Wish I could comment on the article @gcaptain
Hmm. Most people who were transferred out of shit holes within the week were generally people who weren’t wanted there in the first place. Just sayin.
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Daughty…Correct me from wrong, but you are saying it is inappropriate to discuss this topic on gCaptain as the pirates frequent the forum (oh man…maybe I’m a Nigerian pirate? C.Captain? Tugs?), and will wind up endangering the expat crews?
I somewhat see where you are coming from; however, if that danger is so imminent, why don’t the companies with contracts in those dangerous regions (run by billionaires such as Gary Chouest), invest a few million dollars into contructing an actuall “citadel” as Captain Thomas suggests, filled with rations, equiptment, etc.?
My thinking is that this NEEDS to get out, cause a media frenzy, and therefore pressure these fucking CEOs into investing in safety!
[QUOTE=daughty;134505]You are not saving lives by putting this out there. You are endangering the lives of all expats working in the region. The same way you say that the base mentioned your destination on VHF 16 that could be heard for miles… YOU ARE POSTING ON WWW, to be seen worldwide. Do you not think Nigerian pirates do not look at gCaptain? Endangering lives just trying to set one’s self up for a law suit. I was transferred from the region within one week of requesting a transfer. You are responsible for your own actions. If you were scared or not comfortable then you choose not to go back. I am sure the lure of the money is what kept you climbing on the Delta flight, not the refusal to be transferred. I was transferred after one week of my request, but you would not be transferred after begging for 4 years??? TOTAL BS right there![/QUOTE]
We’re not privy to enough sensitive information to discuss anything that the pirates don’t already know. You’re over-estimating the discussion on the forum and underestimating the pirates. Also, if you think anyone is going to be sued because of this thread, you are wrong. If you were transferred within a week of your request have you ever considered the fact that it’s because they thought you were bad at your job and unsuited for that position, an analogous reason to the reason that Captain Wren claims to have been kept in Nigeria (because he was good at his job and they needed him there)?
It sounds like ECO is as woefully under-skilled at taking care of its employees working in Africa, as it is at towing oil rigs in Alaska.
If i decided to put in for a position at ECO, I guess I’m not going to to yes to work in Nigerien area , ,no matter what the pay. Glad I’m on gcaptain to read about it …
I wouldn’t trade the experience of Nigeria for the world. Would never go back, but it added to my skill set. That said, if you have to work in West Africa. Stay in E.G., Cameroon or Gabon. Nigeria, always has and always will. SUCK BALLS.[QUOTE=CETOOT70;134524]If i decided to put in for a position at ECO, I guess I’m not going to to yes to work in Nigerien area , ,no matter what the pay. Glad I’m on gcaptain to read about it …[/QUOTE]
It all comes down to $ in the end the office people of ECO most likely have never worked on a boat nor do they understand what mariners have to deal with or go through they have one thing that matters…PROFIT
[QUOTE=captrob;134529]I wouldn’t trade the experience of Nigeria for the world. Would never go back, but it added to my skill set. That said, if you have to work in West Africa. Stay in E.G., Cameroon or Gabon. Nigeria, always has and always will. SUCK BALLS.[/QUOTE]
I just thought it was bad in the '70s and early '80s. It was shitty then but appears to have gotten exponentially worse.
[QUOTE=captrob;134529]I wouldn’t trade the experience of Nigeria for the world. Would never go back, but it added to my skill set. That said, if you have to work in West Africa. Stay in E.G., Cameroon or Gabon. Nigeria, always has and always will. SUCK BALLS.[/QUOTE]
Dont worry about that ,Ill stay off the coast of good old USA.
[QUOTE=captrob;134511]Hmm. Most people who were transferred out of shit holes within the week were generally people who weren’t wanted there in the first place. Just sayin.[/QUOTE]
I didnt say transferred after a week of being there ROB. I said a week after I requested! I was there for 4 years. Everyone knows what they are getting into working there. Like I said, when I was ready to get out, I requested a transfer, and I received it. If I had not received it, I would have quit. As for you eluding I am bad at my job You are a damn idiot! If I was bad at my job they would say “you stay there or you lose your job” not “where do you want to work?” BTW that is what I was asked… " where do I want to work". Maybe ole’ Wren aint as good as he is trying to portray himself to the people do not know the truth.
I can’t believe gcaptain would go as far as to say " truth unveils"
The man dummied his logs. Not by 3 miles, that is the farthest he should’ve been off. And knowing the job I am sure he was making 3 knots or tied alongside. You do not get 50 miles off your last position in 15 minutes. I hope the IRS starts an audit on him.
YES! This filthy business of fuel shaving lies at the heart of this.story and you notice Wren ain’t talkin!
^^^^ Still sucks to be held for ransom for 18 days with the good chance of getting killed. Not to mention he and his chief worked for a “premier” company that should have taken care of him a little better.
I’ve worked with American masters who have been in Nigeria and they have told me all the stories of the “shaving” and how much money they made from it. It is big money we are talking about here and I cannot believe how the majors like Chevron allow it to take place but they do. However when one does enter into the “business” they begin to walk in a minefield. I do believe that there is much more to this story than Wren is telling us.
All that said, I have nothing but scorn for companies like ECO and how they treat their mariners. Plain and simple we are NOT RESPECTED by them but instead are a necessary evil in their eyes they much put up with!
NOBODY HAS CLEAN HANDS HERE INCLUDING WREN!
Maybe I am missing something. Are these crew members selling fuel? With today’s wages? Are they coerced or forced into this somehow?
[QUOTE=salt’n steel;134551]^^^^ Still sucks to be held for ransom for 18 days with the good chance of getting killed. Not to mention he and his chief worked for a “premier” company that should have taken care of him a little better.[/QUOTE]
Your post would make a better sympathy card but c.captain’s post has better info.
[QUOTE=Yeasty McFlaps;134553]Maybe I am missing something. Are these crew members selling fuel? With today’s wages? Are they coerced or forced into this somehow?[/QUOTE]
Yes, they are told by various Nigerian mafias that they will shave fuel from the logs and sell the difference to them. I understand that this often ends up happening offshore to other vessels hence why the logs are hard to reconcile. Everyone on the vessel gets a cut of the action with the biggest cuts of course going to the master and chief. If you refuse to play, then life for you gets to be unbearable with constant threats even coming from your crew who want their piece of the action.
I have heard of over $30k going to a master over a 6 week hitch although that seems hard to believe because they must sneak that money in cash back home with them but then again?
I CANNOT BELIEVE HOW HORRIBLY CORRUPT THE SYSTEM IS IN NIGERIA.
I guess no movie or book for captain Wren.
Wow, seem to have struck a nerve. How many paper bags of naira did you exchange?
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Let me state one other face to the corruption in this system which is how US flagged OSVs are allowed to operate with only an American master and engineer which gives a defacto control over to the foreign nationals making up the remainder of the crew. Frankly the ones to blame are the masters and engineers who take these jobs because if there were none willing to, then this corrupt system in favor of the boat owners would collapse overnight forcing them to place the vessels under foreign flag or keep a full American crew if they don’t want to do that. This filthy system gives the owners their cake and allows them to eat it to but look at the cost to the fools who take these positions. Then again, look at the money they make with the fuel shaving and you see why they do!
IT IS UTTER CORRUPTION TAKEN STRAIGHT WITH NO CHASER!