{"id":2106,"date":"2024-06-17T10:54:46","date_gmt":"2024-06-17T10:54:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/somandsmissionen.dk\/?p=2106"},"modified":"2025-01-08T11:15:51","modified_gmt":"2025-01-08T11:15:51","slug":"bibler-er-fast-gods-ombord-pa-saturn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/development.somandsmissionen.dk\/en\/2024\/06\/17\/bibles-are-cargo-on-board-saturn\/","title":{"rendered":"Bibles are cargo on board Saturn"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Hanne Baltzer<\/em><\/p>

In the skipper's private cabin hangs a picture with the embroidered text: \"The Lord is mighty above the waves of the sea.\" It was sewn by his grandmother and hung on his grandfather's ship, his father's ship and now on 55-year-old Jens N\u00f8rgaard Nielsen's ship, because it is a fundamental truth for him. Jens is the third generation behind the helm of Denmark's smallest coaster, Saturn, which sails under the Danish flag and transports various goods from port to port in Northern Europe.<\/p>

Fast goods are Bibles in different languages that are used daily when the four-man crew reads the same play. They each have a Bible in their native language. During the holidays, they read Bible texts about Christmas and Easter, for example, but recently one of the sailors suggested that they start from scratch in the Bible. So now they're making their way through the world's best-selling book. 1 chapter every day.<\/p>

\"We rarely talk about what we read. Besides, it's voluntary to join. Over time, not everyone has wanted to, but for the most part, my crew wants to do well. I don't want to pull anything over their heads. Nothing good would come of that,\" says Jens.<\/p>

He has taken the time to talk about values and beliefs. About faith, before work calls again.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Inspiration for everyday life<\/strong><\/p>

For Jens, it's important to be a Christian every day and not just in church: \"I am who I am. You can't live by someone else's faith, you have to take a stand yourself, and that's what I've done. My Christian life is not limited or secret. Jesus has saved us and I want to share that with my crew, because it applies to everyone. We all need forgiveness. For me, the Bible is an instruction manual for life. It is written for all people around the world. God inspires us because we can read about basic truths, like what is good for us. The key to eternal life is in the Bible. And you would be super selfish if you kept that knowledge to yourself.\"<\/p>

The skipper calls life on board simple: \"We work, eat, sleep and sail. When we have free time, I watch films or TV, but I often listen to sermons or church services online. It's really good with streamed services. My wife also sends me things from church. For example, I particularly like to follow Open Church in Herning. They have relevant sermons and you can feel that they talk about experiences from their own lives. There's also good worship that I enjoy listening to. \"<\/p>

Crew is worth its weight in gold<\/strong><\/p>

Saturn has long since been paid off, the skipper's decision is to sail 200 days a year and only with something that pays off. From mid-December to mid-January, everyone takes time off to get home for Christmas. In many ways, you could say that it's the desire that drives the work. Jens has been a skipper for 30 years. He has three employees: a Filipino who has been with him for 18 years, a Pole with 8 years' service and a Russian who has been sailing for Jens for 6 years. He also has a couple of replacements who can step in when the others want to go home extraordinarily. Before the financial crisis in 2008, there were two crews on Saturn, but now there is one. As Jens says, the bottom line is about the same size as before because there are also fewer expenses.<\/p>

\"The crew knows that I'm the skipper, but we're more like a family who know each other's good and bad sides. We also know what we should avoid discussing. This is probably because we've sailed together for so many years. There is no hierarchy here, which others may experience at sea. I also value each individual very highly and regard them as equals. Every person has the same high value.\"<\/p>

\"We regularly agree on what maintenance and other things we need to do on board. And then we get started. The crew works independently. Even when I'm not here. They are stable and worth their weight in gold because they can do everything. We renovate pretty much everything ourselves. It's almost only when the ship needs to be painted under the bottom that others are involved. Every month they get a fixed payment on top of their salary of 100 overtime hours, so maybe the salary is also motivating,\" he says thoughtfully.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Own ship bite by bite<\/strong><\/p>

Back in 1989, Jens bought the first piece of Saturn from his father when he graduated as a master from the Copenhagen School of Navigation. Together they sailed for a few years with Dad as skipper and Jens as mate, while Jens paid off some of the debt. His wife Birgitte was also on board from time to time, but when they had children, she went ashore to look after the home front. He describes their marriage as teamwork and likes the fact that he works and Birgitte has for some years now had a big heart for refugees, whom she helps regularly. For example, some of them occasionally stay with them privately.<\/p>

At the age of 70, Jens' father retired in 2002, and Jens bought the rest of the ship and took over the helm.<\/p>

\"I never know when I'm where. That's probably the biggest challenge of sailing. But I've always sailed. That's how it feels. Maybe because all summer holidays were spent on board my dad's ship, for example. I wasn't very old before I knew I wanted to be a skipper too,\" he smiles with a twinkle in his eye.<\/p>

Like most people, he has experienced that times have changed and that the freight market today is under more pressure than before. However, neither grain and animal feed nor stone and gravel have been loaded onto the boat. It has only been used for general cargo, which Saturn has sailed all over Europe with.

Navigation in detail<\/strong><\/p>

On this day, the cargo is filled with transformers that Saturn picked up in Rotterdam. The transport of heavy goods by sea is routinely handled meticulously and punctually. Jens is preparing to unload one of the two transformers weighing 120 tonnes and 290 tonnes here at Hvide Sande Harbour. One of the transformers must be lifted from Saturn onto a 72-wheel block lorry. As the 120 tonnes are lifted, the Saturn lifts slightly. With tension, the lift is followed with great accuracy until the transformer is on the block lorry. The other general cargo must be transported to<\/p>

Finland. \u00a0\u00a0
When asked how long he will continue to sail, he says:
\"The ship gets off with me or I get off with the ship! Within a four-year period, there will be new regulations on ballast cleaning systems, for example, which means a very large investment. I don't know, and I want to get involved. But as long as I think it makes sense to sail, I'll do it. I like what I do.\"\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Hole in the heart<\/strong><\/p>

Most people face challenges throughout their lives. Jens does too: \"I'm practising to get my life together, but it's a huge power that Jesus passes on to us. I never walk alone. I believe we all have a hole in our hearts that only God can fill. And he promises that he will be with us all the days. That's why I never feel abandoned, because Jesus is in the boat. We have no guarantee that nothing will happen, but I feel surrounded by security and love. I'm not afraid to be out at sea, because it's the job I feel called to.\"<\/p>

The smell is starting to waft from the galley, where today the Filipino is in charge of the pots and pans. And after dinner, the sailors read a passage from the Bible again before setting sail for Finland. The navigation is in place and the wind blows gently from the west.\u00a0

Details about Saturn<\/u>
Main engine: MWM TRH435SU from 1966. It is 405 Kw.
Saturn is 54 metres long and just over 9 metres wide.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the skipper's private cabin hangs a picture with the embroidered text: \"The Lord is mighty above the waves of the sea.\" It was sewn by his grandmother and hung on his grandfather's ship, his father's ship and now in the home of 55-year-old Jens N\u00f8rgaard Nielsen, because it is a fundamental truth for him.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2109,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"post-templates\/single-layout-7.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mod-en-kollega","category-nyheder-og-magasiner"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/development.somandsmissionen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/development.somandsmissionen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/development.somandsmissionen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/development.somandsmissionen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/development.somandsmissionen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2106"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/development.somandsmissionen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2106\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5850,"href":"https:\/\/development.somandsmissionen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2106\/revisions\/5850"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/development.somandsmissionen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/development.somandsmissionen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/development.somandsmissionen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/development.somandsmissionen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}