by I was able to Interview Bill Robison, an AB on the Langseth. An AB, which stands for Able Seaman, is a member of the deck department that has many duties around the boat and is considered a jack-of-all-trades; they work from loading/unloading cargo, mooring, standing watch, to directing people in life-threatening situations. Being 1 of 3 ABs on this expedition, he is the most senior AB with 6 years of experience.
Bill has an extensive history with being out at sea, making 40 years of working on the ocean coming November 2022. Right after graduating high school, he started working at the age of 18 in 1982 with oil drilling companies. This took him around the world, reaching the Gulf of Mexico to Africa to Alaska. It was only within the past 6 years that he decided to obtain his license to become an AB and has since worked as one on the Langseth.
We stumbled across the topic of the Deep-Water Horizon disaster, which, from what I know, was a mix of a lot of problems. Bill cited that it was a lot of shortcutting regulations and breaking of rules that ultimately led to the disaster. Although he said his time on oil ships were fun back in his days; however, he said that the fun was cut short from the rules placed on employees, but for good reason. “Rules are made because of spilt blood, even the wet floor signs.” I can definitely take rules for granted sometimes, and this spooked me just enough to make sure I think twice about doing anything risky.
I ended the conversation asking Bill if he had any tips for people on boats, especially first timers like myself. He gave the following:
1. Keep one hand for yourself,
2. Sleep when you get the chance
Respectfully,
-Caleb Mantanona
calebmantanona@gmail.com
