In the summer of 2017, I sailed from the Port of Rotterdam to the José Terminal (Venezuela) on the VLCC Alice. Together with Tom, a fellow student of the Antwerp Maritime Academy, we embarked the huge vessel full of enthusiasm and loaded with questions. We were welcomed in the Master’s office. After receiving our schedules, we started the first familiarization with the Alice and its crew and up until now I am still amazed by the quality of the vessel and the friendliness of the crew.

I was assigned to the ‘0800 to 1200’ watch and ran it with a great Third Officer whose name was Felix. During these watches I have gotten familiarized with the bridge equipment and procedures and the Third Officer really challenged me to learn as much as possible. Underway to Venezuela we started working on deck under the supervision of Chief Cadet Alberto, the Apprentice Officer who had already been on board for over three months. During the crossing of the Atlantic, a big part of the crew, us Cadets included, got a theoretical and practical crane training. I really enjoyed these trainings, because they were practical, useful and the Cadets were included in the routine on the vessel.

As a Cadet, I was happily surprised by the open culture on board. On a vessel it is not always easy to create an atmosphere where everybody is at ease to ask questions or express doubts, but on the Alice, I could ask questions to and learn from everyone. I believe that this is one of the main reasons why my voyage on the Alice was a successful internship.