IF…WHAT IF OMSA has companies like Cal dive, Oceaneering, Global, Epic divers as members of their “association” while at the same time claiming to be a proponent of the Jone’s Act…might that be construed as a “conflict of interest” in relation to "foreign vessels working the US GoM??
tengineer,
there is a tendency for US companies to to move/reflag their aged vessels overseas…also many have bought/invested in foreign companies…both strategies have negatively impacted employment of the US seaman…look for this to add further pressure to work these company’s vessels in US “domestic” waters and resultantly further diminish the US “domestic” fleet and the jobs that go with them…FYI from a management standpoint it would be desirable to disentangle the rights of seaman from the Jone’s Act…one ceo is quoted as saying “the Jone’s Act is an anchor arround his neck”…for these guys it all about the bottom line and their bonus!
Since it is mainly made up of of supply/crewboat/towing vessel operators, I personally feel that OMSA is concerned with this matter although they’re more interested in the cargo issue as opposed to mariners. In the end however it is really the same problem. Taking away work which the law says belongs to US companies and workers.
Don’t count out OMSA on this personnel matter. I could certainly see that a company like ECO would add a vessel manning company to provide American mariners to these violating vessel owners. They have everything already in place including more than a couple unlimited tonnage mariners.
Lastly, take Global Industries off the list of violators. When they bought the OLYMPIC ORION last year, they took off all the Norwegians and replaced them with US officers and crew just as the law says they should. Bravo on them I say and concerning Veolia Environmental I say F-YOU!
I have not applied to Veolia this time but have a couple of times in the past and got nowhere. Not even any reply. I am well qualified with everything they ask for. I recently upgraded to unlimited chief mate (finally!) but when I applied I already had unlimited second mate, unlimited DPO with over 5 years experience on Kongsberg systems.
As for Global, they do have Americans onboard the Global Orion at the moment but they also have written to the authorities asking for a waiver so that they can get rid of all the Americans from the Captain to the galley crew and replace them with foreigners because they say they can not find any qualified Americans! (how many qualifications does a galley hand need?) So… I wonder how long they will keep the Americans onboard. I think as soon as they show they do not have any applicants, they will get permission to replace the ones they have. They do everything they can do to NOT have any applicants! I have personally tried to contact someone in authority in the personnel department to offer my services many times but could get no one to ever answer a phone call. IMHO, they do not want to find Americans, right now they are using Oceanwide to find thier marine crews.
FYI from a management standpoint it 
would be desirable to disentangle the rights of seaman from the Jone’s Act…one ceo is quoted as saying “the Jone’s Act is an anchor arround his neck”…for these guys it all about the bottom line and their bonus! <!-- / message --> <!-- controls -->
Of course it’s an anchor around the bottom line BUT it’s the mariners that fought for the Jones Act many years ago. The Jones Act was a labor act and secondly a commerce act among other things, the act was a three leg stool. In US waters; US owned, manned and built vessels would only be allowed to operate. Vessel owners have been cherry picking this act for years. Left to them it would be US owned vessels operating in a protected territory but built in the cheapest shipyard in the world [or in US shipyards by imported cheap labor] and manned by the lowest cost labor in the world [Chinese work cheap]. Of course they keep the money.
[quote=JP;12843]I have not applied to Veolia this time but have a couple of times in the past and got nowhere. Not even any reply. I am well qualified with everything they ask for. I recently upgraded to unlimited chief mate (finally!) but when I applied I already had unlimited second mate, unlimited DPO with over 5 years experience on Kongsberg systems.
As for Global, they do have Americans onboard the Global Orion at the moment but they also have written to the authorities asking for a waiver so that they can get rid of all the Americans from the Captain to the galley crew and replace them with foreigners because they say they can not find any qualified Americans! (how many qualifications does a galley hand need?)[/quote]
JP, your experience mirrors my own except that I actually spoke with someone at Veolia (which I thinnk now was a mistake which a receptionist probably got a ripping over). The situation as it now stands is so utterly corrupt and expanding that the effort to turn it around is going to be very, very hard. I for one, have a fighting spirit and I am working this all the time. I have received sympathetic responses from those I’ve spoken with in the Congress and in the industry but no action. Some questions were supposed to be asked of Adm. Thad Allen when he testified before the House Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee two weeks ago but of course they were not asked in the end and another opportunity to get this out into the open was lost.
In any event, I feel that is mariners like yourself with the qualifications write to offices of both the USCG and DoL that issue the manning waivers then if they still issue the letters then the grounds for a suit in Federal Court becomes available but those letters need to be sent in first with return receipts to prove they were delivered. Below are the addresses to send letters to:
Chief, Foreign and Offshore Vessel Division (CG-5432)
U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters
2100 Second Street SW
Washington DC 20593-0001
(202) 372-2275 v.
(202) 372-1917 f.
&
Office of Foreign Labor Certification
Employment and Training Administration
US Department of Labor
200 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20210
phone 202-693-3010
fax 202-693-2768
You can also send faxes but keep the slip that shows delivery and keep it for future use. Let’s all work together to fight this and take back what is ours and the money which should stay in our bank accounts the USA!
Thanks for your support.
[quote=tengineer;12852]FYI from a management standpoint it would be desirable to disentangle the rights of seaman from the Jone’s Act…one ceo is quoted as saying “the Jone’s Act is an anchor arround his neck”…for these guys it all about the bottom line and their bonus! <!-- / message --><!-- controls -->
Of course it’s an anchor around the bottom line BUT it’s the mariners that fought for the Jones Act many years ago. The Jones Act was a labor act and secondly a commerce act among other things, the act was a three leg stool. In US waters; US owned, manned and built vessels would only be allowed to operate. Vessel owners have been cherry picking this act for years. Left to them it would be US owned vessels operating in a protected territory but built in the cheapest shipyard in the world [or in US shipyards by imported cheap labor] and manned by the lowest cost labor in the world [Chinese work cheap]. Of course they keep the money.[/quote]
Go to the bayou and check out ECO’s (or whatever the subsidiary is called) shipyard/dock workers. East European and cheap.
Politics in the bayou. It makes Texas look almost straight by comparison.
Nemo
J Ray McDermott pulled something like this a few months back They had an ad they were looking for people for the Bold Endurance. But I was told that it was just to look like they were looking for qualified Americans, but there was never any intentions of putting Americans onboard.
You know, McDermott was one of the US companies that did the standup thing in the mid 1990’s when they replaced the Brits on the DB50 with American mariners because as I have been told, that the General Counsel for the company told them that was their legal obligation.
IMAGINE…AN AMERICAN CORPORATION CHOOSING TO OBEY THEIR LEGAL OBLIGATIONS!!! IT’S UNHEARD OF!!! HOW CAN THIS BE!!! I’M STILL FLABERGASTED AND SPEACHLESS!!!
It appears thought that they’ve overcome that momentary lapse however and I am sure won’t let that condition happen again!
Anyway that’s what they did except for the boneheaded duchebag putz they made her master who would have been fired soon after except he was on the vessel when they dropped the Petronius module so they had to keep him for a decade afterwards. A guy so roundly disliked and disrespected by all who he worked with that he is now a running joke in the industry…anyone reading this who was there knows exactly to whom I refer. His initials are BS!