Big companies (ECO, Harvey, HOS) are all paying around the same. These are average pay for large OSVs/MPSVs doing deep water work.
Master 1000 a day
Chief Mate 850 day
2nd/3rd Mate 500-700 a day
Some companies were hiring without DP and assisting with the introductory course. Some may still be. Pay will be at the lower end with no dp. Once you get dp it goes up.
AB 350-low 400s a day
OS 250-300 a day
Chief Engineer 1000 a day
1st/2nd Assistant 700 to 900 a day
3rd Assistant 550-high 600s a day.
An assistant can be someone with a trade restricted osv license or a DDE in theory. Not all companies break it down into 3rd, 2nd, 1st, chief. Depends on required manning and size of vessel.
Qmeds high 300s to mid 400s a day
Wiper 250-low 300s a day.
The bigger companies are all offering a 401k match of some sort. Some have safety bonuses, some have holiday pay. All offer medical dental vision and accidental/life insurances. With some its pretty expensive for the family plan, some not so much.
Smaller companies with older smaller vessels doing shelf work aren’t paying these rates. For example, a crew on a mid 90s osv under 1600 grt: master 600 + a day, Mate 500+ a day, cheng 600+ a day, ab 300+ a day, qmed 300+ a day. A lot of these smaller boats don’t require an assistant or even a qmed.
100 grt mini supply and crewboats: master 400-600+ a day, mate 400-500 a day, deckhand (may have an ab, may not even have an mmc) 180-300 a day. Someone assuming the unlicensed engineer responsibilities would be on the higher end of that 180-300 scale.
The OSV companies used to have to complete with drillship companies for mates and AEs especially recent grads. The drillship companies usually had much better benefits. Still true? Oddly the drillship mariners have gone silent.
It’s been a few years since I sailed. I was a chief mate with MSC and unless you had political connections in the company you were often relegated to tugs, cable ships and research ships. The base pay was 36k per year plus any overtime you managed to squeeze out of them. The parsimonious cS**s did everything they could to avoid o.t or penalty pay. Some genius at headquarters came up with the “A-76” program in which you worked a 40 hour week of various schedules with a maximum of 8hours per day. If you happened to get a watch on a holiday you would get overtime, otherwise it was 40 hrs per week straight time. One of the first A/Es came up with a workaround but it still didn’t completely fix the problem. The only reason I stayed with the company was due to being civil service and able to combine my military time with CSRS for a decent retirement.
Never done 40 hours a week and cannot remember the last decade that I got overtime.
Everything is ‘consolidated’ now and has been for a very long time.
Work 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off on a Ro-Pax with 33 days leave on top.
Sounds good but the weeks are 84 hours long, 3 ports a day.
As C/O I get, at current exchange rates, about US$63,000.
A year.
I think I’m in the wrong job in the wrong country.
‘Consolidated’ is the term and over this side of the pond a 40 hour week has never, ever existed. Ever.
2 weeks on and 2 weeks off means 168 hours worked followed by 168 hours not worked; I still get full pay whilst not working the ‘off’ 168 hours but that is because I am on contract.
Add in the 33 days leave (35 this year due to the Queen’s Jubilee followed shortly after by her unfortunate passing) and I actually only work 5 months a year but those 5 months are made up of 12 hour days.
The contracts are quite clear, this hasn’t been suddenly dumped on us; actually, my contract has its 10th birthday next March and that’s my second one with this outfit.
I need clarify slightly there; obviously we had a 40 hour week but that ran from Monday to Friday.
If you are new to this then be advised that ships also work at weekends so our basic was a 56 hour week.
The only limiting factor on work was if you had cadets onboard below the age of 18; you weren’t allowed above 60 degrees north on a trans-ocean passage as I (very) vaguely recall.
Excellent excuse for the C/O to hit you with a limiting latitude great circle route to figure out.
Which, a few years later, actually had to do so not a total waste of time.
Sorry, hijacked myself a bit there. :}
All are rough estimates.
Master Construction Boats $870
Master Large OSV $840
Master OSV $725
Master 100grt and DPOs $500ish
Mates running the watch are roughly $40 a day less then masters for each class.
Engine room is about the same. QMEDS are upper $400s maybe $500?
Deck
Ab 350ish
Os 200ish
All vessels have wireless internet, slow but you can send messages and get some bills payed. Also a phone in the galley and the wheel house that the crew can use to call home when needed.
Matching 401k and travel pay based on distance from work. Life, long, and short term accident insurance. Life and long term are pretty well priced. Short term is expensive, but they all are in my experience. Health insurance for a family I think it’s like $700 a month and pretty high deductible. Not really sure as I’m on my wife’s.
Various rotations. Start at 28\14 but we have all type of schedules. Even, 42\21, straight time. You will bounce around for several hitches at least. Deck almost constantly. Officers until you get a permanent spot.
Not sure about SIU contract. All are permanent positions except GVA’s and we never have trouble finding people so from what I understand it’s pretty good.
Standard union benefits, company matches 401k up to 4%. 2% increase in wages yearly. Money for work boots, travel and such is paid for and you get a days wage for travel days.
Cooper Marine- Alabama division. Inland river pushing 8. Mostly on TennTom with some boats on the Tennessee and Intracoastal.
Masters 640+
Pilots 600+
Deckhands 200ish. New mate program so opportunity for deck to make more now.
These are guesses from what I’ve gathered talking to other people. I’m sure some of the captains have negotiated around 700.
Pretty good health benefits. 3.5% 401k.
Wheelhouse gets an extra 2hrs a day for everyday after 2 weeks.
Wheelhouse can make your own schedule.
There’s definitely more money out there but overall good company to work for and good shoreside support.
Ingram did a raise late summer so inexperienced deckhands are now at $222/day from the last I saw. Ingram doesn’t reimburse for travel to your hitch though like Marquette. Not sure if ACBL pays travel now. I had a buddy that had an offer from ACBL in April timeframe that was $180/day with opportunity for raises to D1 like you said. So I assume this was similar to your package?
Ingram is completely inland towboats to my knowledge so a MMC isn’t necessary. A TWIC card and a drug screen are the main requirements though they have some occupational health company do an assessment of you (ACBL, TVT, and Marquette use the same I think) in lieu of a medical certificate.
I’m not familair with ingram, but i know marquette has some large tugs. I would think some of them require ABs and licensed engineers. Maybe not though, just thinkin aloud. There are plenty of big osvs that are right under 100 grt. Must be a bunch of larger towboats too.
Ingram is one of the biggest inland barge companies on the MS. Their cargo is all dry barges (corn, soybeans, etc.) between Louisiana and all the way up to Minnesota. Marquette is large too but you are right that they have large tugs. I am pretty sure Ingram stays brown water and I have never seen any of their jobs require a credential though I have seen Marquette coastal tug jobs require OS minimum.