Engineering Raise in Grade

Engineering
1

I’m currently employed on an offshore supply vessel and preparing to upgrade my engineer license and would like some help/feedback as to which route is best.

Currently, I hold a DDE 4000 with 3000 ITC and am preparing to upgrade to either DDE UNL or possibly Ch. Eng. Lim Oceans.

What I’d like to know is what are the pros and cons of each? I understand that the Ch. Oceans is a much bigger license but is it really necessary?

How much more material is required to cover/study for the Ch. Oceans compared to that of the DDE UNL.?

Which institution is providing the best and most accurate study materials?

Thanks in advance.

2

[QUOTE=Cajun Guy;126543]I’m currently employed on an offshore supply vessel and preparing to upgrade my engineer license and would like some help/feedback as to which route is best.

Currently, I hold a DDE 4000 with 3000 ITC and am preparing to upgrade to either DDE UNL or possibly Ch. Eng. Lim Oceans.

What I’d like to know is what are the pros and cons of each? I understand that the Ch. Oceans is a much bigger license but is it really necessary?

How much more material is required to cover/study for the Ch. Oceans compared to that of the DDE UNL.?

Which institution is providing the best and most accurate study materials?

Thanks in advance.[/QUOTE]
To indirectly answer your question, I had sea time from my job on a fishing vessel good enough to get the CE limited or any rating lower obviously if I wanted to go that route. I did not want to have to come back and do it again. I tested for the AE license first, and they threw in the DDE unlimited. After a year on that, I took my CE limited and they threw in the OSV 3000 ton ITC/ unlimited HP. I wont have to go back down the road to upgrade to a higher rating through testing, only a simple HP upgrade on the CE limited after a few days sailing on a vessel of higher HP.

Point being, do some digging around on the NMC site, get the highest rating you qualify for and be done with it ( and it looks like the CE limited would come with DDE unlimited and OSV 3000/ UL as well…). The CE limited is 4- 70 question modules. Its not that much material to study considering what the license is worth on the other end. I spent time here and there browsing the material, then spent 3 weeks studying 8 hours a day M-F right up to my test date. Passed all 4 in the first shot. I used all the material from hawsepipe.net plus a few various books I bought just to browse. I think it could be done with hawsepipes software alone.

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Tried to reply earlier, not sure what happened. But to abbreviate my last post, get the biggest license you can possibly get and then you wont have to do it again later. My sea time for the CE limited also qualified me for a OSV 3000t unlimited and DDE unlimited. There is no con to a bigger license. 4-70 question modules and your set. The software from hawsepipe.net was all I need to pass all 4 tests first time through.

4

Thanks everyone for the responses.

5

IMHO, it is always worth while to upgrade to the largest lic you can. If you upgrade to a CE limited oceans you will be able to test for a 2nd unlimited after 1 year, then you are only one test away, and a bit of sea time, from a CE unlimited. You may not use it but it will open other job opportunities.

Good luck

6

[QUOTE=Cajun Guy;126543]I’m currently employed on an offshore supply vessel and preparing to upgrade my engineer license and would like some help/feedback as to which route is best.

Currently, I hold a DDE 4000 with 3000 ITC and am preparing to upgrade to either DDE UNL or possibly Ch. Eng. Lim Oceans.

What I’d like to know is what are the pros and cons of each? I understand that the Ch. Oceans is a much bigger license but is it really necessary?

How much more material is required to cover/study for the Ch. Oceans compared to that of the DDE UNL.?

Which institution is providing the best and most accurate study materials?

Thanks in advance.[/QUOTE]
DDEs can only work on vessels less than 500 GRT. Chief Engineer-Limited can work on vessels up to 1,600 GRT.

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[QUOTE=jdcavo;127295]DDEs can only work on vessels less than 500 GRT. Chief Engineer-Limited can work on vessels up to 1,600 GRT.[/QUOTE]

Doesn’t DDE-Unlimited cover 1600 tons along with oceans while the lesser DDE’s are less than 500 ton and near coastal?

8

Sorry to hijack the thread a bit, but if i get a DDE 4000 can i still work as a QMED/Oiler on larger or international vessels??

I’ve heard horror stories from some guys that get the DDE and then have trouble working as a QMED/Oiler. Thanks

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[QUOTE=Kingrobby;127516]Sorry to hijack the thread a bit, but if i get a DDE 4000 can i still work as a QMED/Oiler on larger or international vessels??

I’ve heard horror stories from some guys that get the DDE and then have trouble working as a QMED/Oiler. Thanks[/QUOTE]

If the QMED/Oiler is on your credential, I fail to see why not. Maybe Mr. Cavo will weigh in.

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[QUOTE=Ctony;127514]Doesn’t DDE-Unlimited cover 1600 tons along with oceans while the lesser DDE’s are less than 500 ton and near coastal?[/QUOTE]

Following is the current regulation. The recent rulemaking changes the wording “not more than” to "less than"and also reflects the chnage in the rule that replaces the Chief Engineer (Limited-Oceans) and Chief Engineer (Limited-Near Coastal) endorsaements with a single endorsement as “Chief Engineer (Limited).”

46 CFR §15.915 Engineer Officer Endorsements.
The following licenses and MMC officer endorsements authorize the holder to serve as noted, within any restrictions on the license or MMC:

(a) A designated duty engineer license or endorsement authorizes service as chief or assistant engineer on vessels of not more than 500 gross tons in the following manner:

(1) A designated duty engineer limited to vessels of not more than 1000 horsepower or 4000 horsepower may serve only on near coastal, Great Lakes, or inland waters;

(2) A designated duty engineer with no horsepower limitations may serve on any waters.

(b) A chief engineer (limited-oceans) license or endorsement authorizes service as chief or assistant engineer on vessels of any gross tons on inland waters and of not more than 1600 gross tons on ocean, near coastal, or Great Lakes waters.

© A chief engineer (limited-near coastal) license or endorsement authorizes service as chief or assistant engineer on vessels of any gross tons on inland waters and of not more than 1600 gross tons on near coastal or Great Lakes waters.

(d) An assistant engineer (limited-oceans) license or endorsement authorizes service on vessels of any gross tons on inland waters and of not more than 1600 gross tons on ocean, near coastal, or Great Lakes waters.

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[QUOTE=Kingrobby;127516]Sorry to hijack the thread a bit, but if i get a DDE 4000 can i still work as a QMED/Oiler on larger or international vessels??

I’ve heard horror stories from some guys that get the DDE and then have trouble working as a QMED/Oiler. Thanks[/QUOTE]

From a regulation perspective, if you hold the QMED endorsement, you can work as a QMED without regard to any license you may also hold. If you don’t have the QMED endorsement, you can’t.

This is from a manning/endorsement perspective. If you’re asking about whether a specific company will hire you or let you work as a QMED, I have no idea.