Tet of sailors from Hai Duong on ocean-going ships

Missing family

Lunar New Year 2025 is the second consecutive year that Mr. Nguyen Van Thang (born in 1999), from Doan Ket commune (Thanh Mien), celebrates the new year away from home.

For Mr. Thang, a sailor has to accept being away from his family, but during Tet holidays, he misses his family even more. Last year's Tet was the first time he celebrated Tet away from home. During the Tet holidays, when he was not working, the young sailor just sat in a corner to call home and talk to his parents.

“This year, on the ship, there are some brothers from Hai Duong and many other places who have decorated the Tet altar since the day of Ong Cong and Ong Tao to create a spring atmosphere to welcome the new year. The brothers on the ship consider each other as family, often sharing stories from home to encourage each other, which helps me somewhat ease my homesickness,” said Mr. Thang.

This year, Mr. Nguyen Van Ba ​​(born in 1982), from Cam Vu commune (Cam Giang), celebrated Tet on an ocean liner drifting at sea in the Philippines.

During his 7 years at sea, Ba has celebrated Tet with his colleagues on board for 6 years. With all those years of experience celebrating Tet on board, he has gotten used to homesickness. Ba said that at the end of the old year, the crew also organized banh chung wrapping to create a Tet atmosphere. “Because we were on the Southeast Asia route, we left Vietnam at the end of the year. I went to Hoi Do market, Hai Duong city to buy a lot of seaweed leaves, ham, and sausage to bring on board, so everyone was very happy. Everyone showed off their skills in wrapping banh chung beautifully, and together we watched the pot of banh chung like we were on shore,” Ba shared.

Despite the time difference, at New Year’s Eve, the cockpit watches the time to switch to the home country of Vietnam to sound the horn a few times to signal the arrival of the new year. At this time, the crew members on the ship will gather to represent the company to give gifts, lucky money and wish each other in this sacred moment. During Tet, depending on the work, if possible, the crew members on the ship will have 1-2 days off to organize a party.

For the future

Mr. Pham Thanh Binh (born in 1986), from Quyet Thang commune (Hai Duong city), has 17 years of experience in the maritime industry. Mr. Binh said that most of the sailors and workers on ocean-going ships are of Asian nationality, so the company and captain organize to celebrate the major holidays of each country.

On the train, even though everyone comes from different countries or provinces in the S-shaped country, when on the train, Tet is a happy day for everyone.

“On the day of the Lunar New Year, the flags of all countries are hung behind the fruit tray. The tray is full of food offerings to heaven, earth, and the sea god, wishing for a year of favorable weather, calm seas, and calm waves. After toasting the new year, we hope for a year of smooth work to have a good income to support our family,” Mr. Binh confided.

With 15 years of working on ocean-going ships and 10 times celebrating Tet away from home, Mr. Hoang Van Thach (born in 1986), from Ung Hoe commune (Ninh Giang), believes that the job of a sailor on an ocean-going ship drifting at sea requires a lot of sacrifice. Perhaps there is no sadder time than Tet. If there are no waves, the crew can only sit and look at their phones, open their family photo albums to look at. Although Tet at sea is sad, the crew encourages each other to try hard, because only a few more months until the trip ends and they can return to their families...

Nguyen Van Ba's wife, Vu Thi Lan in Cam Vu commune (Cam Giang), celebrates Tet with her three children while her husband is away from home. She said that on Tet holiday, when everyone is excited to return home, Ba has to leave the train to go to work, which makes her feel even more heartbroken. "On behalf of my husband, I take care of the children so they can celebrate Tet fully. During Tet, I call my father to tell him who I visited to wish them a happy new year, what's new, what lucky money the children received... Now that we can make video calls, I miss my husband a little less. Living far away, the four of us can only encourage him to overcome the difficulties and hardships, and try to complete his tasks well so that he can return home soon," Lan shared.

Some crew members said that localities in Hai Duong such as Kinh Mon, Kim Thanh, and Tu Ky have many people working on ocean-going ships.

A life far from home, drifting in the stormy sea to find opportunities to change their fate, earn money to take care of their families. Despite having a relatively high income, from 40-60 million VND/person/month, the sailors from Hai Duong accept to trade their lives away from home, even their lives, to have money to take care of their happy families and their children's education.

Chatting with the crew members from Hai Duong over the phone during Tet, I received their best New Year wishes for their relatives and friends in Hai Duong. They said that although they miss their home and hometown, they will always complete their work well and bring the ship safely on every journey...