Kazushi Kuroki (2 parts)

Part 1

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This transcript is based on a video-recorded interview deposited at MarE3, JAMSTEC (Yokosuka, Japan).

The transcripts of the research project Oral Histories of Scientific Ocean Drilling are polished representations of oral conversations, and are intended solely for the purpose of preserving and documenting personal accounts and memories. They are not a literary product, and are not intended to exhibit literary qualities.

The primary goal of this transcript is to capture the spoken words and memories of the interviewee as accurately as possible. Minor editing and polishing works have been performed to enhance clarity and readability while maintaining the authenticity of spoken discourse, including non-standard grammar, inconsistencies, repetitions, and pauses. The interviewee has been allowed to review and edit the transcript, and they have approved the publication of this version before posting it.

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Please cite the interview as:

Interview of Kazushi Kuroki by Beatriz Martinez-Rius on 2024 January 13, JAMSTEC, Yokohama, Japan. [link]

Beatriz Martinez-Rius (BMR): Today is January 13 of 2024. I am Beatriz Martinez-Rius, postdoctoral researcher at JAMSTEC, and I am at the Yokohama Earth Science Institute (JAMSTEC) with Kuroki-san. First of all, can you please tell me your name and affiliation? 

Kazushi Kuroki (KK): My name is Kazushi Kuroki. I am working as a ship’s agent in Yokohama. We attended the JOIDES Resolution when it came to Yokohama, and I was the agent for it (note: in 2009). I also worked for JAMSTEC in building the scientific drillship Chikyu. After that, I have also attended Chikyu when it came to Yokohama.

BMR: So you have a long relation with scientific ocean drilling, but not from a “scientific” perspective, in the sense of conducting research.

KK: Yes. I started in 1987 in the Ocean Drilling Program, and I left it in 1999. I then joined JAMSTEC to build Chikyu, and after that I left Chikyu and JAMSTEC, and went back to my hometown. Afterwards I was back to the JOIDES Resolution for a few years, before I joined this business of ship agent in Yokohama. 

BMR: We can start talking about your early years. I’d like to ask you, where did you grow up and how was your childhood?

KK: I was born in Fukuoka, near the city of Kurume, in the mountainside. So, no ocean around it. When I was a kid, I played around – like swimming in the river in summertime or just going to the mountain, collecting insects, running around… You know, kids’ age. 

BMR: Were you good at school?

KK: Uhm… You know, I was playing around a lot, so I’m not sure whether I was good or not. Also, when I was in junior high school and high school, I played soccer. At high school, my soccer team was a good one, so we played in some championships and we ended the seconds on the prefecture’s match, so we went to the Kyushu area’s championship. But of course, everybody else was strong (laughs), so we just lost in the first round. I was pretty good at that.

BMR: What did your parents do for a living? 

KK: My dad was working at a junior high school. He was the physical education teacher. After that, he just retired. We had fun.

BMR: How did you get interested in ocean sciences? 

KK: Well, I was not really interested in ocean science, but when I was in primary school or junior high school, I was interested in natural phenomena like earthquakes, eruptions, and these kinds of natural things. I read books for predicting (natural phenomena) like clouds, or animals’ annual behavior, or groundwater level changes or… You know, all kinds of phenomena (that can be) collected by  people. And (I also read) one about a big earthquake that was predicted in China. That was a long, long time ago. So, I read those books and I got interested in earthquake prediction, and I studied (that one) well.

I wanted to go to college for that; but in Japan, during high school education, if you wanted to go to a scientific collage or class, you usually took Physics and Chemistry majors, and you were not going to learn Geography or Geosciences. Of course, I wasn’t good in high school because I played soccer all the time. So, I took one more year to study, and meanwhile I studied Geosciences by myself. I didn’t like Chemistry, so… (laughs) so I failed the test (to get into university). Like today, in Japan, they (high school students) are having university tests. Today and tomorrow, they are testing.

BMR: Oh, today? I didn’t know that.

KK: Yes, yes, the same test that Japan started providing when I was, probably… It was the first or second time, when they started doing these tests. I took the test and, of course, when I looked at the result, it was nothing good. So, I started looking for doing a second test, or to which university I could go. Looking, looking… I found out that the University of Ryukyus (Okinawa) had a good ocean sciences, natural sciences course; and the professors from there were big names, like… Professor Kizaku Kozushiro, and Kisaki Kimura, and other geoscience professors. So, I decided to try this university, for the second time (I took the test) and… Somehow I got in. 

BMR: Have you ever been to Okinawa before going there? 

KK: No, that was the first time I went to Okinawa, to take the university test.

BMR: How was Okinawa like, did you like it?

KK: Okinawa is great, Okinawa is great. It’s a great place… But it is a snakes’ hub.

BMR: Snakes?

KK: Snakes. Poisonous snakes. In the ocean there are also a lot of poisonous animals. When I was in university, I was so amazed to see this ocean, this nice ocean, that I entered the diving club where we did scuba diving. It was amazing. But for the first two years it was just exercising, learning how to survive in the ocean… You just swim, swim, swim in the ocean; there was like a 50 meter-long rope on the ocean and, on the beach, there was everybody just watching us. And the younger students, first and second year, were just running, running, running; swimming, swimming, swimming… Sometimes (we were wearing the scuba) full set, and we had to take it off; and sometimes we had to carry extra weight to hold our breath while standing below water. In deep, deep water, like twenty meters or so, holding your breath… For several minutes. 

BMR: Was this like a university club?

KK: Yes, it was a university club. But that’s how I was taught how to survive. After that, we just went out to swim, snorkeling. We learned scuba diving. That was good, that was good.

BMR: Sounds fun.

KK: Yeah, that was good. At the University of Ryukyus, the Ocean Science Department had several laboratories or courses: the Marine Biology department, Chemistry department, and another was the Marine Geology department. I was in that one.

BMR: Were you doing a sort of research assistance job, or some kind of research in that marine geology laboratory?

KK: No, no, just studying. It was a marine geology class. There were several professors. One of the professors was Masaki Kimura, he was my advisor. His students and more senior researchers were working on earthquake studies in the Okinawa area, gravity studies, or any kind of marine geology sciences. So, I started studying earthquakes in Okinawa and we had equipment, like seismometers, provided by the University of Kobe, the University of Kyoto, and the University of Tokyo. They put the seismometers in several places in Okinawa and in the islands around Okinawa. I was taking the data out and sending the data to those universities. That’s how I got connected to people in those universities.

When I was in second or third grade, Professor Kimura used to be in the Japanese Geological Survey and he was connected to those scientists. They had used the Hakurei Maru to survey around Japan, also across the Pacific Ocean, in surveys around the Antarctic Ocean… The scientists needed (onboard) technicians, so the University of Ryukyus sent students. I went to these surveys as a technician; two or three people from our department went to the ship. And normally, (students did it) once or twice, max, but I was lucky. I was enjoying ship life so much that I went three times on those cruises. One time, to the Pacific Ocean, to survey for manganese crusts; and one time around Japan, south of Kochi, for a Nankai Trough survey; and… And then, one time, was the Antarctic Ocean for a seismic survey. I kind of enjoyed that research ship life.

BMR: What was your position in those surveys?

KK: I was just a technician for the seismic survey. For the seismic survey they used airguns, water guns (note: the airgun is a device to produce a sound wave beneath water), and hydrophones. I was in charge for the maintenance of that equipment. 

BMR: How long were those surveys?

KK: For the Pacific one, it was two months: from Tokyo to the Pacific Ocean, we stopped at Tahiti and then came back from Tahiti to Japan. So, it was two surveys, one way and back. It’s like a roundtrip, so one month each — two months. For the south of Japan (survey), it was two or three weeks. And for the Antarctic one, it was 45 days. We had to fly to Singapore and join the crew there, and come back to Funabashi. That was about 45, maybe more than that, days. 

BMR: What did you like the most about being a technician?

KK: Well… I’m not sure what was interesting, I liked everything (laughs). Life in the ocean… And that I could forget about studying (laughs). And of course, the vessel was like 80-70 meter long, it was a small vessel, so it moved around. A lot of people were sea-sick; I was also sea-sick. But still, it was fun.

BMR: What years were this?

KK: I entered the University in 1982. So probably in 1983, 1984, I joined the Hakurei Maru. And also… At the University of Ryukyus, we had a pass, from second to third grade we had to go through fieldwork and make some field report, and if you didn’t pass, you could not go to the third grade. Because I went to those surveys with the Hakurei Maru, I did not have much time to study. And also… You know, I wasn’t good at studying. I was not good at English, anyway. I failed the English course and I took twice the second grade (laughs).

BMR: Did you meet some professors or mentors that became important for the rest of your career?

KK: There were many, many professors who I met while I was in college. Of course my advisor, Kimura-sensei, is one; and Yukizaki-sensei is another one. There were many, many professors. Seya Ueda-sensei and Isedaki-sensei were in Kobe; Aida-sensei was in Kyoto, and (Asahiko) Taira-sensei was at the University of Tokyo. There were many other professors, Tokuyama-sensei… And many others. Also, being in Okinawa, I have taken many classes with Kato-sensei and others. Ujike-sensei was a paleontologist, and Kato-sensei was a mineralogist. Also, when I was working on the Hakurei Maru, I met scientists from the Geological Survey of Japan. There’s so many professors, scientists… Everybody is a geoscientist, I guess.

BMR: How did you get introduced to scientific ocean drilling?

KK: (Laughs) You know… I was working on Kimura sensei’s class, trying to make my thesis (note: undergraduate thesis). That was my fifth year of university. That was August 1986, I guess. Suddenly, I got phone call from Taira-sensei. Well, Taira-sensei called the office, and Kimura-sensei says, “hey, you got  a phone call from Taira-sensei.” Ok. I got that. I was so… (nervous). And he said me, “Do I have any plan for after college?” I said, “No, unfortunately I don’t have anything.” And he said, “Okay, I have a job for you.” “What kind?,” “To join the scientific vessel as a technician.” Okay. “Oh, that’s very interesting. So, where?”, I asked, “Where is it?” He said: “US, America.” (gestures surprise) Is… “Uh? But, sensei, I failed in English, I cannot speak in English.” He said, “No worries. You can go. You can learn over there.” So, I said, “Uhm, I need to talk to my parents. Tell them…” He said (nods his head for “no”). And I said, “Well, maybe… Why don’t you ask to other students from Tokyo University, or the nearby Chiba University?” (Kiyoshi) Suyehiro-sensei was in Chiba University. So, Taira-sensei said, “Yes I’ve already asked, and they denied.” (laughs) So, he said, “Can you do that?” and I said… “Yes, well, maybe I can.” So that’s how.

BMR: When have you met Taira-sensei? How did you establish this relationship?

KK: I don’t remember, but… As I said, when I was working on my report, I sent lots of collected data, seismographs’ data, to them. And, maybe during my fourth year… Before I started in the Ocean Drilling Program, while I was writing my thesis, I asked them if I could go to Kobe University, Tokyo University, and Kyoto University to write some joint studies, so (with those) I could make my thesis. So, I went to Kobe University, Kyoto University and Tokyo University, to do some research and learn how to process the data. That’s how I got to know those professors, and I probably stayed at the University of Tokyo for one or two months. Taira-sensei, Suyehiro-sensei, Tokuyama-sensei, Kagami-sensei, Azuma-sensei… Many senseis were there.

BMR: What did you know about scientific ocean drilling before going there as a lab technician?

KK: (nods for no)

BMR: You didn’t know anything?

KK: No. Until the day Taira-sensei called me (laughs). Yeah, so… I had a good time in college. One of the big events (that happened then) was, when I was at University of Kyoto, in 1986 I think, Izu’s Ōshima Island erupted. A group of students was watching it through a TV, in the classroom or in the lab area, with the senseis “Wow, it erupted”… We were learning or studying Earth sciences and seismology in the lab so… (gestures as looking around) “Should we go?” So, everybody put together the seismometers and other equipment in the car, we drove Izu Peninsula, and took the ferry boat to the island. And then, installed the seismometers and collected the data of those earthquakes and eruptions. That was a good experience.

BMR: You had more flexibility to do things, I guess.

KK: Yes, I like to be flexible. I don’t like to be fixed. When I was in college, I also got interested in many different things. Underwater diving, that scientific stuff, and also the fieldwork. I liked the fieldwork. I went to different places, set the seismometers, and collected data… Maybe Taira-san knew about it, I guess. I am not sure. (laughs)

BMR: Did you say “yes” to him at the same moment he called you?

KK: Yes, I guess I did. (both laugh)

BMR: What did your parents say?

KK: Well, my parents said, “Good, you got a job! So, where are you going?” And I said, “I’m going to America.” (silence). “America? How? Why?” (Laughs.) They were surprised.

BMR: How was your experience in the US?

KK: It was… Well, after August, Taira-sensei said to me that I could go. At that time, of course, there was no internet, no computer, nothing (like that). Communication was only through phone, fax, or paper. I’m not sure how long it took, but maybe for two months or so, nothing came. No contact of anybody (from ODP) for two or three months. I had to make my undergraduate thesis. And, suddenly, I got a letter from ODP Texas. Everything was in English, right? Of course. I got a dictionary, checked it… But there was a lot of stuff. You have to get a working visa; you have to get a physical examination… All kinds of things. I didn’t know what to do. I asked Taira-san, and Taira-san said, “Well, read it!” So… I collected the documents to apply for the visa, find a place for the physical examination… Because that is a special physical examination to go to sea, it’s like a military physical examination. In Okinawa, as you know, there are a lot of military, so they are used to it. So, I was lucky. I was lucky that they knew how to do it. And then, after putting it all together, I went to the US Embassy in Okinawa a couple of times, because the first time that I applied they said, “This is not good, you need more documents.” So, I went a couple of times back and forth, and I got the visa, and they accepted the physical check, and I went to English conversation classes. I tried to learn some more English but, of course, I was not good at it.

Then, I sent those documents to ODP Texas and, of course, nothing came back for two months. It came in January or so, during winter time. They informed me that the first cruise was in March 1987, and I had to be in Texas on March 6 or something like that. “What?” March 6, which was before my graduation. But the requirement was that I had to get a bachelor’s degree before going there. Of course that was not going to happen, so I asked the senseis, “I have to go there.” And also… I had to be in Texas the 6 or 9 of March, but I wanted to clean up my apartment in Okinawa, move all the things back to my parents’ place, say byebye to my parents; say “hi” to professors at Kobe and Kyoto… And then, go to Taira-sensei’s office before I took off. So, that was rush, rush, rush to do everything.

I left Okinawa, I write up the bachelor’s thesis and handle it to my advisors. I packed my stuff – there was not much – I just packed my stuff and closed the apartment. And then, I went to my parents’ place, back home, and I stayed about one week. I then visited Kobe one day, Kyoto in one day… maybe not Kyoto, actually. And then, visited Taira-sensei’s office, and he said, “Where did you go? Where have you been?;” “Well, I said bye to my parents and that.” “I was waiting for you.” “What happened?” “The ODP says that you need a visa for the cruise.” The first cruise was in the Falkland Islands and, at that time, Argentina and the UK were fighting for it. So he said that he had made an appointment at England’s Embassy in Tokyo, “You are going to go there directly; you go now to the Embassy to get the visa.” “Yes, yes.” I didn’t say much to him, byebye to Taira-sensei and to other professors. I went by taxi to the UK embassy and get the stamp, and then my flight (to the US) was leaving in that day in the evening. After that I went to Narita airport and – no cellphones at that time, right? Only the public phone. So, I went to the public phone and called my parents, “I’m leaving.” (laughs) “I’m taking the flight”… Those kind of sad moments. I took the flight that night and went to Houston; stayed in Houston one night, and on the next day, I took small plane from Houston to College Station.

At Collage Station Dennis Graham, my boss, and Michiko Hitchcox (yeoperson at the JR) were waiting for me. They took me to Dennis’ house and I stayed there for five days, then I shipped off to the first cruise. During these five days, Michiko-san helped me to set up the social security number, the bank account and all those things. At Texas A&M University I set up everything; paper works, lots of paper works. 

My first cruise was Leg 114, starting from the Falkland Islands. There were no commercial flights to the Falkland Islands, so all the scientists, crew members… Everybody arrived at College Station. We took a bus and went to Houston to get on the chartered plane. We stopped in [?] to refill fuel, and flew to the Falkland Islands. Just before arriving, two fighter jets came to escort us and landed with us, I think. That was exciting. It was a long flight, but it was nice. Since I didn’t know anybody… Of course, during those 5 days (at Texas A&M), they introduced me to a lot of technicians and people in the office.

But still, I couldn’t speak any English. Like on the first or second day (after arriving), when I was in Dennis’ house. He has three daughters of seven, five, and three years old. The seven years old was in school, the five years old in kindergarten and she said, “I don’t understand his English.” And then, the three years old kid said to mum, “His English is like a baby!” So I said… “Ok. My English is like a baby…” (laughs). That in fact made it easier for me to learn English, I guess. Because I felt that, okay, my language skills are like a baby’s, so I should start learning like a baby. So… Watching people saying and doing things, and I just did the same things, like the way a baby learns a language. So that’s how I studied English, I guess. 

BMR: Can you please explain to me more about that first expedition? How did you meet the people onboard, and how did you communicate with them if your English was not so good?

KK: The JR changed everybody, the crew and technicians, at the same time.  So, on my first expedition, Leg 114, we were using the charted plane. Everybody went together and landed in the Falkland Islands. That was my first time. And because I couldn’t speak any English, I could not be of any help. I could only watch, because if I put my hands on it, my boss at that time, Gus (Ted Gustafson, laboratory officer at the JR)  – he is a big guy, Gus – would say to me, “Out” (laughs). So I said, “Okay, back.” So, I was only watching what the people doing, the technicians and the crew were doing; what kind of English they were using… Of course, there was a lot of effort going on, but at that time I didn’t know about it. I was just listening and watching.  

After the chartered plane landed and everybody got off, the crew helped us to move out the equipment from the cargo area of the airplane. There were a lot of long pipes, and long stuff… There was a lot of work going on. Then we passed through the immigration area in the military base and entered the ship, and they handed over the crew, the technicians and scientists. The (scientific) crew was just on and off, but the technicians had to hand over. I didn’t have much to do, but I watched. When we finished offloading the airplane, we had to load core samples from the ship and other stuff. Then, the airplane took off from the Falkland area and we went on the ship. 

So… That was my first time in the drillship and the technicians, Gus and others, took me around the ship and tried to explain to me, but I’m not sure if I understood… Maybe I could understand 1/10^th of what they said. I was doing seismic work, and because I had been working on a seismic ship two or three times during my college time, I knew the equipment and how to do maintenance works. At that time, the seismic equipment was maintained by a technician named (?), from the US. He showed me the equipment and I explained to him and to Gus what I had done. So I worked together with Trapper (Mark Neschleba) in doing the seismic work. And then, I also worked with other technicians for the… Everybody has to be on deck when the core is on deck.

On that first cruise, from Falkland Islands to Mauritius Islands, there were always rough seas. They didn’t have a tanker, so for refilling fuel we had a fuel bunker vessel coming alongside and doing the fuel transfer in the ocean. That was amazing, during those rough seas. There were a lot of amazing things during that cruise. It was a 75 days cruise, I think, from port to port. My memories are getting lost, but it was fun. Just fun (laughs). Of course, to me it was very difficult to understand sometimes, so sometimes I just stayed in my bunk bed and read some Japanese books. In the lounge of the ship there’s a library with international books, because some scientists brought books and just left them there. So I could pick up Japanese books and read them. 

BMR: How many technicians were onboard, when you were there?

KK: Probably ten or twelve, I guess? I don’t remember the exact number, but it was a four-people shift, from six to six, from twelve to twelve. 

BMR: What was your job in the JR? What kind of tasks did you do?

KK: The first few years is just doing this core on deck, handling the cores. Tropper and I were working on the Underway Lab (the Underway Geophysics Laboratory), and we did these seismic surveys 24 hours a day. In the case that any equipment broke up, we had to fix it and do it (the survey) again. It was tough, because at that time GPS was working maybe only one hour per day, and at that time you could fix the GPS positioning. Otherwise, with the transit satellite, we could pick up the transit satellite and get a fixed position. Then the drilling sites were based on our seismic surveys, which is (laughs) very important. I didn’t know at that time, but it’s very important. So it was thought, because the JR is a big ship, and we had to do those surveys to find the spots for the drill sites. 

BMR: And how did you communicate with the people onboard, if you didn’t speak any English?

KK: I don’t know. (Both laugh) I don’t know how I could work. I just watched and, of course, the technicians, my colleagues, were so nice to me. The ship’s crew was also very nice. They were teasing me a lot – although I didn’t know, at that time, that I was being teased. I just tried to communicate, and people were nice to me. So, slowly, slowly, I picked up. As I said, I was learning English like a baby, so I just tried to repeat what they said, and if my wording was not correct, they corrected me. “That’s not good,” or “that’s ok.” Also, at the end of the cruise, you have to write a technical report. At the end of the first cruise I tried to write two sentences in English, and then I asked my colleague, a technician, to correct it. It came back all marked in red. In every cruise I asked my colleagues, “can you correct my paper, or technical note, or report?”. And slowly, slowly, I learned.

The fist few years I was in the Underway Lab, and afterwards I learned to work in another lab. Trapper was my teacher at the Underway Lab and when he moved to the Thin Section Lab, I followed him (laughs). He taught me how to make thin sections. I already had some experience because during my time in college, during the fieldwork I did for the Geological Survey’s report, we had to collect samples and make thin sections for the microscope. So I had some experience, I knew how to make them. Trapper told me how to use the equipment and how to make thin sections, and I did them. That was a success. So after Trapper left, I took over the Thin Section Lab and led it for several years. I didn’t work in the Chemistry Lab, but I was also in others. What did I do? (laughs) Many, many things. I was also a stock keeper. Keeping the stocks in the drillship, the scientific material and all those things. Before the stocks in the labs go low, you have to order them, because bringing the stock to the ship takes a long time. It’s like, in the middle of the cruise, you already need to order the stock for the next fuel supply cruise. Being a store keeper, keeping the logistics and all that kind of stuff was tough. 

BMR: For how many cruises in a row you were onboard? 

KK: Every other cruise. Two months on, two months off. So I was onboard in Leg 114, Leg 116, Leg 118…So, you know, even numbers.

BMR: What did you do in those two months that you were off? Were you in the US or did you go back to Japan? 

KK: After the second cruise on the ODP (Leg 116) I got the pleasure to come back to Japan. ODP provided me with the tickets for coming back to Japan, staying about two or three weeks in vacation, and then back to the US. That was a very nice gesture from them, to let me come back after six, seven or eight months since I left Japan. My parents were so happy to see me after that time. Everybody was wondering (about me), because… Being out of communication is very worrying. I was trying to call my parents every time before I went onboard, and after I went offboard. Because, again, the cruises were two months with no communication. Several years later, we could connect to the Inmarsat phone. There was one public phone in the ship, and before that, we communicated through the radio officer. Radio officers tried to use the radio to contact amateur radio stations, and they used to set contact with some people and then try to communicate via radio. That was though. Then, through that system, the ODP tried to use the radio to send us messages. Maybe once or twice on a cruise, parents or relatives sent a letter to ODP, and ODP texted it (via fax) to the ship, it was then printed out and put in our mailbox. That was our means of communication, but it took one month to arrive. So the only information we got from the outside was the radio. I think we could listen to BBC radio or whatever. That was the only communication we could have, at that time. When the JR got the Inmarsat phone for the first time, it cost like 6 US dollars a minute. 

BMR: That’s very expensive.

KK: Uhm. Back then, some people liked to call their girlfriends or family, otherwise they could end up in a break up, you know? (both laugh). But that’s life. There was no communication at that time… Maybe it was better then. Now there’s too much email, too much internet.

BMR: In some aspects it was better, probably, yes. What was the thing that you liked the most of being onboard, and the most challenging, of those cruises?

KK: Everything was a challenge. Living was a challenge, because speaking and no communication were challenges. About the food… The galley was so nice (note: the galley crew is the team of cooks), the Portuguese food… They just provided me everything, I just pointed out and got it (food)… That was just great. The rooms were four-men’s rooms, one in front of another, with a shared toilet and a shower in the middle. Sometimes you crush with others when going in and out. So they provided a 4-men and 4-men room – no women mixed in there. Then, during port calls (note: when the ship moored on port), the eight of us worked at the same time. And after that, when the cruise started, we divided the rooms according to shifts – this room is 6 to 6, this is 12 to 12, or whatever the shifting, just to make it smooth. The gym had very nice equipment. At that time there was no internet, only movies on VHS. We could watch videos on the big screen or read books in the room. There was a whiteboard where “today’s movie” was written down, and if you were interested, you could watch it with other interested people. And if you didn’t like it, you could go and read in your room, or go to the gym, or work somewhere else. It’s a nice and easy life, you know? Good relations, as well. 

BMR: How did you learn about the scientific objectives of each cruise?

KK: We received the scientific prospect, a small booklet, and we just looked through it. The Lab manager explained to us what the objective of the cruise was, where we were going, what to do… Like, whether it was a sediment cruise, or a rock cruise, or the physics work, or whatever. But, of course, there is general physics, or chemistry, on it. So it was scientific research anyways, and technicians were doing their routine work. Of course sediment cruises didn’t have rocks, so we didn’t do thin sections; but we had XRF (note: X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry) for those, for example, so we prepared those instruments and helped each other to make the 24 hours, 7-day week work onboard. Nonstop. 

BMR: Were the rooms of mixed technicians and scientists, or…?

KK: Technicians only. 

BMR: So you slept and worked separately, but got together maybe during meals, time off… Sounds fun.

KK: Yes, it was fun. 

Group photo of lab technicians during ODP legs 116 and 118, both in 1987. Courtesy of ODP-JRSO.

BMR: I’ve talked to many geologists, scientists, and I have their perspective on how the relationships were onboard. I’ve been told about what it is like to be a co-chief scientist, the problems, the things you need to take care about… But you’re the first technician I’ve met. (both laugh). So I was wondering about your relationship to scientists, co-chief scientists, the ship’s crew…

KK: For scientists, you don’t know everybody when they come onboard. But the technicians, we were a team. We worked together all the time, so we knew each other well. But for scientists… Few scientists came back several times, so we knew them. But most of the time, we didn’t know them. There were a lot of scientists, not only working or doing PhD’s, but also students. And, of course, there was some fighting to take the samples from the sediments (occasionally). There were all kinds of samples taken, for paleontology, sedimentology, physics… So our curator was always meeting with scientists to coordinate with them the samples to be taken. They were doing all the sample requests before the cruise, coordinating to make a plan – for example, how many centimeters to sample, and from which sediments we should take the samples –. We, technicians, were just sampling, putting them in bags and sealing them. But curators and scientists, they were always coordinating, talking to each other. 

So for each lab, there was a technician. The Chemistry lab, for example, has a chemistry scientist that analyzes the samples and produces the data, and talks to the technician on which data is worth, etcetera. When I started as a technician in the Underway Lab, we were working with physicists. The co-chief scientist was choosing the sites, so we were always talking to scientists, geophysicists, in the Underway Lab, looking at the data all the time. We had those kinds of relations onboard. Each lad had a good relation – or tried to (laughs).

BMR: So you were in charge of your lab, for example in the Thin Section Lab, and that was kind of your space; but you also had relationships with other labs. 

KK: Yes. So the Thin Section Lab was kind of myspace, I was in charge of making thin sections and providing them to the scientists. And they told me whether that was good or bad; if it was too thick they told me, “Make it thinner”. Or make more. Of course, we were also general technicians to do the core sampling, cutting cores, storing cores, packing cores… 

When the scientists or other lab technicians said, “we need this kind of equipment,” or modify the equipment… Onboard there are no shops, so you can’t buy anything. So we had to make it. Onboard we had lots of supplies, as I was saying before. Not only equipment but also materials like metal, wood… All kinds of parts to make anything to help scientists collect data or samples. We had for example PVC tubes, rubber, wood, and some kinds of metals, and other material to make a pressure case, so you don’t contaminate the samples. Or to add nitrogen. Those kinds of stuff. 

The ship also had its own materials or equipment, in case we didn’t have something, we asked the ship’s crew for help in providing some parts. So we not only had good communication with scientists, but also with the crew. So, the captain, the drilling superintendent, the drillers, the Filipino crew… Everybody. There were 120 people onboard, between the crew, scientists, technicians… We tried to know each other very well to understand what each was doing. Our technicians were electronic technicians, but the ship had an electric technician, specialized in high voltage. Ours was low voltage, computer-kind of things. So in the case we needed some support, we asked them… We were just exchanging. That was our job… If scientists request something, we have to make that happen.

BMR: So you also had to learn how to build things, some engineering, electric work…

KK: Yes, engineering, electrician, carpenter… If we had to make a box to put samples in, or make a shelf, or whatever… To make living or making science easier, we worked as carpenters, plumbers, electricians… whatever. 

BMR: From which countries did the other technicians come?

KK: The first time I joined the vessel there was a technician from France, his name was Christian Segade[?], and from Germany, her name is [?]. So the three of us were no English speakers. But, somehow, we could communicate with our English. And the US technicians said, “I don’t understand what you are talking about, but somehow you can communicate” (laughs) I’m not sure what they are doing now. I’ve heard Bettina was working at the University of Kiel, on the research vessel [?]. And I’m not sure what Christian is doing… We sailed together for, I guess, three or four years. Then, they left. You know, being an onboard technician is a hard job. At a young age is ok, but when you turn to your late-twenties or thirties, maybe it’s better to be on land. Spending two months without communication (from the mainland) is tough. Nowadays, maybe it’s easier; you can talk through the phone, see each other’s face… So technicians usually change every three to six years. But somehow I liked it and I stayed longer (laughs). 

BMR: Maybe the next time we can talk about that, and about the time you came back to Japan.

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PART 2

Coming soon

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Interview of Kazushi Kuroki by Beatriz Martinez-Rius on 2024 April 27, JAMSTEC, Yokohama, Japan. [link]