MSC has been like that for a hell of a long time I quit in disgust in 1997. I was pretty much ready to kill. I knew who I was starting with but didn’t know where it would end. Not a good place to be for a guy with a bad head injury! LOL!
Seems really hard to believe that the licensed officers would put up with any shenanigans like that! I can see discipline not being what it is in the military, but still…
Ships are microcosms of society but not necessarily representative of the best elements.
I agree but it depends on the crew and where they come from. In the early stages of my career I worked with primarily US crew on smaller vessels and they seemed pretty much from the same cloth. Anyone on board that wasn’t from their neighborhood or state were treated politely but not exactly welcomed. Later as I progressed to ships I met folks from all over the world. When we all got together for a meal, whether Ukrainian, Filipino, British or me it was like a meeting of the UN if the UN actually worked. Just working folks, sharing a meal and making a living for our families. It changes your perspective on the world and the people in it.
I really first saw that once I came ashore and starting surveying for ABS. I came across mixed crews and officers on several ships. The Stena VLCCs come to mind, as well as the Chevron tankers crewed out of northern Europe. In fact, for many assignments in my career, I am often the only “American”. I have found the bond of being a mariner, in most cases, stronger than those of nationality.
Absolutely. It’s said that travel opens the mind and the gates of knowledge so I see the experience of working with multi-national work crews as a poor man’s form of travel. It provides benefits for those open to new ideas and different cultural norms.
One of the things that I am most proud my kids doing is their travel. My son, in the Navy Reserve has deployed to several international areas and is better for it. My daughter takes a different route and travels for vacation. She has made trips to Greece, Thailand, Ireland, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Zambezi, Namibia, Rwanda, Kenya, Ecuador and the Galapagos, Uganda, Kenya, Egypt, the UK. . . . I have to think that because they saw me travel so much when they were growing up, it is just the way people live.
How often are you going to discipline if every time you do it is met with EEO complaints or they call the IG to make up accusations which they have to investigate? Chief Mates on ships I was on the last few years were done. Mentally done. If it isnt the crew members fighting, disregarding rules, not working, it is the company sending out someone to audit. I can not believe the amount of people getting a paycheck to do audits with MSC. They all want to fly out when you have a good port and waste your time with ridiculous audits. So glad I retired and being an Engineer was same problems as deck.
The secret was always proper documentation, sticking to the facts, and following the chain of command. A pain in the ass, but very doable. The people who couldn’t properly discipline their folks probably made it personal or emotional or they were lazy. Which was typical.