Horrible Packer and Anxious

Also XMSCCAPT is there any place that I could find this USN ship lingo that you are alluding to? Maybe I should start learning it now.

Not really, Or I donā€™t know of a web site that would have it handy. Best OJT. Keep your ears open, as soon a you walk onboard and get underway these terms will be used day in and day out. Most young third mates pick it up ASAP.

Some handy terms:

Pim ( speed of projected movement). This is the move rep ( or movement report) speed as reported the ship will be traveling from point A to B. a ship can be 4 hrs ahead or behind pim. ( but some captains including me traveled much more ahead of pim than 4 hrs)

Move rep ( see above ) movement report

Unit strep. A report sent via message traffic regarding a reportable event. There is a naval instruction on this. Most captains include the watch officers on the ability to at least send an initial sit rep.

Casrep. Casualty report. A report sent on mechanical status of the vessel. C - 4 no sail, C-1 nothing bigā€¦ Also a naval instruction on it.

Just to name a fewā€¦

1 Like

My view on these topics. Use if you care to:

No, you donā€™t need any plotting gear generally speaking. ( if you have a favorite tool of some sort such as a good compass set then take it)

I would stay away from the rescue swimmer racket, Iā€™ve known a lot of people very sorry they ever got involved in it. If you do, then you are tagged to one type of ship and when time comes for vacation good luck getting a replacement. Another point, for what you get paid extra itā€™s not worth all the extra bs.

Bring some sort of nav calculator. If you have an iPad get an app called star plot. This will save you hours of work and will make you look good. A small price for $50.

Pack your bag, then take 1/2 outā€¦ Then goā€¦ If you need something you can always get it during port calls.

Oh, one more thing. Keep looking for another job. Msc during the last five to eight years I was there went from an ā€œokā€ organization to a really hosed up stab you in the back organization. This is due to their lack of leadership from the top down, and lack of ability to command and act with any sliver of integrity. They as an organization will hang you out to dry in a heart beat if it means they can save themselves. Management is not on your side and displays that on a daily basis if you take note and observe.

XMSCCAPT, do u think it wise then to try at one of these GOM jobs; ECO, Hornbeck, Harvey? Or stick with MSC for the while?

MSC ships have slop chests or more appropriately small ships stores aboard, so you need not over pack toiletries. You can get the very basics there, but not really serious clothing.

Bring your toiletries, 8 months of prescription meds (if any), uniforms and underwear, some modest shoregoing clothes, tee shirts and shoes. A few books, computer and some pens, maybe US postage stamps, as you can send letters from the ship if need be. . If you have glasses, bring an extra pair, and if you have a special pair of safety shoes that fit good, take them.

Beyond that, you will be able to get it in port. They now have supermarkets in every place in the world except Antarctica.

Also think if you will be doing one or two climate trips ā€“ that affects what you have to bring.

Two things a seaman doesnā€™t need ā€” a car and a wife. Stay on the ship and upgrade your ticket as far and as fast as possible. MSC is good for that.

Iā€™d certainly keep looking. Put in sea time, advance your ticket and make yourself more marketable. Get every school you can that mac will pay for. See if you can get on a FP ship (Zeus ). If you can nab a DP cert that would be a plus. There are decent jobs within the commercial industry but you have to keep your eyes open and your resume ready.

Iā€™m just always second guessing myself on which career path is the best. I wonā€™t second guess myself once I get on a ship, of course. But I just donā€™t want to be making the wrong choice. First job choice is always the hardest.

Having worked for MSCLANT (10yrs), private business ashore and also in the Gulf, I think a new grad might do better at MSC and raise your UNLIMITED tickets as far and fast as possible. I had my unlimited CE by the age of 29, and there was lots of seatime and training along the way.

You will get paid (well enough for a young person), gain good experience and see lots of interesting things at MSC. Just roll with the military nature of things. They are the customer, so they have to be accommodated in the end.

From a pure money and time off standpoint, mariners are certainly better off with a drilling contractor nowadays, which was not the case when I graduated. But advancing your tickets might not be as easy, depending on the vessel / rig type and the rotation.

So if you eventually have that MSC experience and higher tickets, you will have good confidence in your abilities, experience in shipboard ops, become used to dealing with a variety of people (important). In the end you will be financially self sufficient with some savings, and much more marketable in the GoM or elsewhere should you want to make the jump in 3 or 5 or 10 years.

Enjoy the ride and make the best of your opportunities. Every one contributes to your life experience. You only go around once and the decision you are puzzling over today will mean little in those three or five years from now.

Thanks. That actually makes me feel much better lol. Most of my friends from my graduating class went Inland Tugs or MSC. Only three got jobs on Supply Vessels in the GOM, so thatā€™s what kind of made me think of possible change. Thanks for the advice.

While I would not personally go back to work at MSC today, it is because Iā€™ve a family now and want to be near them - and earn enough as it is.

Many complaints about MSC come from people that are just wound up inside, and they can be found everywhere. MSC has plenty of good equipment, spends money on maintenance, plenty of tools to accomplish what needs doing, etc. Sure there is silliness and there are backstabbers and chickenshit people (I see one mentioned by well known nick-name in the MSC forum), but it happens everywhere. With luck youā€™ll have an interesting ship(s) and see places and events that you will remember for the rest of your life. Keep your true thoughts and any negative stuff to yourself and be a respectful comrade of all, high and low. That takes a bit of work in itself.

Iā€™ve got good friends from my time at MSC, and we see one another regularly - laughing so hard we practically piss our pants over the times we had. One is now retired well and the other is a chief engineer about to retire well at 55. Iā€™m rather jealous of their lifetime pensions, that if you had to fund them privtely, would require abt USD 3 million in the bank. My girls love it when they come to visit, because they can see how much fun we are having laughing so hard !

If you donā€™t like it after a year or two, just leave on good terms and head off to the next thing ! At your age, and as a new grad, if you have a job as good as one at MSC in this economy, you are already well ahead of the crowd ā€” by default.

I agree, lots of fine people within the ranks of msc. my main complaint was with management and dealing with the less than able USN officers. On a third mate level she wonā€™t see behind the curtain much. If a third mate stayed to second mate and sailed as second, Iā€™d strongly recommend license insurance at Msc will not be there for you when it counts.

Oh I see. Thanks for the heads up.

I always kept license insurance regardless of employer. Maybe not seeing behind the curtain (in lots of jobs) is a blessing ā€¦ No knowledge, no involvement, no worries and the paycheck comes just the same ! Anyway, enjoy it. It will be fine adventure.

A few more than comes to mind ( and Iā€™m trying to forget this part of my life :slight_smile:

Soa. Speed of advance

Xsoa. Excess speed of advance , normally given as an ok to exceed a certain speed.

Conrep. Term used for connected replenishment

Helo ops or flight qrts

Pax. Riders - normally associated with Helo ops but could also arrive by sea or land

Romeo corpin. Course and speed for the upcoming unrep

Td line or pd line - phone and distance line connected to the forward part of the vessel for Coms between ships.

CO USN commanding officer When on the VHF the term used is " Charlie Oscar" when speaking about the captain of the other USN vessel.

You should also learn something about the unrep gear in terms and how itā€™s uses. No, you wonā€™t be on deck but if you know whatā€™s going on you can converse with the deck, captain and chief mate.

Unrep gear - some not all of course

Span wire - wire that the rig connects from your ship to the USN fleet unit

Surf. - portion of the cargo rig that travels on the span wine to the fleet unit.

Transfer head - your ships portion of the unrep gear that lifts cargo from your deck station in order to send it to the fleet unit.

Fork - slang for forklift

Crab - side loading lift like. Fork lift for ammo, generally missile containers.

Inhaul / out haul. - part of the cargo gear that rides along the span wire needed to transfer cargo

Rhib - ridged hull inflatable boat or rescue boat.

Wind envelope - when asked about this they are talking about Helo ops. Each aircraft or ā€œA/Cā€ has an operational wind envelope they must remain within for safe operations.

Sked - ships schedule

So, you have a an entire library of terms to get used to. I wouldnā€™t be too concerned about not knowing them when you arrive. Given you have a degree means you are not dumb, normal IQ would support learning this within a short time frame. The ship management will not expect you to know this right off anyway, wonā€™t mind teaching you and. Ay in fact take please in teaching you. But these are some heads up terms. The faster you learn the more use you will be to the team, and the easier the job will seem to you.

1 Like

Yes, the retirement is indeed not bad, and is why I stayed with all the bs year in and year out. Also, it as a steady job and was able to put my kids through school. Steady and shipping are often not said in the same sentence.

PIM=Plan of Intended Movement.
When I was hired, all the mates, and everyone else, were sent through Unrep Familiarization Class which was 2 days of explaination of terms, videos and a tour of a STREAM rig.
If you are held up in the pool, which is likely, make use of that dead time and go down pierside and hook-up with another deck officer on a ship and arrange, (maybe evening or weekend), to have them school you on the use of the software progarms for entering your watch section pay/overtime and the program for your ships deck log. They arenā€™t that hard but itā€™s a pain learning on the fly and under the gun. The 7 weeks of training they sent me to was useless in a practicle sense, however a half day class covering the two software programs I mentioned would have been golden. But thatā€™s MSC for yaā€¦

Is the long sleeves khaki shirt mandatory? I really do not feel like driving 3 hrs back and forth to my college for just one shirt if I can purchase it down in Virginia.

No, not long sleeves. A lot of deck officers wear Dickieā€™s Khaki overalls. But Iā€™d want to make a good first impression with a decent set of working khakis consisting of a nie short sleeve shirt and long pants.

[QUOTE=Ferrari;74812]Is the long sleeves khaki shirt mandatory? I really do not feel like driving 3 hrs back and forth to my college for just one shirt if I can purchase it down in Virginia.[/QUOTE]

Virginia isnā€™t on Uranus, you can purchase everything in VA. ICO long sleeves, youā€™ll want some in Dec and Jan in Norfolk. Also, a hat and long sleeves are usually mandatory for abandon ship scenarios.

As a new junior officer, you could do far worse than staying with MSC for three to five years. Get all the training they offer, gain experience on different ship classes, save money, upgrade aggressively to at least to Chief Mate. At the five year mark, re-evaluate your goals and see if MSC is meeting them, or if something else (MSC union contract, oil field, etc) would better fulfill your goals.