No different than with the physical requirements on the 719K when you’re renewing your medical cert. The physical “trials” they put you through are the same whether you’re an OS or Master.
I’m way under the BMI of 40 but still had to do all the tasks on page 8 last time I went to Concentra for renewal.
Ironically, ECO’s pre-hire physical pales in comparison to some other places I’ve worked at. Especially the fitness test. The thing with ECO is, resolved or managed issues in your past raise up red flags that can seriously sideline you before you get on a boat…and that’s the same pitfall regardless of gender.
I went to Concentra for my last renewal. With Covid circulating, they rushed me through pretty quick.
They usually ask “What do you do”? I truthfully tell them that I’m a captain and I don’t do anything except push buttons and paper. If I’d said deckhand they might look closer
I’ve never had any kind of fancy strength and agility test for the USCG.
At big companies I’ve had a physical therapist twist every joint, step test, lift and carry a basket of weights etc. most companies only do 50 lbs, a few do 70, I’ve had one at 100 lbs (I would not try that again now). X-rays.
No physical at most mom and pop companies.
That’s what our military does
There is that, and also consideration for emergency response where you may be asked to do much more physically than what your day-to-day job is. You defintely need to measure that before the fact.
I’d like to take you out on a date. You seem fun.
I doubt that either USCG physicals or company physicals measure the ability to respond to emergencies. It’s mostly about mindset and training. Even if a company physical might measure something, that’s a lot more theoretical than real world.
It’s amazing how people perform superhuman feats with a lot of adrenaline flowing during a real emergency.
In many cases, experience and know how is more important than strength and agility.
A captain responds to an emergency by communicating, making decisions and giving orders. Captans don’t put on SCBAs, actively fight fires, or drag injured crewmen out of burning spaces. Captains don’t jump overboard and swim to rescue a man in the water.
The truth is in many fleets most of the crew is old and/or fat. It’s amazing how many guys are on CPAP machines. Maybe one or two young , strong , healthy, agile guys (but typically without much experience) onboard.
I’m seeing more and more old guys in marginal health coming back from retirement. And we are glad to have their experience and ability.
Absolutely, physicals do not replace or measure the emergency response training aspect - 100% agree. But, that’s not what I said or meant. I said there is consideration for those emergency response duties “physically” outside of what your day-to-day job entials. If you have doubts, read CG-719K. it’s explicitly stated. The general practicioner can only say if you can physically, not if you will practically.
Poor physical fitness leads to poor work performance, no matter how many ‘I just push buttons and do paperwork’ excuses you have.
After a career at sea and at ABS I set up and ran a ship management firm for a few years before moving back to Europe.
Our biggest administrative challenges were crewing followed by purchasing. At least based on how we spent our time. We paid and trained way above scale to our US, European and Asian seafarers and as a result had very low turnover and minimal operational difficulties.
One thing to remember is the gangway goes both ways. If you don’t like your circumstances then quit. Simple but effective. We don’t really owe you a lot except fair treatment, a safe workplace and pay / conditions according to contract.
Now in human affairs there are always many shades of gray so no need for me to stress on specifics of your complaints here - I don’t really care because I’m old and not easily irritated.
But when writing to the office about a job it might be best to:
State name, position and shi
Exchange a pleasant greeting and express an interest in an alternate assignment and new position. This is your chance to upsell yourself and explain your experience and qualifications for the position you are seeking. If there’s an opening we do our best.
All the rest is pure BS and the HR department and managers don’t care about anything else than what I mentioned above. Of course with good employees of long standing and good potential more consideration will be extended. Someone dies at home, a health issue, etc, then for kind people we go out of our way to assist. For those slagging fellow employees ( even if justified) well, it’s human nature to avoid those people or ease them out.
Just sayin’. One gets more bees with honey than vinegar and if it ain’t working out to your satisfaction… the gangway still leads off.
Good luck and I’m sure you’ll think about some of this whence you’re old
Ha! Yea sure it’s easy to be calm clear and concise when you are not the one under the fire of pressure!
Must be nice sitting back in the a/c! No alarms, no equipments failures, no creepy guys harassing you or saying you are going to be fired at every turn when you did nothing wrong! How many pressures should a person have to deal with at once?!
At my age and license - It might be that I’ve been there and / or done that, even under live fire, so to speak. But we all have a unique path.
I myself was very wound up as a young person. Waaay too much. I wasn’t happy and people didn’t like me. I had no idea what others felt or heard or desired. No … I knew exactly what I wanted them to hear and feel. I was blocked.
Age and the searing pain of loss helps with that.
We get along as best we can and if it ain’t working we best move along quietly. Again the gangway works both ways.
You, me or anyone else on this planet aren’t the center of the universe. I unfortunately only figured that out at about age 55 and with a new wife.
I’m sorry you are or were dissatisfied with your situation and thank you for sharing.
But it’s mostly up to you (and all of us) to deal with disappointments with grace, to carry on and improve. The better one does with that - the more success and respect and peace one will have.
Really - I’m not having a go at you - I’m just mentioning how I found it.
No one cries for me - they cannot and I don’t ask them to.
Now when I hear her voice on the wind, see her face in the sun or feel her touch in my dreams … my thoughts wander to what was truly lost and what truly was important … Then I lose the ability to speak and then I go cry where no one sees me.
Give it your best kiddo, take a year off to live and best wishes.
“ Why would I be with a guy on a supply boat if I know I can get a diplomat?”
And they did none of these things!
I almost died trying to get that job so quitting not an option!! My options at the time were work on a yacht and be gone indefinitely with no rotation and crappy money or go an a ship and be stuck out there even longer than a month at a time. I applied at many many places and I was more qualified than a lot of guys I met/knew who had easier times finding jobs. That was my only door into that industry and with the schedule could build my life, save money for a future business and have the -option- !!! to be with some one OUTSIDE of maritime!! Precisely the OPPOSITE of what they were trying to force me to do!!
Why would I want to be with someone from the same fleet where I work when I know I’m in my 20’s, and I am one of the only women! People looking at me all the time trying to get in my business. Even trying to have fun with my friends in a different city close by people telling me they saw me like I had stalkers or something! If I chose to be with someone from that company wouldn’t it be safe to assume that everyone would also be trying to poison it? Why would I want to be with someone that I know anyone from my work has access to talk to??? I jumped through many many hoops to learn and get all the engineering endorsements to be an engineer!! Why would I want to compromise my image as only an engineer when I almost died trying to get that job and absolutely wanted no drama in the way of getting my job that I wanted and I didn’t want people to say anything other than I’m an engineer!
Quitting is not so easy when there are LIMITED options!!! I’m talking about livelihood here! Quit? Sounds easy for someone with more opportunities to say.
They said they didn’t care what I had to say because I wasn’t an engineer and someone that is sexually harrasing me that is over me, their words matter more because they are an engineer and I’m not so they will believe them over me for their “operations”. I thought the problem would be SOLVED once I became and engineer…however NO it wasn’t! They still acted like it was me! My first boat a WIPER named Ian Lazzarry was harassing me and being SUPER hostile! I did NOTHING to provoke it! I tried to approach the proper people on board to try to get him to leave me alone and they told the coordinator -I- was the problem!!! Once again, I did NOTHING wrong! I outranked the wiper so their excuse about rank matters more is BS, they are just sexist!
Easy to say from the a/c and not under the fires of pressure! No alarms or equipment malfunctions or creepy guys hitting on you at the same time being told you will to be fired at every turn when you did nothing wrong! How many pressures should a person have to deal with at once? Was I loosing it? Yes perhaps a little, who wouldn’t? Unless someone were truly in those shoes they would not understand what it is like to be pushed to your breaking point! We are talking about someone’s livelihood if they already chose their career so they have to choose it all the way it has to count for something! Threaten to take someone’s job and to fire them(when they did nothing wrong but say ‘I’m not here for that’) and it means their future dreams will be crushed, their phone bill won’t be paid, they won’t make their car payment and will not have a place to live!! If there are no other options besides going to live in the sea somewhere for an indefinite amount of time!
You don’t know these people. They are not nice polite or reasonable. I had already interacted with most of them on the phone or in person and they are short and hostile. All they say on the phone or in person is they “heard such and and such” even if it someone you never talked to before without even bothering to listen to your side of the story (the truth). They believe lies vehemently without questioning them. It makes me think they are either or naive or have no moral character whatsoever. I had to explain the background because they would not ever give me a chance to explain!
Good employees of long standing…once again easier to be said from the point of view of a man who is not being sexually harassed!
“ For those slagging fellow employees”… are you suggesting this was me? I worked my ass off and I fixed many things!!!
That’s part of growing up. Everyone has their phases but if you are suggesting that was me you are wrong. Before I worked on supply boats I lived overseas and had many friends, I was going out with a US Diplomat, I left him for reason that’s that are my own. I should have stayed actually he was the ONLY person that called me when I was dying in the hospital besides a female friend. That same hospital trip where I passed out three times at Chouest housing, begged someone to take me, but no one would, my phone didn’t work there, I couldn’t call 911 and when someone finally did agree they left me at a gas station! This was my first experience with eco and the people that work there!!!
When I finally did get hired and started hanging around Louisiana I made more friends. When we were in shipyard and staying in trailers they (the guys on the boat) complained that I was not hanging out with them and was leaving to go hang out with my own friends instead…I remember them questioning me and being mad that I had friends there. Guess what that’s my business! Why would I want to hang around work people all the time? Isn’t it nicer to be with the people we’re you can truly be yourself?! They then told me that I was not allowed to leave the trailer after work! And they guys could! Yup just like I was an adolescent! I do not understand how these people think they can get away with these things. Do I have the same social skills now? Probably not…so terrible to harrass and degrade someone and then say it’s their personality and not just that they are being harrassed and that there are evil jealous people in this world and then for people to believe it! Of course I stopped talking of course I became like a zombie and don’t laugh or joke like I used to. Who would be the same after that?
If you are trying to get bees which I wasn’t. How many times should a person have to say they are not there for that? It should only be once. I was very nice actually I just worked and was respectful. After having all that aggression thrown at a person for no reason other than what? I’m not there for that? After awhile people are going to stop being nice.
You are correct. However, I am a female, I am an engineer, I am Hispanic and I am a hawsepiper. I am all of those things and I am the first one. So yes what happens to me matters because I know who I am. Someone who will do those things to me will do them to another person.
Wishing you peace and success in all things.
Good luck.
For the love of god can we end this thread? The voice I’ve assigned to the op is like an ice pick in my ear.
LOL then don’t read it. It’s a free country!
How much vitriol does a person have to spew for a reply to get completely kicked out of the system? You’re not doing yourself any favors by writing posts and editing them once your manic moment passes since all your edits and deletes are visible by all for at least 24 hrs. 
You work at eco so your comments don’t mean anything at all.
You appear to possess the “Book of One Thousand Excuses” and refuse to take responsibility.
_A456B offers you a succinct and courteous olive branch and you proceed to rip his throat out. It would appear that you are the problem.
Any form of harassment and discrimination is inexcusable and requires addressing…….via the correct channels. This is not gender/cultural specific and you are not a special case. Sadly, It occurs in the majority of workplaces.
Take this bullshit elsewhere, harden up and seek correct recourse. You are certainly not helping the process of ridding ourselves of this historical and malignant poison.
