AB looking for Advice on jobs

VI/6
Ab limited-Lifeboatmen
Bt,Sa,Psc,

I will have a load of cash in 3 months. I applied at Harvey Gulf. I saw it had options to tick off

Gmdss
Ecdis
rfpnw
Able Seafarer - Deck
Advance FF

That is about 5k in classes. I do not have any sea time in the last 5 years I work on the oil rig. I know the rfpnw can be done and i would have 1 year to make it permanent Just wondering how much more “desirable” Those would make me. I am not trying to show off I am trying to understand if all or most Deckhands have all that before they start looking for jobs.

I would have to quit my job but it seems like knocking it all out at one time is the best way to do it.

Gmdss and Ecdis are courses for mates and masters who wish to man the bridge of a vessel equipped with ecdis and gmdss.

Advanced firefighting is a course requirement for deck licenses over 200 grt and engine licenses.

Therefore, if you intend to get a license of some sort you will at some point need the above.

An AB is usually required to hold rfpnw and ab seafarer deck if they wish to sail on a vessel over 200 grt…therefore, assuming you hold what is the preamble of your post, you’d be limited to vessels less than 200 grt until you get those endorsements, or you could sail as an OS in the interim possibly?

Some companies want more than the minimum required however.

You don’t need a course for Able Seafarer-Deck, and a course alone isn’t going to get you the endorsement. AS-D requires sea time and assessments, no courses. Any course advertising itself as being for AS-D is just assessments. You can, and probably should do those while working on a vessel.

You would probably be best off keeping your job on the oil rig. Maybe they would send you to some of the courses or maybe you could do some of the assessments onboard.

Of the things you mentioned, a course with some or all the assessments for Able Seafarer - Deck, and an Advanced Fire fighting course are probably the only things you listed that might help you.

If you have seatime and can get 100 ton or any sort of small boat captain license, even if it’s just Launch Tender, that might help you.

A Tankerman course might help. You can only get Tankerman Assistant without tankship or tank barge experience, and 5 loads and 5 discharges, but it might help. If you look hard enough, you can find some opportunity where you can get the loads and discharges.

If you have time and money and are looking for courses; First Aid / CPR / AED, Medical Care Provider, and an EMT course that includes Med-PIC might help you. A crane operator course might help. OSHA 30, PEC and other safety courses might help.

Take any course that your oil rig employer will send you to.

Good luck.

IIRC, and someone please correct me if I’m wrong, but the Coast Guard will re-rate you back to OS of you have not sailed in over 5 years.

Where the **** did you get this nonsense from?

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From an A B Unlimited that let his docs expire and left the industry for over 6 years. Sailed with him on the Patuxent. He was often teased by the Mates and others that sailed
with him in the pass as the most qualified OS at MSC.

It was something he didn’t mine talking about if asked. He was also a hack at night and sextant navigation. He also showed me how to find different star systems, nebulas and Andromeda by follow certain stars from from point to point with the watch binoculars.

We would often steer the ship by the stars…until the 2nd Mate asked him to stop because he would be off at times my 5 to 7 degrees. His kills and knowledge were impressive. But yea…he was an OS.

My god…those times were great. The telescope parties, the clear night skies and lost sleep!

Fond fun memories of a different time.

That’s completely different. If your MMC expires for more than a year it can’t be renewed. It sounds like he “lost” his AB endorsement because he let his MMC (or MMD/z-card) expire for over a year, not because of a lack of sea service. Any endorsement can be renewed without sea service. If he “lost” AB because the MMC expired for more than a year, he could have had it restored by taking the exam for AB again. He also could have preserved the ability to renew by going to “continuity.”

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