We are MMP, yes. And I don’t think the tankermen make so much they don’t need to know. I think it has more to do with being uninformed.
Does anyone have Fairwater’s pay scale for ATBs? That would be much appreciated as well as any other information relating to Fairwater’s (formerly crowley) compensation.
Here is my contribution
Hornbeck offshore:
Third mate 600
Third mate with DP 650
Second mate 760
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Thanks for the info. This may seem like an odd question, but: I take it you need an unlimited license to work there, correct?
Also, do you know how much ABs make there?
I think most of the Hornbeck vessels only require a OSV license which tops out at 10,000 tons. A few of their vessels are unlimited.
Many of the Bayou companies seem to prefer to hire recent academy grads with unlimited licenses.
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That is less than I was making there in 2012-2014.
Do you mean at Hornbeck?
Yup…2/M SDPO
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Dryfly do you happen to have the HOS payscale or rates from when you were there? Just would like to have those numbers so I can compare/contrast the past from the present. Would appreciate any insight.
The fact that Hornbeck, other OSV companies, and the drillships can hire 3rd Mates at the same 2012-2014 day rate of $600, which is worth a lot less today than it was in 2012, is strong evidence that there is no shortage of 3rd Mates.
To the contrary, it’s a strong indication that we have a big surplus of desperate 3rd Mates that cannot get on container ships and have to work for peanuts down in the bayou.
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Counter argument is that there are a bunch that aren’t interested in the longer hitches at most blue water companies and MSC. (Work/life balance has been found to be a top concern for Gen Z). I have been seeing a slow drip turn into a trickle of mates and engineers quitting at Chouest in the last year as the financial disparity grows too large to ignore though.
I’d also argue that there are increasing numbers of mariners that don’t live close to MEBA and MMP halls that don’t want the hassle of flying into a hall and shelling out cash for a car and hotel for grabbing jobs off the board (moot point for AMO).
The unions are also a “celestial mystery” to a lot of fresh grads too. I was an applicant at AMO fresh out of school, simply because the Houston MMP dispatcher was an epic bitch to me when I went in to the hall to find out about joining.
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The way that the maritime unions do things certainly sucks. Instead of welcoming new members and helping them get started, they drive them away.
I have never understood why anyone would want to spend weeks of their time and thousands of dollars staying in a fleabag hotel in some dangerous shithole neighborhood in some distant city, and hanging out with a bunch of drunken assholes at shithole bars near the union hall while begging for a job.
That really reduces the effective net day rate $$$ to far below typical non union pay.
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ATB Pay Scale For AB Tankerman, Cooks. and Engineers (Union) Effective April 1st 2026
Chief Engineer: $990.56
Assistant Engineer: $827.56
AB Tankerman $704.67
Cook: $499.26
Cook w/ AB: $548.89
There is a pension plan all members are enrolled in and an optional 401k. All transportation between vessels and your home airport is covered by the employer as well as travel pay.
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Not all unions or union halls are like that. Some are better than others. Then again, maybe the answer is, if it was easy everybody would do it.
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This seems pretty good.
The Masters and Mates are not included?
What company and union?
That mirrors my experience while in school for my QMED when I visited SIU way back in the day. Had a totally disinterested guy behind the counter acting like I was wasting his time when I spoke to him. Also, had a member tell me I was taking up space a member could be using while waiting in line to talk to someone.
This is at Crowley, Fairwater contract is similar to this. Union is IBU, deck officers are MMP but not sure of there wages off the top of my head. I’ll see what I can find out
I should clarify this is similar to the IBU and MMP ATB Fairwater contracts. Some of the Fairwater boats are different unions and I have no idea what those pay scales are
I’ll give you the fleabag room, and the dangerous neighborhood, but I’ve never encountered a drunken asshole in any M.M.&P. hall.
I’m sorry, I should clarify: drunken assholes after the hall closed for the day in the bars near the union hall and near or in the fleabag hotels.
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I have spent a few afternoons digging around…nothing firm beyond what I was making. HOS was very tight in pay info-they would review your proposed pay scale during onboarding (tallying up the “extras”; pilotage, degree, upper level license, DP cert, etc) write down your rate, show it to you, then quickly tuck away the sheet “for your file”.
I talked with a friend in another boat and we were comparing $, that got back to the office and we were told not to do that anymore. One of many reasons I left in ‘14.