Help a GreenHorn navigate the maritime field

Am 34 yrs old been laid off my retail job with no experience or background in maritime industry but ,considering a career in Maritime field and need advice form experienced mariners in this forum.
Am considering taking tankerman training - Tankship dangerous liquid course from North eastern maritime institute which the schools says satisfies training requirements for any dangerous liquid tankerman endorsement.
my question is : (1)Will this endorsement alone get me any job in the maritime field and if yes what kind of job?
(2) will i need further endorsement in addition to this if yes which ones?
(3) will the endorsement come with the PIC?
(4) how do i go about getting the MM documents and TWIC? do i process it b/4 or after the training.
(4) If this is a bad idea please can someone set me straight on how best to go about getting my foot on the door in the industry before i spend my last savings on this course?
Thanks for an anticipated coperation

Shouldn’t you be asking those questions of someone at North Eastern Maritime Institute?

Before you give any school a dime you had better spend time asking them questions and checking their answers. They should, without hesitation, provide you with links to the relevant USCG and NMC pages and help you navigate what can be a very confusing and seemingly contradictory process.

Just one question for you though, if you don’t have something how can it be endorsed?

**suggest starting with these sites and do some research…then ask your questions!!

http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/layers/twic/index.shtm

http://www.uscg.mil/nmc/

http://www.msc.navy.mil/civmar/uscg/tanker.doc

http://www.qualitymaritime.info/Press/Tankerman%20Requirements.pdf

JayJay,
You might wish to visit Kirby Marines employment web page where they describe a career ladder as a tankerman. This is just to give you an idea of what a major marine oil transport company is looking for in experience and training for new employees and future tankerman.
http://www.kirbycorpjobs.com/ Gives you an idea of pay and what the company expects from you. Bonus!!! They might even hire you and pay for your training.

Before you pay out money for marine training, find out if you can live and work in close quarters with a diverse group of folks. If you work inland, you won’t have to worry too much about sea sickness, but if you go offshore, this might be a consideration. Marine employment is a long way from retail, but you can earn a lot of money if you can handle the challenges.

You should visit our friend Paul, one of GCaptains favorite tankerman for a true blog on the challenges of working as a tankerman, good, bad and ugly. Be sure to go through back posts to see some of the tricky things that come up when your working multible jobs with your tank barge.

Good luck, Ebb Tide

Yeah, the living arrangements in the business can take some getting used to. My daughter watches the show “Big Brother” when it is on. I tell her that I can’t watch it. A bunch of strangers trapped in a confined area for a long period of time? I lived that. And we couldn’t vote the annoying people out. . . .

Take a look at 46 CFR Part 13. The course you took is just one of several requirements for a Tankerman-PIC endorsement. You will also need 90 days experience on a tank vessel, and you will need to document participation in cargo transfers.

To get the experience above, you will need an MMC (merchant mariner credential) of some type, and to get that will first require a TWIC. There is info on the application process at http://www.uscg.mil/nmc/

So what is the procedure when you lose your tankerman PIC. I worked on tankers as AB and then mate for about 14 years but not within the last 5 so the USCG would not renew my tankerman PIC. Even tho I was master and so involved in all bunker transfers onboard, the USCG says bunkers do not count, it must be a cargo transfer and so it pretty much will have to be a tanker. Now I will not be able to GET any jobs on tankers since no one will hire someone to work on one without tankerman PIC already so catch 22 situation. How do I get it back??? Do I have to go work as deckhand somewhere who would hire an extra hand to get in the transfers or what??? The USCG told me when I was renewing my license that I could get it back if I took the class over again. I did not see anything about that in the CFRs. Does anyone know the true facts??? I hate to loose another endorsement which means I am automatically eliminated from probably 50% of the available jobs.

JP,

don’t believe they should have denied you in the first place…suggest you make formal inquiry to the NMC in writing as to their reasoning and have them cite the appropriate cfr or policy letter??if they persist invoke the reconsideration/appeal process!!regretfully the NMC has become a member of the “government of no”!!

[B]Completion of an approved tankerman refresher or simulation course is mentioned in 46CFR13 as follows[/B]

[B]§ 13.120 Renewal of tankerman endorsement.[/B]

An applicant wishing to renew a tankerman’s endorsement shall meet the requirements of §10.227 of this chapter for renewing an MMC and prove either participation in at least two transfers within the last 5 years in accordance with §13.127(b) or completion of an approved course as described in §10.304

JJ. you should go through the process to get your MMC and Twic. They will each cost about 140 a piece. Then you can try to get a deckhands job to see if you even LIKE the industry. If you are desperate, then I would HATE to see you spend good money on a job that you HATE. Try before you buy.

The cost of the course is a huge investment both in time and money, so make sure. There are several places to get the training. I have found NorthEast to be a little on the overboard end. They sometimes make you take extra courses that you don’t ‘need’, but ‘may’ be helpful in the future. Try CMTI in Hayes Va, Chesapeake marine training inst.

JP: next time you go back to work ‘participate’ in the required transfers, and have the office write you up a seaservice letter indicating the time spent aboard, how many loads and discharges you participated in, and then put in a new app with the NMC. Yes, it will cost you another 100 bucks, but you will get it back. If you do it within the 6 month period, you wont have to pay the extra for the full license fee.