The 3 tankersman that live on the barge…
[QUOTE=BargeMonkey;107391]Take this advice, without taking it personal. Alot more will be expected of you, working on 90% of the northern equipment. Ive seen alot of inland tankerman, who cant read a gauge tape, use basic math skills, splice 3-8-12 strand, figure a change in a load on thier own, net/gross, and the list goes on. We had 12 or so guys from blessy 6 years ago come here, we have 1 left i know off. Things are just diff thats all, not hard to pick up, but just a completely diff way of working and environment from what ive seen, having been in the gulf myself the last few years. Im sure the westcoast would be diff for me. If you go to a manned barge, make sure you bring what you will need for a few weeks, rain gear, cold weather gear, things like that. I saw quite a few guys show up, with 2 changes of clothes, no food, and not a nickle in thier pocket, because she needed a warm body. Just a few helpful suggestions.[/QUOTE]
I know this post is a couple months old but I have to chime in here, (or Vent)
All of the above has just happened to me for the last 2 months!
We had a man quit recently and he went to Vane Bros, so we got a replacement tankerman!
and as fate would have it, we got a man that cannot read a gauge tape to save his job!
he cannot do stop gauges at all,
He cannot spell or read or write, so no paperwork which is a requirement.
and to top it all off, he cannot fill in his work/rest hourly sheet either!
he says "the captain does all that for me!"
I worked much overtime showing this guy the ropes and he cannot learn to gauge with a tape, (for over 2 months now!)
this is his last chance this hitch, and after this trip if he can’t gauge he is gone!
for you guys that “load to the drafts” you are in for a world of change, as nothing that you know from the other company means anything here!
and for all you guys that think that I am mean for firing a guy that cannot do his job,
fear not, for he will be your problem soon, and we will see if you deal with it better then I did.
Tony