Darin Baumann was working in the oilfields off India’s west coast when the Indian government suddenly shut down all ports because of the coronavirus, leaving the Moose Javian stuck 12,000 kilometres from home.
Baumann, 46, an offshore construction superintendent with Kreuz Subsea, had worked a stint from mid-November to February, before returning to Canada for a two-week break. He then left on Feb. 24 and travelled to India, where he and a crew of saturation divers worked to replace aging oil pipelines on the seafloor.
“Overnight, one day, with no warning, the port closed. No off-signers allowed,” Baumann wrote in several emails to the Express.
The sudden closure of all ports on March 23 was bad news for Baumann and his team. He explained that he needed advance notice of at least four days — he was given four hours — to get his men off the boat, followed by three days of decompression and another day to monitor for decompression bends before they could fly.
As his team was going through decompression precautions, their ship and another one sailed east toward Mumbai. However, they learned that the port was closed since the situation in Mumbai was becoming poor.
Missing flights home
Canadian consular services lined up several flights from April 5 to 7 to get Canadians home. However, there was no chance Baumann or the other two Canadians with him could make those flights since the port was closed until April 14; that closure was later extended to April 30.
“The sixth special flight to repatriate Canadians from India leaves tonight (April 9). Two more scheduled and that’s it in the books, the consulate has just informed me,” Baumann said. “People complaining about being trapped at home. Multiple Canadians trapped abroad. Wouldn’t be bad if we at least had a timeline as to when we can return.”
Baumann’s company, Kreuz Subsea, has two vessels working in the area, with 100 people on his ship. A Canadian on one of the ships attempted to leave via a crew boat just as the lockdown went into effect; he was turned back at the port. Baumann noted the man has a pregnant wife who is experiencing complications, so the co-worker is stressed.
One of the big concerns of Baumann and his crew is that one of their family members could have an emergency at home, become sick, or get into an accident, and they would be unable to help.
The company has sent provisions by supply boat — deemed an essential service — to the two ships, while both have enough fuel for a month. The crews have to be out of the field by Sunday, May 31 since that is when the monsoon season arrives. They have considered sailing to Singapore or Sri Lanka to catch a flight — if those countries allow them in, that is.
There is a job in Vietnam that starts in June, but Baumann didn’t want to go straight there. He noted he and his crew will be ready — “Ready now, actually” — for downtime by then.
Communicating with family
“Where we will go is yet to be determined, (however),” Baumann said. “Luckily, my wife (Teresa) is used to my long absences, but it isn’t making it any easier with the kids being home from school — Peacock and Lindale — and the country at a standstill.”
Baumann hasn’t verbally spoken with Teresa since February when he left for India. The satellite phone on his ship is poor; the rolling of the vessel hampers the signal; and sending and receiving updates over the internet is done by satellite, which means updates take a while. However, WhatsApp has allowed the couple to communicate daily.
The app has also allowed Baumann to speak with three of his six kids. He learned his one daughter in British Columbia keeps receiving job offers as a paramedic, but cannot take the position since the pandemic has shut her down.
Besides his crew — a multinational unit composed of Kiwis, South Africans, English, Indians, Americans, Germans, Thai, Malaysians, and Filipinos — Baumann also has friends in the Middle East and West Africa who are in the same situation.
“I see Canadians on social media making jokes or cracking wise about being stuck at home with the wife and kids during the global pandemic … ,” he said. “You people at home should enjoy the time spent with family (as) not everyone is with their families right now.”
Taking care of crews’ health
One of Baumann’s divers, who hails from the United Kingdom, managed to get home before the lockdown since he had some scheduled time off. However, he contracted the coronavirus at home and now “coughs until he can’t cough anymore. Not fun, by the sounds of it.”
“This is like watching a bad science fiction/post-apocalyptic movie on one hand,” Baumann wrote. “On the other hand, if it wasn’t for talking to our families via WhatsApp texts, we wouldn’t even know anything was going on.”
Baumann looks after his health by taking walks on the helideck and by using the gym. He noted that keeping the crew healthy is a priority at all times and not just during the pandemic. There is also a large onboard digital library for people to download movies and TV shows to their computers or tablets.
There was talk among both crews about anchoring near the port and waiting, but psychologically, Baumann and the project team on the beach decided it was best to keep working. That would keep them occupied and have them continue a normal routine of 12-hour shifts to support the divers.
A floating workplace
Baumann’s vessel is not currently anchored. It is a dynamic positioned boat with thrusters that the hull computer controls, which keeps the ship in position while he deploys the diving bell. This allows the divers to work on the pipelines on the seabed. GPS monitoring systems, along with a weighted taut wire and transponder beacon, all feed data to the bridge computer to keep the boat in position.
The team’s two boats are currently positioned in the Mumbai High Oilfield, about 110 nautical miles (204 kilometres) west-northwest of Mumbai.
“Mentally, we go through phases, when someone gets going about the lockdown,” said Baumann. “(But) I change the subject. Try to just keep on, business as usual.”
Keeping the ships clean
To prevent the coronavirus from coming on board either ship, Baumann suspended all crews changes and has allowed no one on or off. If the port does open but there are no flights, the Indian nationals can go home but will not be replaced.
When supplies arrive, the crews disinfect the outside of the container — it comes in larger chilled sea containers — and then wipe down the inside. The company supplying the supplies is also following strict rules by wearing personal protective equipment (PPE). The crews’ temperatures are checked daily and a quarantine room has been set aside, should anyone show symptoms; there have been no issues yet.
“When I left Canada in February, if I had known this was going to happen, I wouldn’t have left,” Baumann said, noting when he travelled through Hong Kong in 2009 during the H1N1 pandemic, he received temperature checks at the airport.
“Who would have thought we would shut the planet down over a virus with such a low mortality rate. Being outside of the country, it’s like watching a train wreck in slow motion,” he added. “The speed at which everyone gave up their civil liberties was shocking.”
