Morning,
I was recently offered a position for a lightering/bunkering position in the NY Harbor / New England area. The company wants me to ride along and feel it out.
I’m coming from the Gulf of Mexico, LMR, and ICW along the gulf coast.
How much of a culture change should I expect dealing with mariners and how much of a learning curve will it be to learn that area for someone that hasn’t been there.
Tips appreciated. Thanks.
Are you a tankerman or in the wheelhouse ? If it’s with centerline just stay where you’re at
What’s wrong with centerline?
How it goes up here depends on a few things. If you’re tanking, it shouldn’t change all that much.
If you’re in the wheelhouse, it can be very different depending on where you work. A few companies want a mini captain and others will do quite a bit of hand holding. Everyone up here is hiring so you have options. Feel free to PM me if you want to discuss it privately.
I think someone should chime in on what is right with them. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone comment on their NY operations in a positive way at all.
I made the same transition in 2007 from an international division of a GoM osv/tug company. For me, in hindsight, the odds of landing on an asshole boat in NY Harbor is the same odds as anywhere else, about 50/50. My first boat up there had an awkward captian who was into verbal hazing I guess because he asked a lot of odd questions about Southern culture & even brought up the Civil War? After a week and a half of that, at the galley table, I jokingly told him I wasn’t the Ambassador of the Confederate States of America & he and everyone else got a kick out of that. I think at that time & before in the 90’s, some of the older, NY proud mariners were still sore about the southern scabbs breaking up the strike. Hard to imagine that is still a thing it being 40 yrs ago. The next boat I was on was way more professional & I stayed there a few years. The 50/50, coin toss about weirdos is my rule of thumb. Not saying half of all vessels are asshole operations, but perhaps half of all vessels with high turnover is because of assholes.
One last thing, some of the tug GoM terminology is different than the NY Harbor tug terminology but it is easy to figure out.
They have 2x people actively recruiting on facebook from the people who dont know any better, fresh souls into the dumpster fire. That incident where the guy was killed in the Kills was written up 100x before it happened and they still didnt give a fuck.
Spent some time there. Most of the mariners are great, shoreside is a mess. I have no idea how they continue given the dysfunction shoreside…
anyone up there paying 1k a day for mtv?
If you’re in the wheelhouse there’s a bit to learn as far as all the different docks and the currents. Most of the oil docks in the Kills are tide jobs so there is a fair amount of local knowledge involved. Recency is another thing to consider. And as someone already posted mates are expected to be as capable as captains and run the boat unassisted during their watch. I hear that’s not the case in other areas. Otherwise I bet it’s pretty similar to working anywhere else. We have a lot of guys from down south working up here. Checks usually don’t bounce lol….
It’s pretty close to that if not a little more at the union companies moving oil.