Anyone currently work at Dann Marine Towing or have any recent experience with them? Ive heard they used to be the bottom of the barrel. Just a notch above the unemployment line. Has that changed? Opinions? They are hiring and it seems like decent pay.
There are two Danns. “Tampa Dann” (it might be Dann Ocean Towing) and “Chesapeake Dann”. The story I heard , iirc, is that they are owned by two brothers that hate each other.
In the increasingly distant past, I occasionally worked around Tampa Dann boats and knew a couple guys that worked for them. They had some pretty good boats and captains. Some of the crew looked pretty mangey. Captain pay was typical, crew pay was low. I knew one Captain that had been there for years.
A few years ago, I was tied up for a day alongside one of the “Chesapeake Dann” boats at a shipyard. I was surprised that it was a nice, fairly new, well equipped boat. The Captain appeared to be a good man and he was happy.
As in most things, what little I knew about the Danns, is long out of date. From everything I’ve heard “Tampa Dann” has always had a lot of turnover.
A lot of guys have worked for the Danns. A few of them must be on gcaptain.
Same family but split up some time ago. From my understanding, they came to an agreement to not infringe upon each other’s business. Dann Ocean does all long tow, dredgework etc, and Dann Marine does mostly mid Atlantic inland work. Never know anyone who worked for Marine but I’ve worked with guys that were with Dann Ocean and some of their boats. Most seemed to enjoy working there but not equal time until recently. Dann Ocean’s equipment seems to be a bit older…
I know some guys that worked for dann marine. Their biggest gripe was the 2/1 schedule and no even time. I have heard a handful of horror stories but those are from at least a decade ago, and may have had more to do with crappy crews and not necessarily their shoreside management.
The two Dann’s are cousins a couple generations back from the current owners/operators.
I used to work for Dann Marine in MD. I don’t know if I would call it a step above unemployment, it all depends on what you are comparing it with. For the mid-atlantic, comparing it against Moran or McAllister you would definitely come up short on the pay side but their money was green and their checks never bounced.
They have definitely upgraded their equipment recently. At least half the fleet was total garbage when I worked there. On my boat if I pressed up the No. 1 fuel tanks too much, diesel would literally seep through the floor into the galley. From looking at what is online, it looks like most of the garbage boats have been laid up and they have several newer boats.
I thought I read they went ISM for SubM so having an actual class society as your TPO should theoretically have forced them to raise their game quite a bit.
Some of the stories you will hear are not based in reality. I got along fine with the office and with the Mr. Dann I dealt with. I took the time to understand the office world and adjusted fire accordingly and always had an easy time working with the office. I went to one of the Mr. Danns once with what I thought was a pretty big ask. He said no problem, then laughed and said not to believe all the stories.
Like Ctony said, the 2/1 schedule was my biggest complaint. I have some horror stories that include both the crews and shoreside. I know people who started there as deckhands and are now Captains with them so you can definitely grow there.
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Smithee, what are you hiring on as?
Hey SeaEagle, I haven’t seen an offer yet. Haven’t applied either. I see they are actively recruiting. Trying to get a feel for them. Wondering if they are a waste of time or not. Answer to your question is I would apply for OICNW.
Assume that when you worked on the boat with the leaking either bulkhead or tank top from the fuel tank to the galley you didn’t report it to either Class or the Coast Guard as required by law. Kinda like one of those horror stories you write about.
If you say OICNW to most US tugboat companies they won’t have any idea what you are talking about!
You might as well be speaking Norwegian, ja ja.
By saying OICNW, that gives me the impression that you are not an American citizen holding a USCG issued MMC endorsed as MATE OF TOWING.
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Obviously, he did not report it.
If he had reported it he would have been fired immediately, and blackballed.
There are seldom enforced regulations in the CFRs, and then there is reality.
Boat was not classed so no, I did not report it to class.
Kindly cite a CFR reference under which you think it should have been reported to the Coast Guard “as required by law”.
The situation does not meet any of the definitions in 46 CFR 4.03-1 or 46 CFR 4.03-2.
Tugsailor- Don’t make assumptions. You are wrong. American born and raised. “OICNW” is an intentionally vague phrase. Why would I say exactly what spot I’m attempting to get on an open forum where I am asking about if a company is bottom of the barrel or not?
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Why don’t you ask the CG as a hypothetical situation
tugsailor-Don’t report it. Continue working on boat with real risk of fire and or explosion. Leave the boat under the belief it is not your problem. This is why issues like this continue to exist. It is easier to whine about it anonymously.
You made the statement that it was reportable so why don’t you ask the CG as a hypothetical? I already know the answer because I actually read the CFRs.
Not sure where the risk of fire and explosion is. A minimal amount of fuel was in a place it shouldn’t be but within the confines of the vessel. Said fuel was cleaned up and operational controls put in place to ensure said fuel never again escaped the designated fuel tank in the same manner … problem solved, issue did not continue to exist beyond that one event. No one whined about it ever.
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Once upon a time, long ago, in heavy winter weather on the way back to Seattle from Hawaii, the top of a fuel tank started leaking into the stateroom above it.
Fuel transferred, fuel cleaned up, Splash Zone applied. Crewman moved to a different stateroom. Reported to the office.
Went to the shipyard and had it fixed. No further problems or worries.
@Serpico. How many years did you work at Bouchard?
You must have made hundreds of reports to the USCG?
Did they do any good?
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Diesel will burn along with all the materials around it in a galley. The problem was not solved if the “operational controls solution” was to keep the fuel level down in the tank. A permanent repair would be the only way to solve the problem,
In the event of a catastrophe there would be alot of screaming and finger pointing and operational controls would not be acceptable as a defense. Your health and safety and the same for your crewmates over the risk of being fired. Your choice.
As usual, the thread has wandered. Smithlee, am under the impression you are seeking a wheelhouse position. Based on some of the answers on here should give you an idea. I worked around both Dann outfits way back when. A few of my pals worked there, I did not. What I can say is they have been around a long time and survived the ups and downs over quite a few decades. The newer acquired vessels are much better than the stuff they had in the past. A “Top tier” outfit? No, but certainly NOT bottom of the barrel. You won’t know until you actually apply and get the definitive answers you seek. Good luck sir…
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I agree that a permanent repair such as replacing steel is preferable however absent that, keeping the level in the tank below a certain level also serves the same purpose in that the fuel is kept within the physical boundaries of its respective tank and prevented from entering another space and becoming a potential fire source.