The Story of the Ship Craftsman

The owner of a prominent shipping line, operating with international extension, is facing a critical problem: one of his largest shipping vessels, capable of transporting millions of dollars worth of cargo each month, was declared unable to operate, therefore stuck at the dry dock with a failed engine. For each day the ship was not at sea, the company would experience huge losses in terms of revenue and overall capital, somewhere around the 100's of thousands.

Clearly, a shipping company with an inoperative vessel, is not producing any business out of the carried goods, and this caused a lot of worries and friction. The owner was left with no other option, but to address the issue promptly and call in all the best ship engine mechanics he could rerieve.

The more time passed, the more irresolvable the situations appeared.

Mechanics and engineers from all over the world, in possession of the latest methods and technologies, have intervened and attempted to locate the failure, hoping to overcome the challenge and implement needed repairs accordingly...unfortunately to no avail. Not one was capable of coming up with a solution, no matter the techniques adopted, where they came from, their oustanding backgrounds, their title, their age ... they just didn't get it, let alone repair the ship's malfunction; all of them were forced to surrender, completely stumped due to the extraordinary challenge, leaving the owner with empty hands and no resolution in the horizon.

Weeks and months had passed, an outstanding number of failures were collected, and although a great measure of the company's capital was invested on recommended yet ineffective repairs, that brought to no result, the ship’s engine would still not run properly, nor it manifested any functional sign.

The owner, exausted by the escalating situation, assembles his entire Executive Team, inlcuding his Captain, addressing the importance of the matter, prompting for an imminent resolution and decides to offers a lucrative reward to whomever is capable of repairing his ship.

At some point, the Captain's attention was caught by a thought: an enlighment, reminiscences from his past carreer and recalls of an old acquaintance.

A craftsman met many years ago...and wondering about him, his profession and all it mattered, feels confident he had been working on ships since his childhood and then...remembered his name: Benji, a retired ship engine mechanic who held an impeccable reputation, having dedicated his entire life to his art, while observing how the best craftsmen have maintained their ships, studying innovative methods to repair their engines, their power lines, armed with strong passion and enthusiasm for his work...and every minute, every moment, every second...he spent searching and finding solutions for his ships.

No matter how severe the engine problem was, it was said, Benji could fix it.

After several phone calls, the Captain was finally able to reach out for Benji, arranged a meeting and invited him over the docks with urgency.

Benji arrived the next day; his calm and confidence were nothing short of brilliant, nonetheless his appearence was missleading to their eyes...both the Captain and the skeptical owner had been waiting impatiently for his arrival, both of whom wasted no time exchanging sarcastic smiles at the scene.

Without wasting another moment, and although he was twice the age of the previous mechanics, he approached the loading ramp with ease, got on the ship and opens:

"I believe to be up to the task". The Captain waiting for the owner's reply:

"Well then, your fame preceeds you and we're eager the resolve this disaster... feel free to proceed"

Benji, meticulously examined all around the ship, carefully inspecting all of its key components.

He started from the control room, reviewed its control panels and checked all the power lines...with an attentive approach and implementing extensive inspections...

...suddendly...

...about an hour later, Benji had a strong suspicion in regards to the problem's whereabouts. So he asked the captain to walk him to the engine room.

The Captain gladly leads the way towards the engine room and is asked for some time to gather information and almost incredulous, observes the man at work.

Benji, takes a deep look around, feeling and listening and observing and touching around, in deep silence.

After only a few moments, a spark of a feeling...Benji reached for his toolbox, finding his hammer and firmly pulls it out.

Both the Captain and the owner, incredulous and smiling sarcastically at the occasion, take a closer look at the man at work. They could not comprehend what the man was about to attempt.

After meticulously observing the engine, Benji gave one firm and decisive stroke in a specific spot on a particular pipe at the center of the motor, and...

...stuff...puff...grrr....grrr....stuff...puff...grrrr...stuff...puff...puff...grrrr...grrrr...grrrr....

The motor started...stronger than it ever did!

Benji, happy with his work, smiles at his successfull overcome.

The owner could not trust his own sight any longer and still incredulous questions Benji: " What do I owe you, sir?"

On his way out, Benji handed the owner his invoice.

It consisted of one line: “Repair of ship engine: $10,000.”

Later that afternoon, the invoice was forwarded to the VP of Operations of the shipping company. “This is outrageous!” shouted the VP, “The man was here for only one hour and I heard that he simply hammered a pipe. Contact him immediately and tell him we need a fully itemized bill and clarifications, before we will pay it.”

A day later, the ship craftsman sent in the following itemized invoice:

Travel: $90 | Materials and labor: $10 | Knowing where to hit: $9,900

Needless to say, the bill was promptly paid, without futher questioning.

The moral of the story: never underestimate the value of experience and the years it took to achieve, never speculate on social status or personal situation, most likely we have little idea of what's going on in one's existence; never judge by the appearance, never undermine one's preparedness. No matter the age, the gender, the looks...experience, passion, enthusiasm, competency, agility, speed, know-how's, are far more valuable then titles and positioning.

Competence should definitely be rewarded, fairly and people should always be treated with respect!!!