[QUOTE=Tugs;184559]Just being curious, what do you class as a Major Repair?
While not really a “Major” Repair, having to swing several Powerpacks (We Carried 4 spares) with the help of a DH (Yes, I have done it) can be done but it’s not much fun. Also on today’s Large ATB’s the Chief is usually responsible for “Repairs” on the Barge. So once again only having ONE Engineer can end up having the CE work well over 12 hours a day.
Having one Engineer on a Harbor boat works out ok but once you start running the coast or further you are pushing your luck![/QUOTE]
I consider an ATB a special class, my manning was aimed towards line haul tugs. I would consider a power pack to be on the low side of major, but I’ve never been on a tug that carried those parts or did that work underway.
If the company gives you those spares and expects you to do those kinds of jobs underway then they should man the boat appropriately.
Nowadays you call a vendor so they have someone to blame when the repair gets fucked up. You can fire and engineer for lost time or damage after an incorrect fix but you can sue a vendor for all kinds of money. I don’t entirely agree with the practice but this is how it more often than not.
[QUOTE=z-drive;184572]Nowadays you call a vendor so they have someone to blame when the repair gets fucked up. You can fire and engineer for lost time or damage after an incorrect fix but you can sue a vendor for all kinds of money. I don’t entirely agree with the practice but this is how it more often than not.[/QUOTE]
That’s all well and good for short runs. 17 of the last 24 years I sailed were notch tank and bulk barges running the Gulf, NE, Caribbean and both sides of South America. Some salvage and dead ship tows. The crew was Capt, 2 mates, Chief and Asst engineer, 2 ABs, OS and a cook(until ‘95)The tugs were 120’ 5K hp with E7Bs with .84 rack. Loaded, the mains were floating on the rack stop. We’d take fire ring clearances and change a mini-pack at .030. We carried 2 each blade and fork packs, We also carried 4 each pistons and liners, more if multiple clearances were rising on a long run. My regular crew was the best I ever sailed with. Everyone chipped in to get the job done. There was out of dept OT also.
Unfortunately EVERY news article has yet to correctly quote my mother or myself. From what I was told, the Captain who started the voyage got OFF the Specialist on her way down river at some point. Only the crew of the Realist and the Trevor can tell us when and why that happened. There were 2 captains on the Realist (the captain who brought the boat up to assist and the captain from the Specialist), when the accident happened, by the way. My father was left short handed on the Specialist. My father, Paul Amon, was the MATE and yes, he died trying to go back for the remaining crew on board. If the captain didn’t get off, a full watch could have been stood. Maybe 2 of the men wouldn’t have been sleeping on a crew of what was now left as 3. The captain left his crew. He also watched the boat in peril and did nothing to help them.
There are so many questions in this, unfortunately I don’t think the Coast Guard is anywhere close to finishing their investigation.
[QUOTE=cmakin;184563
I will agree about the ATBs. I was lucky enough to have a company that listened to me when I was sailing on an ATB and yes, all of the sudden all of that equipment on the barge (generators, crane, cargo pumps, mooring winches, ballast pumps, etc.) became part of my daily routine. We went from a two engineer boat to a three engineer boat. Pretty sure that the current operators are only using two engineers, though.[/QUOTE]
IIRC, Penn Maritime used to Run with a Single Engineer (CE) on all but the old Keystone Rigs. I had an open Job offer there for years as I personally knew quite a few of the Top Guys but the Money was not there plus going back to one Engineer was a step backwards that I did not want to take. Now, if I need to I would have been there in a heartbeat as the new rigs were nice.