As of 1030, 15 May 2015 Signet Maritime will acquire all of the Harvey Gulf Tugboats. I has been said that Signet Maritime will sell one of the oldest tugs. As it was told Signet Maritime offshore towing division will have 10 tugboats in it. 2 of which are new build tractor tugs. So far it seems like a good deal for the tugboaters. Signet has promised…
Paid Training
Paid Travel
Paid Medical and Dental Insurance. something about paid disability? and Life Insurance.
A 7% of salary into 401k if employee contributes minimum of 2% (that’s the way it was said)
Nifty kaki uniforms (Schneider’s Navy) cleaned by company.
Same wages as Harvey Gulf was paying (no word on any raises).
This may be the company to watch out for. Then again I never thought my wife would get fat either.
From what I’ve heard from guys who work there, Signet is a great little company, if a little quirky. Look for them to get a lot busier in the escort/harbor tug business in South Texas once the Panama Canal project is complete.
There harbor guys make crap $$ & work 2-1. Screw that
Signet reportedly only pays ABs $192 for inland work and $250 for offshore.
[QUOTE=txh2oman;137225]From what I’ve heard from guys who work there, Signet is a great little company, if a little quirky. Look for them to get a lot busier in the escort/harbor tug business in South Texas once the Panama Canal project is complete.[/QUOTE]
What is Signet doing at the Panama Canal? I have not noticed their tugs in Panama ---- maybe I was not in the right place at the right time.
[QUOTE=Mullet Farm;137246]Signet reportedly only pays ABs $192 for inland work and $250 for offshore.[/QUOTE]
Considering that there are a lot of tug captains in the US making less than $500, $250 sounds typical for a non union AB. Don’t think that the silly AB wages that Harvey, Hornbeck, Candies, and Chouest pay is common everywhere else. Its much lower in most places.
From what I hear, the smaller Gulf inshore tugs pay captains around $400, and the bigger offshore tugs pay $650. The Crowley Ocean Class tugs (with the SIU union wages) are paying about that for a captain, if he also has full DP. Without DP, the Ocean Class tugs pay a captain less than $600.
[QUOTE=Tugted;137228]There harbor guys make crap $$ & work 2-1. Screw that[/QUOTE]
Most of the harbor guys work days and then go home. And the pay is not bad. The pay for rotation is lower than some other companies to try and encourage them to move here.
sometimes it works out better to ship out for a month on month off. Depending where you live…commuting to the boat everyday is less than good.
Seattle co advertising for mate on NC towing at $$550 per day. I have worked for them…they pay hourly and have a screwed up accounting system.
I pulled cement barge from Seattle into Canada…and south to Portland…got a letter of seatime…8 hr days.
funny that…we always sailed with 4 man crew.
[QUOTE=wavesailor;137261]sometimes it works out better to ship out for a month on month off. Depending where you live…commuting to the boat everyday is less than good.
Seattle co advertising for mate on NC towing at $$550 per day. I have worked for them…they pay hourly and have a screwed up accounting system.
I pulled cement barge from Seattle into Canada…and south to Portland…got a letter of seatime…8 hr days.
funny that…we always sailed with 4 man crew.[/QUOTE]
That Seattle company also tows to Hawaii and back with a with a four man crew, using a boat that the previous owner crewed with 7 guys. With only four guys, they can certainly afford to pay average PNW wages.
That is the kind of thing that has me looking forward to the new regs that will require USCG inspected tugs with a COI that specifies how many crew must be carried.
Look at boats need I say more…scary
[QUOTE=tugsailor;137263]
That is the kind of thing that has me looking forward to the new regs that will require USCG inspected tugs with a COI that specifies how many crew must be carried.[/QUOTE]
I agree but I think its still several more years before Subchapter M will be enforced if ever. I know in South Louisiana the USCG is telling many of the tugs that they don’t have time to re-inspect their vessels because of all of the new builds and shortages in manpower. There are a ton of tug boats that need to be taken out of service or have major shipyard periods. Until the owners are forced to do this they will continue operating for cheap rates and hurting the inland tug boat market.
I have a feeling that the USCG may allow “self-inspection” of tugs guided by the new regs for quite some time in the Gulf before the USCG starts doing the inspections themselves. As I recall, at one time they had a self-inspection program for barges because they lacked manpower to inspect all the barges.
In some areas of the country the USCG is not so busy, and USCG tug inspections may be implemented sooner. I at least hope that minimum manning standards are implemented fairly soon. It could be that they start inspection with tugs that are towing oil and chemical barges.
I have mixed feelings about tug inspections. There are a lot of affordable, serviceable, and venerable old tugs out there that are still seaworthy enough for small hands-on companies to use in certain trades (like gravel) on limited routes (lakes, bays and sounds), but that would never pass USCG inspection. I’d hate to see these boats scraped. I do not want to see all the small family companies (that are too small to raise capital on Wall Street) forced out of business.
The biggest USCG inspection problem is the constant rotation of very young and inexperienced kids in and out of the inspection division. I have heard that the typical tour of inspection duty is only two years. It appears that the USCG no longer has a cadre of experienced career inspectors.
tugsailor, so you know of that group. Needed some $$$ so I ran a tug for them for a couple of months…yrs back…
rshrew, out of the 4 boats they had at that time…I refused to step onto 3 of them. When there was talk of any kind of inspection…they tried to get the boats off the dock.
Not good…the owner must be taking all the $$ home…no maintenance to speak of. I hope the newer guys that don’t savy…stick to the inspected vessels that are well maintained. Too much can happen too fast when you’re towing and without experience things go down hill fast. Better to be without work and safe.
There are some good older tugs and I agree, some that are near their end…seemingly…yet they are fine to operate and feel good underfoot. For the new fast paced work…of course the newer rigs get the job done. I do have fond memories of “Neptune” long time Crowley boat, ended up with Dahl. The old Fairbanks air direct reverse towing doubles into Victor 6 (Pearl Harbor) with no assist. Slow and easy.
[QUOTE=tugsailor;137288]
The biggest USCG inspection problem is the constant rotation of very young and inexperienced kids in and out of the inspection division. I have heard that the typical tour of inspection duty is only two years. It appears that the USCG no longer has a cadre of experienced career inspectors.[/QUOTE]
SECNOLA usually rotates enlisted members to every division during their 4yr rotation. The officers and warrant officers who have their marine inspectors qual on the other hand will usually stay in that division their full 4yr duty.
There is rumor that Harvey is floundering after their big purchase of ACO. This seems to lead me to believe there may be some validity to the rumor. Anyone with further knowledge?
[QUOTE=tugsailor;137248]What is Signet doing at the Panama Canal? I have not noticed their tugs in Panama ---- maybe I was not in the right place at the right time.[/QUOTE]
Nothing that I know of, but from everything I’ve read and heard there is projected to be a large increase in Asia-Pacific traffic to Gulf of Mexico ports, such as Corpus Christi.
To the best of my knowledge, Signet is paying deck officers between $400 and $500 a day on a 280-day base, usually more like 300 days I’m told, though I’m not sure how that works out since I also was told it’s a 0730-1530 day job, nights and weekends at home, unless on an offshore towing trip. However you cut it, doesn’t seem like a bad day rate for being home every night.
And I’ve head rumors about the Harvey deal for months … I don’t think it’s a desparation sale. Seems like HGIM has been deliberately moving out of the towing business for years now.
Shane has been milking it for all it’s worth, the last delay seemed more of less so he wouldn’t have to share the profit from the last platform install they did.
I’m all for it, if it means there won’t be tugs four deep in floatation. Next up… Crosby in Halliburton slip.
Didn’t I read somewhere that Signet is going to have a base in Fouchon?
Yup at one of the Martin docks, midstream I think. So the rumor goes