Zabukovec Janez

Janez Zabukovec (Ljubljana, 29 July 1936 – Izola, 26 January 2021)

Janez Zabukovec was born on 29 July 1936 in Ljubljana. As his mother’s ancestors originated from Trzin, he never felt like a native of Ljubljana. He attended primary school and three years of secondary school in Ljubljana, where he passed his graduation examination in 1949, and then, after moving to Gozd Martuljek, two more years at Jesenice. He received a scholarship from the Municipal Council Kranj to attend the Nautical Technical School in Piran. His schooling lasted till 1955. He studied at the Mechanical Engineering Department.

As the Splošna plovba Piran - SPP (shipping company) was only in the process of getting established that year (it was founded on 24 October 1954), he enrolled, after completing his studies at the Piran Nautical School, at the Military Academy in Pula, Electrical Department, 7th class. However, as he fell ill, he was demobilized after completing his first year. In addition to being commended for being an excellent student, he was also discharged from the army in September 1956 and received a recommendation from its authorities. On the basis of this recommendation, he very quickly obtained the Seafarer Card - matriculation certificate. With this card in his pocket, he got a job at the SPP in October 1956, and together with Commander Leopold Bolet and the entire crew travelled to Antwerp to contract the ship Pohorje. From then on, until his retirement in 1995, Janez Zabukovec stayed at sea for his entire working life. He worked and sailed on board 30 ships of domestic and other foreign ship-owners.

In 1964, he graduated from the Nautical College Piran. He was a ship mechanical engineer by education, and worked as a chief engineer. He was aware of his responsibilities and the fact that as chief engineer "on ship No. 2" he was also its commander. He gained considerable experience at sea. There was a lot of work, a lot of sacrifice. He emphasized: "Every person has his own story!"

He participated in several new constructions. His task was mainly to supervise them, and took part in their handovers. In 1967, he worked at the Uljanik Shipyard in Pula on the construction of the ship Postojna, in 1973 in Ancona - Riva Trigoso on the construction of the ship Kraigher B., and in 1976 in Osaka, Japan, on the construction of three ships of the SPP: Velenje, Kranj and Maribor.

He also tested himself as a pedagogical worker, as he taught at the Secondary Nautical School in Portorož in the 1989/90 school-year.

When he served on the ship Itiel (1978–80), he "really worked hard". He signed the sailing contract for a period of 7 - 9 months. He sailed on this ship for seven months. In those seven months, he spent only 34 hours and 55 minutes on land, which he measured with a stopwatch.

During our conversation in 2020, he was "extremely disappointed with the people, who did not understand the meaning of shipping at all", and even referred to them as "the alpinized brains in Slovenian shipping". He was saddened by the situation surrounding the SPP and considered the events surrounding it to be "the theft of the century". "UDBA gave, UDBA took", he bitterly remarked. In his opinion, 70 years of hard work were destroyed by the attitude towards the shipping company and the nautical school, and concluded: "We lost not only the fleet, but the entire personnel. To raise a complete beginner to become a good and experienced seafarer, it takes at least 15 years".

He spent his entire working life at sea. At home, his family was waiting for him: wife Biserka, who was employed at SPP, and children Sonja and Danijel.

In 2020, he donated his nautical education certificates, the Seafarer Cards, licenses and certificates, and other documents from his seafaring career, as well as a naval cap with a cover and epaulettes to the Piran Maritime Museum.

SOURCES:

Janez Zabukovec, personal conversation, 4 August 2020, 16 August 2020

Museum photo-documentation

Prepared by: Nadja Terčon