Capt. Raghuvendra Rai.Supplied
If you were standing in the right place and time on the south shore of Burnaby, B.C., you might have seen an oil tanker chugging its way toward the Pacific Ocean. You might rightfully have thought nothing of it: This is a harbour; that is a ship. But this particular vessel was the Dubai Angel – a tanker carrying with it the first shipment of crude oil from the recently expanded Trans Mountain pipeline.
As it set out late this spring on its weeks-long journey to the Port of Laizhou in China, the Aframax-class tanker was carrying not just 550,000 barrels of Access Western Blend but also the weight of more than a dozen years of acrimonious debate over ownership, energy and the future of Canada’s economy.
At the helm was Captain Raghuvendra Rai, a 42-year-old father of young twin girls from a small town called Azamgarh, in the landlocked Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Capt. Rai has sailed Aframax tankers for the length of his 20-year career, one in which he has carried out missions across millions of nautical miles. In most respects, then, the operation early that morning at the Westridge Marine Terminal in Burnaby was business as usual. But his job as captain requires staying on top of geopolitical and industry news, so the moment was not lost on him and his crew.
In an e-mail interview that spanned several weeks as he navigated his precious cargo to China (and back to B.C. for another shipment), Capt. Rai describes that historic morning, the added dangers of sailing in the perilous world of 2024, and what happens next.
With all of your responsibilities at the command-and-control centre, are you able to stay on top of the news and economic developments surrounding your industry?
It’s a busy job, but I am able to follow industry news and economic developments. We get daily updates on industry and other relevant news. We have a daily subscription of maritime news, which is via e-mail, and we receive regular updates from our company.
When you carried out those 550,000 barrels of oil from B.C.’s coast on May 22, was it business as usual, or were you aware of the significance of that moment for Canada?
From the operations perspective it was business as usual, but onboard we were aware of the significance of our call to this terminal.
Safety is always at the prime of our operations and this being a maiden call to this terminal, our operations were closely monitored by Transport Canada and authorities.
We were proud to be the first vessel loading at a brand-new terminal worth billions of dollars since a new expansion of the major pipeline was completed in the port of Vancouver.
Such a project will surely bring hope for economic prosperity not only to locals but the international shipping as a whole. We pray for its continued success.
Can you recall what that morning was like? Were there any added layers of complexity or added challenges? There might have been a lot at stake for industry watchers here, but perhaps it was like any other day for you?
There weren’t any specific complexities or additional challenges during the call. The morning was pretty good – calm weather with some fog and rain, which is normal during this time of the year.
The approach to the terminal went well, with the assistance of harbour pilots. The stretch of transit from Juan de Fuca entrance up to the berth was navigated in almost 22 hours.
We did have an issue with the change of crew in this port. An Indian national arriving in Canada to join the vessel (and to make his way home) needed a Canadian visa and there is no visa on arrival for seafarers with valid Seafarer Identity Document (SID) unlike other countries. In Britain, for example.
Were you met by anyone from the government or did you just work and meet with your usual peers and partners at the port?
As for meeting anyone from the government, no, not for the cargo or terminal. Only government officials we met during our stay were from border patrol, immigration and customs. We did have representatives from our charterers present on board. I think they just wanted to oversee the first operation.
As you monitor the news, what is important for you to know and how often are you updated? Daily?
Industry news is definitely relevant but a brief every morning is not always required. Although certain updates might be critical and we are briefed about them ASAP. For example, the shipping crisis in the Red Sea has resulted in a lot of updated protocols for us.
Are these updated protocols factored into business as usual now?
If you are transiting through or near areas of security concern, then yes. We adopt various measures like rerouting the ship, hardening the vessel by using razor wires and transiting in convoys protected by naval forces.
Vessels are also avoiding the Suez Canal and Red Sea altogether and instead transiting the Cape of Good Hope. Commercial vessels like ours can not do much against missiles and drone attacks.
When you were no longer on Canadian waters and hit the open sea, did you notice a difference either physically or mentally for you or your crew? Is it a relief to no longer have the eyes of a coast guard on you?
Being out in the ocean does mean that it’s less hectic for us and mostly routine, but being ashore, too, has its positives. A lot of my crew went ashore in Vancouver and had a good time shopping and sightseeing. Our encounters with the Coast Guard are generally positive … It is very rare, in these parts of the world, for one to have issues with the coast guard if you’re complying with all regulations.
Will you be repeating this route over the long term?
Our vessel is, in what is known in the shipping industry, the tramp trade. This means that the vessel is not always following a set route and can be chartered for various types of voyages. That being said, the vessel can be chartered by the same company again and might repeat the voyage. Coincidentally, we are currently heading back to Vancouver to load crude oil from Westridge once again.
How long are you on the boat over the course of the year? Is it off and on like many of Canada’s oil-sands workers?
You may say a sailor’s life is similar to workers on Canada’s oil fields. We are also rotational employees, and we have our time both ashore and on ship split appropriately.
As a Master, I serve on board for a period of around four months before proceeding to leave. Being a contractual employee, I have the liberty to choose my return, which is probably after a period of two to three months of vacation ashore. This entails around two contracts per year.
When you’re not on the boat, where do you live, and what do you like to do?
When not sailing, I am a family man. I love spending time with my family – my parents, wife and lovely twin 4-year-old daughters. I am an Indian national, hailing from the town of Azamgarh in the state of Uttar Pradesh. It is a land-locked state in India and the sea is quite far away, but once I came to sea, it became my passion.
This interview has been edited and condensed.