Hey gang, I have been talking to bouchard about going over to them as a tankerman and wanted to know if anybody has any info on them, ie, daily rate, travel whats the equipment like. anything along those lines. I know from reading on here that there are a great many out there that dont really like bouchard, and i am interested in hearing from you as well, but i am trying to remember that like all of us im sure, i have worked for “great” companies that just totally sucked and “crappy” companies that were pretty good.
I havent seen to much info about tankerman/ab work on here, anybody know if there is any hiring going on? i left k-sea (west coast) back in october and was fortunate enough to be able to take a few months of, i found a spot in the gulf working for higman, seems like a good enough company but frankly once you have been doing the big barges it gets stuck in your blood, and i am trying to find my way back out to either coast. have thrown about a zillion resumes out and not to many takers, other than inland companies. so any ideas or leads i would appreciate.
you can post here for me or get me at chgonyer @ gmail.com
yeah i have heard all the bad, to be honest i am working in the gulf and icw at the moment and it feels like spinning my wheels, career wise. I mean i had to explain to the entire crew, captain included, what an os was what an ab was and what a bosun was, come on. I figure bouchard is as good as a parking spot as here, and a little better money so what the hay. plus they seem to be the only ones hiring at the moment.
Is there any way to work on the bunker barges if you work in the engine room. I see they have Tankerman (Engineer) but didn’t know if you can use that endorsement ,it seems like you have to be an officer first before you can get the tankerman (Engineer) & Tankerman (PIC) but not the Tankerman PIC(Barge).
Bouchard does not do ‘bunkering’ like your’e thinking. They move both black and clean oil. It appears to me that they do predominantly black oil though. If memory serves me correctly their smallest barge is around 40k or so. This has changed in the last couple years with them phasing out the single hulls, but in all my travels the 40 is about the smallest I have seen. Bouchard primarily goes after contracts to haul for oil companies, and charters out to ‘oil resalers.’ These are the companies who buy and sell oil as a commodity for investment markets.
I am wondering if the Tankerman (engineer) is a description of engineers who have a PIC endorsement. Tugs now require engineers to have PIC to even take fuel. These are all barges, so PIC barge would be necessary to be a tankerman.
Tankerman-engineer is an endorsement for engineers of tank vessels (46CFR: 13.501). As for PIC barge, take the required course and do the loads and discharges. It’s a good ticket to have but there’s more money to be made in the engine room. Weigh your options.
they sent out an email looking for tankerman yesterday. pay is probably around 300/day plus 45/day cash for travel. Their equipment is nice and most of the barges are 10yo or less. You set up your own travel to and from the vessel, ive been here almost 3 years now and dont have any complaints. They are strict about accidents and spills and such and they will send you home if you mess up but will usually bring you back in a few days depending on the severity of the incident. i would suggest calling them as quickly as possible if you are serious about working here as you well know there are a lot of folks looking around for jobs right now.
Yeah I have been talking to Laurie, she had checked my references called my former employers and all that, she said she is waiting to hear from her boss, its been a few days and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or bad thing. I’ve been checking with her about every 3 days or so, on one hand I don’t want to call so much I wear out a welcome on the other hand the way this industry is going you get a company that is interested in you I don’t think you should sit on your heals and wait either. Any thoughts on that line of thinking?
[QUOTE=chgonyer;33093]Yeah I have been talking to Laurie, she had checked my references called my former employers and all that, she said she is waiting to hear from her boss, its been a few days and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or bad thing. I’ve been checking with her about every 3 days or so, on one hand I don’t want to call so much I wear out a welcome on the other hand the way this industry is going you get a company that is interested in you I don’t think you should sit on your heals and wait either. Any thoughts on that line of thinking?[/QUOTE]
i would call every 3 to 4 days. Like cappy said if you dont they will forget you,her hands are tied without the big boss man approving anything so it might take a week or 2 to get hired but keep calling.
That’s my thought, I figure call around Monday then again Thursday or Friday. I am quite sure she has her hands tied but its so damn frustrating when they call you, ya know. Thanks for the support guys
The pay was given as ‘probably around’ 300 a day, plus 45 a day travel. How this works at Bouchard is, you ‘negotiate’ your daily rate. They will try to low ball you. (Similar to Hornbeck) You only get what you ask for.
The statement : ‘probably around’ is what is referred to as what different people negotiate. The 45 dollars a day travel is just that, for you to get from home to work. They don’t pay ANYTHING else. If you have to meet the boat at port everglades, you have to fly there, take a taxi to the boat, and if the boat is anchored out you have to hire (and pay) the launch. This is one of the problems of the Bouchard travel plan. They pay well, but you’re left on your own to get to and from.
Well hell, that’s different. So you have to negotiate your daily wage? Gotta think about this one, I’m just dumb enough to low ball myself! You figure 325 or so is a fair spot to start? Any opinions?
[QUOTE=chgonyer;33251]Well hell, that’s different. So you have to negotiate your daily wage? Gotta think about this one, I’m just dumb enough to low ball myself! You figure 325 or so is a fair spot to start? Any opinions?[/QUOTE]
Ask for $400, make them come to you…then meet near the middle.
Sorry it took me a while to get back. Yes i work at bouchard. Its not a bad place to be,but i dont have to deal with anyone in the office. i wish they would give us a raise. os deckhands at reinhauer are making more than ab d/h here. we get 243/day plus travel they get i think 269/day. thats a little hard to swallow. as far as the pay for tankerman at bouchard i couldnt tell you with any certainty what it is. i havent worked on the barges in a long time. but the only negotiable salary around here are captains on the boats. you might be able to negotiate as a tankerman but i would seriously doubt it right now considering the amount of people looking for a job right now.
i appreciate every ones info and advice, they called me friday, ofcourse i got the message after they were closed for the day. i am going to call them first thing monday morning and will put the results on here so others will know what they are offering ab tankerman
There is no negotiations here at bouchard!
They will pay you what they pay you, and thats all they will pay you!
Traveling to the boat is paid for by you and so is making any travel arrangements!
The starting pay for tankerman “mates” is $300 a day plus $45 dollars a day pier diem!
The smallest vessel at Bouchard is 35,000 bbls the largest vessel is 250,000 bbls!
all the vessels are 100% double hulled, "The leader in doublehulls with more to come"
if you do get hired here, a word of advice, do not involve yourself with the rumor mill and keep
a very low profile. & try to keep busy at all times and keep the boat freshly painted at all times,
When you first start at Bouchard be prepared to work on many vessels at first, do not complain about it to management! because you wont be back working anywhere anytime soon!
In parting I will give you a quote from “Morty Bouchard” when asked at a Captains meeting of why he fired so many people he said “It doesn’t pay very well to be a f%$& up at Bouchard”
