Time and a half on Research Vessels?

The NOAA ships have commissioned officers payed on a military pay scale. No overtime or pay by the hour. Usually did 4 hrs watch, 4 hrs work, then another 4 hrs of watch for a 12 hr work day.

For the deck officers. Since you’re on a civilian mariner forum I assumed you were a deckhand for NOAA, sorry.

That doesn’t meet the requirements for day-and-a-half sea time credit. In fact, they specifically say in the CFR that that doesn’t count. But as I said, if the sea time letter says it the evaluators rarely question it as they don’t know any better.

I worked for ECO in 1995, my seatime letter said 12 hour days and I received that credit.
This was aboard a Submarine Support Vessel, which is a fancy name for R/V. At the time the ship had 3 ABs and the captain worked 2 in the daytime and 1 at night. And it was work, we were not even allowed in the wheelhouse. No overtime, it’s not in ECOs vocabulary.

Mates did 4 and 8 in the wheelhouse and then 4 hours on deck on their own schedule.

Slightly better conditions that a certain west coast ship where there was a timeclock in the chief mate’s office. You were required to clock out for all your meals and breaks, when you accrued 12 hours you could knock off. I believe that the Department of Labor put a stop to the practice.

I used to work on the T-AGS ships, which are government owned but were run by AMO at the time, and I only got day for day. COI was for 3 mates, 8 hours of watch.

Likewise for a SIU AB on T-AGS ship in my wild youth: 8 hrs on the bridge plus plenty of OT on maintenance but only 8 hrs rated as watch.

I’m an engineer who also works on research ships, including those of NOAA. Many of our ships are dayworking, meaning that the engineers don’t stand a watch but rather share an engineer on call type of duty in a periodic unmanned engine room. For those, I get straight days. It’s actually been rare for me to get 1.5 day credit on those or on the academic ships (UNOLS) I’ve also worked on. Some evaluators allow it because they are unfamiliar with the nuts and bolts of the reg.

There is or was a line using the word “usually” or “as a matter of course” …well, probably not a direct quote but the language meant to infer a 12 hour work day was a common practice on this or that ship. Working on a NOAA ship would of course raise eyebrows… it’s not like it’s a tanker or something.
oh yea, Now I know why they worked 12 hour days at chevron but I was too ignorant to ask for 1.5 days when counting that time. sheesh!! water under the bow.