Sunmar (a Norwegian group, Hans something ???) bought the SUNMAR SEA at a Marshall’s Sale in Savannah where she had been seized for running drugs… Sunmar planned to sail her to Korea for a new forebody, but they ran into financial trouble and had to leave her in Savannah for a year. A couple years later they got their act together and Sunmar had her working in the Aleutians, but Sunmar didn’t last all that long.
I do indeed! A massive wooden WWII Navy salvage vessel with Cooper Bessemers but she was DC electric drive…ugh! I wonder what happened to her after she was sold by the Port of Dutch Harbor back in 90’s? Gotta be long gone by now?
I started my career on all these old warhorses up in Alaska in the early 80’s. What a time that was!
btw, the Hans you are thinking of is Hans Mauritzen.
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[QUOTE=tugsailor;100964]Sunmar (a Norwegian group, Hans something ???) bought the SUNMAR SEA at a Marshall’s Sale in Savannah where she had been seized for running drugs… Sunmar planned to sail her to Korea for a new forebody, but they ran into financial trouble and had to leave her in Savannah for a year. A couple years later they got their act together and Sunmar had her working in the Aleutians, but Sunmar didn’t last all that long.[/QUOTE]
At that time the outfit Western Pioneer was operating some vessels on that run, the Sculpin, Dolphin, can’t think of the others. A fair number of the captains mates and engineers were from the fisheries side, off the processors and so forth. Sunmar came in with a deep-sea approach but with not much local knowledge. I think the Sea T-boned another ship and they sank killing, I think the chief?
My impression was they thought they were a notch above the rest of us. We all enjoyed a little (or more then a little) schadenfreude when they broke down and we had to tow them.
The outfit I worked for had the Marine express then the Snowbird and later the Sea Producer. The Sea Producer lost about $1 million in cargo. It was a big lawsuit with Trident Seafoods.
EDIT: I came across the other day,post about first trip as master on the Sky.
I worked on the Western Pioneer in 1984. Denton Sherry owned the operation, what a lunk head… It was my first job at sea…
[QUOTE=rjbpilot;100976]I worked on the Western Pioneer in 1984. Denton Sherry owned the operation, what a lunk head… It was my first job at sea…[/QUOTE]
Don’t know him personally but does the name Mitchell ring a bell?
The Master at the time was a huge Hawaiian guy named Bill Kukahiko. Quite an experience. I got on the vessel in Naknek and stayed aboard the summer until we got to Seattle.
Caplin, bluefin, yellowfin, marlin, a lot of puget sound pilots came out of western pioneer. There is a neat book out on the history of aleutian shipping called Aleutian Freighter on amazon.
[QUOTE=rjbpilot;100976]I worked on the Western Pioneer in 1984. Denton Sherry owned the operation, what a lunk head… It was my first job at sea…[/QUOTE]
I think that was Dewey Soriano you’re thinking of. Quite a little mafia those guys had going there until they got busted!
add to that DOLPHIN, SCULPIN, REDFIN, SALLY J, ALEUT PACKER,
The old YO’s were miserable vessels. They’d take them across the Goddamned Gulf of Alaska in the middle of winter and get the crapped kicked out of their guts. Those vessels were designed by the Navy to work in harbors only and here they were going to the miserable Bering Sea all year round.
Imagine this photo in 40’ seas…YEACH!
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[QUOTE=c.captain;100986]add to that SCULPIN, REDFIN, SALLY J, ALEUT PACKER,
The old YO’s were miserable vessels. They’d take them across the Goddamned Gulf of Alaska in the middle of winter and get the crapped kicked out of their guts. Those vessels were designed by the Navy to work in harbors only and here they were going to the miserable Bering Sea all year round.
Imagine this photo in 40’ seas…YEACH![/QUOTE]
Ah, come on, don’tcha kind of miss it?
[QUOTE=Steamer;100990]Ah, come on, don’tcha kind of miss it?[/QUOTE]
Damn your eyes for seeing through me like that…of course I miss it! Any true mariner would miss working Alaska. That’s real sailor’s country. Not the fucking miserable flat shallow muddy ugly GoM with its bloody Port Flushoon.
What I don’t miss are the unseaworthy piece of shit vessels with no structural fireprotection or watertight subdivision. I also don’t miss the long hours or the miserable weather.
and yes, I used to run the GALAXY but years before she ended up burning…I got extremely lucky that it didn’t happen to me!
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If I recall correctly, Max Soriano and his son (can’t think of the name – Steve, maybe?) ran Western Pioneer. Max got Congress to pass the Aleutian Trade Act that allowed vessels like the WESTERN PIONEER and SNOWBIRD, to carry freight for the fishing industry without USCG inspection. Dewey Soriano was the Puget Sound pilot. Chuck Soriano ran the Seward pilot boat. Max also started Seattle Ship Supply and Alaska Ship Supply. Eventually, the stores became part of Delta Western and the boats were sold. Didn’t they have a stake in the Seattle Mariners too? Last I heard, Max was still at home in Seattle, but had become feable minded.
Glad to get so many responses, any ideas what one is to expect schedule time for work etc. Like how many days in a row, is it the kind of outfit where I can work as many days as I want. I’m looking to work a lot, as much as humanly possible, good or bad work I got a bigger goal which is experience at sea, sea time, and something for my resume. I could def. do the 185 a day they offer for entry level, that would cover my bills nicely as long as they are feeding me and I’m working a lot.
Oh also, since they seem to be looking for entry level employees, any other companies I should start contacting/looking into. The idea of working on a freighter seemed completely out of my chance since they all seemed to be foreign flagged (just from looking around, I work in NY harbor and go down towards staten island and that area all the time). I’d love to get some entry level experience working long transits on a big ship.
[QUOTE=tank3355;101041]Glad to get so many responses, any ideas what one is to expect schedule time for work etc. Like how many days in a row, is it the kind of outfit where I can work as many days as I want. I’m looking to work a lot, as much as humanly possible, good or bad work I got a bigger goal which is experience at sea, sea time, and something for my resume. I could def. do the 185 a day they offer for entry level, that would cover my bills nicely as long as they are feeding me and I’m working a lot.[/QUOTE]
It’s been a long time since I worked there but the schedule was by the trip. Most trips were 25 days to 30 days or so then a few days home without pay then another trip .Longest trip I made was 3 months. Crew got paid by the day. Work days were minimum 12 hrs max of 24 hrs. I don’t really recall that I was ever too flush with money, I have no idea what Coastal does.
The question I see is do you want to get a job going to Alaska on a ship or not? . If you’re gong to futz around and fret about the schedule and so forth it’s probably not for you. You either jump in and do it or stay home. Unless things have changed it’s not the kind of job where you inquire about the 401k plan.
From the Coastal website:
nformation on Seagoing Jobs
Our freighters range from 176’ to 240’ long. We deliver cargo from our terminal in Seattle to towns in Western Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, like Sandpoint, Chignik, King Cove, Cold Bay, False Pass, and Dutch Harbor.
Each vessel has a captain, chief engineer, mate, A.B., deckhand, and cook. The A.B. needs a Z-card from the Coast Guard. Deckhands, wipers, and cooks do not need Z-cards.
A.B.s, deckhands, and wipers all load cargo on and off the boats, act as lookout, and perform maintenance work such as painting and splicing rope. Wipers tend to work more in the engine room when the boat is traveling, but they work cargo as much as anyone else. Cooks do not work cargo. You must have cooking experience at sea to be a cook on our boats. For the A.B., deckhand, and wiper each work day is at least 12 hours long.
The work is rough. Most of our cargo is associated with commercial fishing, and the work is sometimes just as hard. The hardest part is lifting and stacking frozen boxes of fish that weigh from 50 to 100 lbs. This type of work lasts about a third of the trip.
These are full time jobs. You usually work three trips and then take a trip off. A trip is usually 20 to 30 days long. Between trips the crew generally gets 1 to 7 days off.
Our pay scale beginning 12/1/2011:
Position Starting Top
Able-Bodied Seaman $250/day $275/day
QMED/OILER $250/day $275/day
Wiper $185/day $200/day
Deckhand $185/day $200/day
Cook $185/day $200/day
After a trial period employees are eligible for medical /dental plan and a 401k retirement plan. Applicants must pass a pre-employment drug screening and physical examination. Our operation is drug and alcohol free.
How to Apply
Call 206-216-4066 or write to: Port Captain, 4025 13th Ave. W., Seattle WA 98119, to receive an application. You can mail it back or leave it at our office. We’re located on the east side of the south end of the Ballard Bridge-- right next to Fisherman’s Terminal, but on the east side of the bridge.
If you are selected for employment you will be notified. If you have already applied, but wish to let the hiring staff know you are still interested, call 206-216-4064.
JUST GO FOR IT.
Don’t forget the Aleutian Developer…
My father was a Sea Land Rep in Dutch during the 80’s, I have seen these boats all my life.
My friends dad ran the Viceroy back then, can’t remember his name, he had a dog named Baridi, haha
Best thing about growing up in DH was going down to the crabbers and asking for a tour of the boat, once on board the boat we would load up on pop and candy, a couple of king crab if we were lucky…
Fast forward to the early 90’s I was on the crabbers giving out candy to the kids asking for tours,
[QUOTE=Alaska Rain;101077]Don’t forget the Aleutian Developer…
My father was a Sea Land Rep in Dutch during the 80’s, I have seen these boats all my life.
My friends dad ran the Viceroy back then, can’t remember his name, he had a dog named Baridi, haha
Best thing about growing up in DH was going down to the crabbers and asking for a tour of the boat, once on board the boat we would load up on pop and candy, a couple of king crab if we were lucky…
Fast forward to the early 90’s I was on the crabbers giving out candy to the kids asking for tours,[/QUOTE]
The other one is the Northstar. I don’ t remember seeing it but I know it was a regular in Alaskan waters.
[QUOTE=Alaska Rain;101077]Don’t forget the Aleutian Developer…,[/QUOTE]
ALEUTIAN DEVELOPER was a proper small merchant ship with a COI and a union crew. All the fish freighters we write of here are uninspected and run more akin to a tug than a real cargo vessel.
Who remembers the ALASKA STANDARD that Chevron used to run up there about the same time?
[QUOTE=Kennebec Captain;101078]The other one is the Northstar. I don’ t remember seeing it but I know it was a regular in Alaskan waters.[/QUOTE]
Northland Services also used to have the SEA TRADER but now it is Trident’s big freighter
I believe she is inspected though…can anybody confirm this?