What is going on with Harley and its subsidiaries Olympic, Starlight, and Millenium? They are always advertising jobs. They just posted a bunch of jobs. Yet guys tell me that they apply for these jobs but never hear a word back from Harley. Why so much turn over?
What is it? Low pay? Bad management? Crappy boats? Bad schedules?
I had a young man working for me on the ORCA not long ago who worked as a mate for Olympic and asked him the same questions. His answers were that Harley Franco had a dumptruck load to money and credit to build a big company and was aggressively doing that. The pay is on par with the west coast towing operators ($500-$550/day for a master) and typically the schedules are to work lots and not have the right to tell the company you can’t work when they call. Some of the boats are old but well maintained but many are new or newer. I do not have the impression that lots of people are leaving them…this young man was just going back when he was working for me.
I figure Harley is a force to not ignore and one a person can likely grow with. Something to think about… I will say that I would like to know where he is getting all his contracts from and why so quickly to allow such growth? Must be undercutting the old guy on the block by a quite a bit to get take the business like that? Rshrew, what’s Franco’s modus operendi?
[QUOTE=c.captain;138778]I had a young man working for me on the ORCA not long ago who worked as a mate for Olympic and asked him the same questions. His answers were that Harley Franco had a dumptruck load to money and credit to build a big company and was aggressively doing that. The pay is on par with the west coast towing operators ($500-$550/day for a master) and typically the schedules are to work lots and not have the right to tell the company you can’t work when they call. Some of the boats are old but well maintained but many are new or newer. I do not have the impression that lots of people are leaving them…this young man was just going back when he was working for me.
I figure Harley is a force to not ignore and one a person can likely grow with. Something to think about… I will say that I would like to know where he is getting all his contracts from and why so quickly to allow such growth? Must be undercutting the old guy on the block by a quite a bit to get take the business like that? Rshrew, what’s Franco’s modus operendi?[/QUOTE]
I’d say that the PNW pay range is about $450 to $750 with not too many guys at the extreme ends of the range. I’d call $600 about average. And at least $100 less than it should be.
People come and go. Pretty much all oil bunkering work on old tugs. Supposedly he is going to be competing with Foss and Crowley for ship work now in Seattle.
Heard they are in the process of buying a few new tugs and building 3 new atbs.
I hear the same ATB talk from them but I have yet to see or here about any actual construction. When they cut steal then I’ll believe it.
Steel is cut. In fact it’s being welded together.
[QUOTE=sailorman1981;138835]Steel is cut. In fact it’s being welded together.[/QUOTE]
Seeing is believing… Anyone got pictures? We don’t even know what the darn things are supposed to look like. How big is the tug? How big is the barge? Horse power? What are they going to be used for?
[QUOTE=PaddyWest2012;138836]Seeing is believing… Anyone got pictures? We don’t even know what the darn things are supposed to look like. How big is the tug? How big is the barge? Horse power? What are they going to be used for?[/QUOTE]
why not believe? Harley Franco can get contracts for his tugs and barges so why not a few ATB’s as well? Anybody with a Jones Act tug/barge combination is making big $$$ these days and I say hooray for him. Nice for there to be a very successful maritime businessman who doesn’t have the last name Chouest!
Reckon if he’s building ATB’s there’s some work already lined up for it, maybe even some oil company involved behind the scenes. You don’t see many just sitting around without work, well besides some Kirby shitboxes.
[QUOTE=c.captain;138845]why not believe? Harley Franco can get contracts for his tugs and barges so why not a few ATB’s as well? Anybody with a Jones Act tug/barge combination is making big $$$ these days and I say hooray for him. Nice for there to be a very successful maritime businessman who doesn’t have the last name Chouest![/QUOTE]
Not hard for me to believe. West Coast ATB tonnage is tight, with everything locked up on time charter. From where I sit, I can see another ATB or two being profitable out here.
Go to google or your preferred search engine and type in “Harley ATB’s”, an article or two pops up.
Another of the many old threads that discuss Harley. There are many more if you use the search function.