoeuvre those ferries that ply our waterways, but he knows exactly what to look for to ensure that other river transportation, such as speedboats, have in place necessary measures intended to safeguard their operations.
In fact, it might be because of the robust work of the MARAD, in collaboration with the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard and the Marine arm of the Guyana Police Force, that there has been a lull in fatalities on our waterways in recent years
On September 29 last, Hinds was among the inaugural batch of 16 Cadet Officers who MARAD graduated to help reinforce its mandate of ensuring safety measures are in place and adhered to by all vessel operators utilising the waterways.
But even before graduation, Hinds and his squad were already implementing theoretical lessons that have served to make them very proficient seafarers today. Their extensive training spanned a period of five years.

Hinds is happy that he chose this path, but a few years earlier he was busy qualifying himself to be the best accountant possible. He certainly didn’t see himself aboard a vessel, much less assuming the role of its captain to hold a course and steer it to its intended destination.
Never in his wildest dreams did he see himself aboard one of those huge foreign vessels piloting it safely to a local port. Well, becoming a registered pilot for Hinds is currently on the horizon, as he is among a few benefiting from advanced training in this regard.
Training to become a pilot is hands-on and once completed, will see Hinds being added to a fraternity that only a few have dared to join. Presently there are only about six active veteran Pilots in the country.
But Hinds doesn’t just see himself as being versed in the operational aspect of his work. In fact in another 10 years or so he envisages himself in an administrative position at MARAD. However, for the time being, he intends to master whatever task is presented to him.

MILITARY MIND
Having entered the world on December 3, 1988, his parents Roxanne and Phares Hinds christened him Joel Alistair Hinds. He turned out to be the last of their five children.
He recalled growing up in the Pattensen/Turkeyen neighbourhood but attended the Smyth Street Nursery School, since his mother was the head teacher there. His primary education was at the Ketley Primary School, after which he moved on to the New Campbellville Secondary School. After successfully completing his secondary level education, the young Hinds opted to attend the Government Technical Institute [GTI] where he completed a Diploma programme in Commerce.
But as a young boy he foresaw himself becoming a soldier ready to serve and protect his country. Indeed he decided to follow this path. His father had passed away in 2002, but making the decision to enlist in the GDF

in 2008 was well supported by his mother.
“It was always a childhood dream to be in the military,” related Hinds during a recent interview. He recounted being able to utilise the accounting knowledge he had acquired in the GDF’s Finance Department. But he would only spend three years fulfilling his military dream before deciding to take another path. He remembered spending a stint in the Accounts Department of Courts Guyana Inc. but then adventure called when he applied to MARAD for a vacant accounting position.

MARINE CADET
Instead he was encouraged to join the recently introduced MARAD Marine Cadet Officer Programme. Though reluctant at first, since he had no idea about that field of work, encouragement from a few friends, and his mother and brother saw him accepting the challenge.
The Marine Cadet Officer programme is one that is designed to train young and vibrant individuals to become captains and pilots to help support those that have been in the system for many years. Hinds’ potential to be a suitable candidate for this programne was in fact recognised by the Director General of MARAD, Ms. Claudette Rogers, when he turned up for an interview for the accounting job.
The programme kicked off on May 14, 2012 with a batch of Marine Cadets, including Hinds, being seconded to the Transport and Harbours Department [T&HD] vessels. This translated to hands-on training on T&HD ferries. This, according to Hinds, meant, “We started from the bottom as crew members where we learnt the basic things such as how to use the mooring line and so on.”
Among the vessels on which he has been schooled are the MV Torani, the MV Kanawan,

the MV Ocean Trader, which voyages to Caribbean islands to transport molasses, and he has had a few lessons on some privately-owned vessels as well.
In fact it was during such training that he learnt that the ‘Collision Regulations’ should in fact be a Captain’s bible, to ensure that safety is always maintained on the waterways.
With theoretical backing, Hinds and his batch of classmates were even groomed in the ways of proper inspection of small commercial vessels such as speedboats and some coastal vessels to ensure that their safety measures were intact.
“We basically checked to ensure they had life jackets, life rings and that fire extinguishers were in working order, that buoyancy tanks were under the seats and we also did safety operations in a few regions too,” Hinds disclosed.
As part of the safety operations, the Cadets, under supervision, would check random vessels to see if captains were licensed and that their vessels were also licensed and seaworthy as well. The young cadets were also part of outreach programmes that involved life jacket distributions at schools in the riverain areas.
In essence, Hinds and his classmates were learning everything that was needed for them to become regulators of the waterways.
Maritime regulations are important, since according to him, “just the same way there are traffic laws that govern the roads, there are also laws that govern our waterways. Sometimes people using the waterways might be ignorant to these laws and so it is required that they are enlightened.”

He related that it was because of MARAD’s proactiveness to ensure that the waterways’ operators are educated and the regulations are enforced, the waterways are a much safer place today. Hinds is elated that he has been a part of such a movement.

MEMORABLE VOYAGE
But even with all safety measures in place, Hinds revealed that there are other issues that an operator of the waterways can face. Among these, he disclosed, could be the changing weather patterns and tide, and even the type of vessel you are aboard.
“Knowing the movability of the vessel you are steering is very important because some vessels, especially the older ones, they might take a longer time to react when you steer and you therefore have to always pay very close attention to what you are doing,” Hinds related.
By far his most troubling experience on a vessel was the occasion he was tasked with being a crew member aboard a vessel, MV Ocean Trader, destined for St. Lucia. It was the first time that Hinds would voyage outside of Guyana’s waters and it was not intriguing. But he was able to eventually adapt to the imposing atmosphere and ward off a dreadful bout of seasickness.
“I was the only Cadet on board when we set sail for St Lucia from Berbice. The voyage took three days and I was ‘freaked out’ that there was water for miles and we literally didn’t see any other vessels during our voyage…it was like no man’s land at sea,” recalled a blushing Hinds.
He admitted that it was during that very journey that he initially questioned whether he had actually chosen the right career path.
However, by the time the voyage was over, Hinds’ confidence was restored and all doubts were gone.
“If you are looking for an adventure or you want to learn something new every day, seamanship could be the job for you,” said Hinds. He admitted that he is happy to be a thoroughly trained Marine Cadet Officer with the wherewithal to be an efficient captain of just about any vessel he is entrusted with.
Hinds, at the end of the Marine Cadet Programme, was the second best graduating Officer of his class. And according to him, “It was an honour when I graduated from this programme, because to come into a field that I knew nothing about and be so successful, it was a major accomplishment for me.”
Although he is still advancing in his knowledge, Hinds noted that it is important that members of the public recognise that the role of a seafarer is very important. In fact he described it as a sacrifice.
“You actually have to leave your home and your family to satisfy the needs of others. We have to ensure safety once we are on that waterway, it might not be on a passenger vessel but a cargo vessel, we have to ensure that whatever is being done on those vessels is done safely,” Hinds related.
Work for Hinds means that he has to be away on a vessel, sometimes for an entire week at a time, leaving little time for his personal life. But for now, he is satisfied that those closest to him have an appreciation for what he is mandated to do. His biggest supporter over the years has been his mother and, according to him, his biggest fan in recent times is undoubtedly his three-year-old daughter, Jolanda.

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