Sometimes, a childhood dream determines a person’s life path. Growing up on the banks of the Kura River in the Kurgarashli village of Salyan, little Ulfat’s dream was to cross beyond the horizon, see the world, and learn the secrets of the seas. The childhood dreams of Ulfat Azizov, born in 1989, guided him step-by-step to the world’s oceans and to the rank of an ocean-going captain.
Great Horizons Beginning at the Academy
According to sea-news.az after finishing high school in 2007, Ulfat Azizov unhesitatingly submitted his applications solely for the specializations at the Azerbaijan State Maritime Academy (ASMA) and was admitted to the navigation faculty, which he had listed as his first choice. My interviewee recalls his very first day in maritime education with a smile:
“Sometimes people ask me how long I’ve been a seafarer. I tell them since August 2007. My father and I had come to submit my documents to the academy. That day, I went on a tour boat in the Baku Bay and began to consider myself a seafarer.”
Realizing both the romantic and heavy responsible sides of seafaring during his first internship vessel in 2008, the young seafarer set a goal to sail out into the oceans while pursuing his master’s degree in 2012–2013. On his 24th birthday—December 23, 2013—he headed to Turkey and began his first international job as a trainee sailor.
A Lone Azerbaijani in World Ports and a Warm Encounter
Over the years, his professional activity took him to the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Baltic Sea, the coasts of Africa, the Caribbean basin, and Far East ports. While working in foreign waters, the rarity of encountering Azerbaijani seafarers on modern, high-tonnage vessels shaped a new goal in him: to prepare practical study guides so that our compatriots could be better represented in international waters.
Maritime life is remembered not only for watches and storms, but also for unforgettable memories. The captain shares an interesting incident that happened to him at the Port of Tunis:
- Air Conditioner Breakdown: On a scorching summer day, the vessel’s air conditioning system fails. Being the only Azerbaijani in the crew, Ulfat Azizov hears his native Azerbaijani language coming from another nearby vessel while walking at the port.
- Help from a Compatriot: It turns out that the crew of that ship consists of Azerbaijanis. Upon learning about the air conditioning issue during the conversation, a fellow Azerbaijani electrical specialist immediately comes aboard and fixes the malfunction. Ulfat Muallim jokingly says, “Afterwards, I told the crew members that your air conditioner is running thanks to the Azerbaijanis.”
Captaincy and Teaching at Age 30
Rising to the rank of an ocean-going captain at just 30 years old, Ulfat Azizov decided to pass his acquired experience on to the younger generation. Initially printing his lessons on regular paper to hold informal meetings with young people, the captain expanded this activity over time.
In December 2023, together with his seafarer friends, he founded the “Seafarers” Training Center. In 2024, the center received official state registration and expanded its operations as the Azerbaijani Seafarers’ Training and Crew Management Center (ADTHI LLC).
- The Center’s Core Goal: To prepare Azerbaijani seafarers in accordance with world standards, supporting their employment on modern vessels of international companies and helping them represent our country across the oceans.
Currently, Ulfat Azizov continues his activities both by commanding large vessels across the world’s oceans and by serving as the author of five maritime books and a teacher to hundreds of young people. Although his students sail across various seas of the world today, they still turn to their captain—Ulfat Muallim—first whenever they face any technological or navigational difficulty.
