Living on a ship
Different ships, different lives
A seafarer`s life will be different from ship to ship. For instance, on an ocean-going cargo or passenger liner on a regular route, there is a certainty that`s absent on a bulk carrier or tanker that is tramping, in other words going anywhere a cargo offers. 
 Edinburgh Castle at berth 102 |
The crew of a liner generally know when they will be home: voyages will rarely last more than six months. They also know which ports they will call at, and get to know these ports and those who live and work in them. On a liner route, seafaring is as predictable as it ever gets. Those on a ship that is tramping, however, have much less certainty. Typically these ships roam the world, picking up a paying cargo wherever it can be found. In the past, it was not uncommon for their crews to be on the ship for two or three years before they reached a home port and were paid off. Nowadays, spells on board are a lot shorter, the crews going home by air at the end of their contracted period. On ferries, for instance crossing the English Channel between Dover and Calais, life is different again. The officers and crew will work on the ferry for a relatively short period: a week say or perhaps just days, after which they will go home. This lifestyle is attractive to those with growing families.
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