I see what you’re saying and it makes sense. Emails don’t always convey the character of the person sending them. Will have to see where I can start knocking on doors once I’m home on leave. Thanks!
I didn’t read all your comments. But remove the phrase temporary. Nobody wants temp help on commercial vessels.
Too much is entailed: Pre employment drug test, physical, background check etc etc etc. They’re not going to pay for that for a temp worker.
You are getting the: Yeah, sure, call back in a week (month, year). They are just being polite.
AND… IN the off chance you do find someone to hire you without doing those things your alarm bells should be clanging.
Also, your seatime of previous vessels is valid here to take the uscg exams (again) Don’t forget to keep all those records, and add to it the time you make here to upgrade.
Best of luck.
Hey Cappy_208!
Thanks for the feedback, always appreciate someone taking the time to read through my posts and give me an honest answer.
I hear what you’re saying about looking for “Temp” work, but I’m just trying to be honest with them up front and not sign on a dotted line and then hinder my chances by only doing a trip with them. Is there another way I could word it and basically mean the same?
Funnily enough, I talked to someone today about what I’d been told about Sea Service under the US flag as being beneficial to my applications and they said it was a load of nonsense as well. Seems as though I’ve been misinformed somewhere along the way. I’ve been very careful about recording my current Sea Service and have it all laid out in my Discharge Books, so I should be good to go.
Still though, I’d like to pick up some work during my leave periods, so do you have any advice on achieving this? Or is this pretty much beating a dead horse?
Thanks for your time and reply.
Cheers!
IIRC, @tugsailor does frequent trip work but the only people I’ve ever heard of that do it already have experience.
And here’s the crux of the matter. How can I get experience that would show I’d be a good hire for Relief Chief or Trip Work or Delivery Work?
I have plenty of experience but not on tugs or under the US Flag.
How much time off? That would make a difference as well.
Theres one that may be of value: Dominique Smith/ Tradewinds towing. does coastwise, Caribbean work.
And I didn’t word that previous post correctly. ALL your seatime is valid here, even on foreign bottoms. When you apply, use it ALL. Let the uscg sort it out.
How have you made out getting a TWIC and MMC? with QMED?
Morning Cappy_208,
My current rotation is three months on/three months off, so other than the odd training sessions I have to go on, I pretty much have 3 months at home. Got talking with a recruiter and they were mentioning anything from a week or two relief work to a 30 days cover. But that shouldn’t be a problem.
Have my TWIC and QMED Any Rating MMC. Medicals sorted but no STCW because the USCG won’t recognize my Dutch STCW certification. Or my British for that matter. So thing I’m looking into there is that when I come to renew and hopefully that will be around the time of being able to go for Citizenship, that I renew in the US as it would cover all bases.
When I applied for QMED, I used my Foreign sea time without issue. Which is where it gets a little strange for me as I was told when going for my Engineer’s Licenses, that it would be looked on more favorably if I had US sea time. Same folk were all in one particular union though, so might have been a way of trying to sway me across to them? I don’t know.
I’ve heard a few times about folks doing trip work, but don’t want to be that a$$hole and contact them directly to see how they’re going about it. And besides which, it sounds like most of the time they have their foot in the door in order to get that trip work…
So it’s been a wee while since I’ve posted on here, mainly because of the work going on at the house, but I’ve been trying to find a temp gig during my leave this time and have hit nothing but dead ends. Everyone I’ve spoken to, either via phone or email, is telling me that they’re not taking on QMEDs for their vessels.
So, question I’ve got is this. Am I chasing after something unobtainable with trying to find temp work using a QMED Any Rating credential? This may sound selfish, but with the way things are going with the house and everything else, I could do with an income boost and I’m certainly not one to shy away from hard work to get it. Would just like to put my sea time and experience to good use and get something I can pick up inbetween regular contracts.
If you think this is a daft pipe dream, I’d rather hear it than keep trying to find something that’s not going to happen. I’m aiming this more towards the “grey beards” of the group as I’m sure you’ll tell it how it is and tell me if I’m being daft or no.
As always, any and all advice or criticism welcomed.
This isn’t the easiest time to be looking for work, even part time work. Way more qualified people out there than jobs. There’s also the stcw conundrum, and typically hiring slows down during the holiday season.
I saw some OSV companies in the gulf need qmeds, but those require the stcw endorsements and it may be harder to get someone to hire you on a part time basis as opposed to full time.
I wouldn’t go so far to say its a pipe dream. There are just a lot of different factors to consider. In a perfect world you could pick up some part time day work near the closest port to where you live, but if you aren’t near a vibrant workboat enviroment, how likely is that?
Hey Ctony,
I figured the hiring would slow during the holiday season, but to nothing? Didn’t figure it would be that bad.
One thing I’ve definitely got working against me is the STCW certification requirements for the offshore sectors. USCG won’t recognize my current certs and finding the time and money to get my USCG recognized ones is a hassle. PLUS don’t know if the Dutch flag will recognize them and so run the risk of having to maintain two sets of STCW certs.
I agree in that I don’t live right next to a port, but I’ve been looking at the ports that are closest to me (Tampa, FLL, Port Canaveral etc) and hoping to see something pop up there but so far no luck. Definitely am going to look more into temp yacht work using my UK license if possible, but US based might present an issue.
Thanks for the feedback and hoping to hear something positive soon!!!
1 Like
I dont have positive things to say, its tight out there right now, alot of extra guys around. Not impossible but your right up there unless you had a really good in with someone.
Fair enough. Will keep at it and see if I can get something moving…
Resolve is always looking for people. The Indian managers at Resolve might prefer to hire a recent immigrant with foreign flag experience. The wages are low.
Beyel Brothers is a Florida tug and barge company that has been advertising for help.
Dann Ocean Towing from Tampa is always looking for people, including Deckineers.
Smith Maritime, that is, Latham Smith, of Green Cove Springs, Florida is always looking for people. (Dominique and Rachael Smith of Tradewinds Towing are his kids).
There are lots of little mom and pop tugboat and marine construction companies around the US that employ Deckineers. Many of them do not require any credentials at all. No MMC, no Twic, no drivers license, no nothing. These companies are always bidding on jobs. When they win bids they have to crew up in a hurry, but when projects are completed they lay-off in a heartbeat.
No tug that in aware of employs QMEDs. You should be asking for work as (unlicensed) chief engineer.
Missed that. I deleted my comment.
Hey Tugsailor,
So I’ve been in touch with Resolve and they’ve told me they’re not hiring with QMED credentials. Quoted the requirements for Sub M as a reason.
Beyel Brothers is one I’ve not come across so far so I’ll give them a try.
Dann Ocean Towing I’ve been in touch with and was trying to get back with the Senior Port Engineer to see what we could work out but due to family issues on his side I’ve not been able to speak with him again.
I’m after the mom and pop outfits that dont always require Engineering Licenses but so far no luck!
That’s what I’ve been asking for when I’ve been talking to them but when asked to fill out an online form there’s no option for unlicensed Chief Engineer.
Trying to get to speak to someone in HR or a hiring position with some of these companies is close to impossible it seems!
Nae stress. Just glad for the input to be honest!
I would try MSRC too. They have a boat in Miami and a few scattered around the gulf states. Most of their boats are 40 hr a week boats, and their full time crews get vacation time therefore they need part time people occasionally to fill the gaps. Most of their boats require a minimum qmed as assistant.