For MSC to have a chance they need to adopt commercial standards in pay, leave, and quality of life.
When I was sailing Second over there I made about the same as I did sailing union, on the ship. But then I only earned a few days of vacation over my entire tour, which then was paid out at my significantly lower shore wage rate. I never knew when I was going home or shipping out. Sometimes I was forced to do useless training and sometimes it was waived. The Internet was too slow to do anything besides read my email and no wifi available. I had to shave when I wasn’t even assigned a SCBA or wearing a respirator. I got yelled at by people who were utterly incompetent for things that were inconsequential. Getting anything done through the office was an absolute chore and I never knew if anyone even got my emails or if they were taking any action on what I asked, like submitting travel or medical stuff.
And I got off easy compared to some of the stuff I’ve heard from my friends- harassments, assaults, shady dealings, cliques, etc.
Sailing isn’t easy, but good lord. Even the bad union jobs were 10x better than MSC. At least I knew when the shit would end and it was my decision when to go back and I wasn’t treated like a child by old ass children.
As a Senior Officer with MSC who recently quit MSC, the place is nuts. Huge change in the last three years. Never less than 4 months overdue and the attitude the office has towards it’s people is crazy. Fights onboard that are covered up. ABs threatening crew members and demanding protection pay so they will not get beat up. Thanks to MSC’s hiring process of only hiring from Norfolk, VA it is like working in a prison or in gangland onboard. A friend told me that on his ship he had a crew member who could play lineman for the NFL get drunk and threaten to kill people on the liberty boat and on the ship. Captain witnessed entire incident on the liberty boat but ran to his room once the boat arrived to the ship to leave a 3M to deal with the problem who was so scared did not call the CM or anyone for help. People just go to their rooms during the day or do not work and if you question them you have a great chance of having a racist complaint filed with EEO or even better the IG and if you are the same race then sexual harassment if female involved. You can have this organization…it is a sinking ship. Not to mention the office which has people who are incompetent and sucking up a fat federal paycheck. How will they man all of these new ships? They are already creating unsafe conditions reducing the manning required to run a rig during an UNREP or VERTREP! Stand by for the accidents.
I see that things have only changed for the worst. I can attest to your experience with a certain group who didn’t bother showing up at morning muster. One of the mates tried to correct the situation without addressing them directly by producing a book and announcing that anyone who didn’t sign it in person would be docked the day’s pay. He abandoned the idea after a few days as it became clear this privileged gang would make the effort of signing their names in the book and then shuffle back to their rooms or stay out of sight. Plenty of places to hide on a 750’ ship. Any direct attempts to change the situation was met with implied threats. Same thing with the bullying and fighting and officers unable to control it for fear of repercussions.
I can understand you frustration and angst regarding the events that you have described aboard a US Flag Vessel. Please don’t hesitate to use the following link and info to report these events anonymously. The CGIS (and probably later coordinating with NCIS) will investigate these events thoroughly. Good Luck. CGIS TIPS- Keeping Maritime Communities Safe.pdf (971.3 KB)
I appreciate it but my days are done there. I am thankful I made my money and escaped without being seriously harmed and with some sanity still intact. Pray for those who have no choice but to deal with MSC.
At the time, there was a wait for reliefs but not t as long as it is now. The behavior was a form of reparations, a term that was starting to be heard on the part of some politicians; this was more of a way to stick it to the man.
I retired from MSC several years ago. When I sailed as second mate, I had an AB working for me who was a convicted felon. I used to enjoy sitting in the club swapping lies with him. As a felon he wasn’t elegible for federal employment. He got hired and when they found out and asked him why he lied on his application, he told them “If I hadn’t lied, you wouldn’t have hired me”. He remained an employee.
I detect a pattern. My introduction to an MSC owned ship was when I joined a T-AGS in Bahrain to fill a billet left open by an AB who was in jail, accused of raping a British Airways stewardess. One of the other AB’s onboard was a convicted felon who regaled us with tales of life in prison. Another AB, a retired Navy Chief, was barred from taking the helm because he couldn’t steer a straight course. A swell bunch of guys.
This play book was written many years ago. I quit the USNS Truckee in 1985. I had a Captain that stayed in his room and left all the gangway fighting to me when I was third mate. There was no discipline for the violence. I quit when someone drowned in the harbor. Fighting could not be ruled out and the investigation into the incident was a joke. Nothing has changed. MSC CIVMAR vessels are difficult. Especially the Oilers.
I think they were although I didn’t know it at the time. Funny story but funnier if it happens to somebody else. I had a 100T license with plenty of experience operating NC but I had an itch to sail blue water since I was a kid. The CG issued me a AB special Z card and off I went to the SIU hall. The man at the counter said he had a berth for me on a ship due to sail from Oregon to the far east if I joined the union so I agreed and went on with life as usual.
I was out on the water on the Hawaiin Chiertain later that afternoon enjoying a tall ship parade in SF harbor when my phone rang. They wanted me at the hall ASAP so I hired a crew boat to take me to the wharf. When I got to the hall they told me I was due in the Persian Gulf in 24 hours and handed me travel info. I dumbly went along with it and whatever excitement I had worked up about shipping out soon dissipated when I met the cast of characters on that ship.
While four on and two off is a step forward, I respectfully disagree with that leave schedule. We set base pay and overtime rates to the position. Why not vacation? Earned leave should be commiserate to the position with Masters and Chief Engineers earning day for day vacation and rotating every 4 months. Entry level could be a 15/30 days with 6 month tour commitments. Work leave schedules for other officer and unlicensed could be in between. After a tour you take your leave and not return until all leave exhausted. Yes, get off the ship and get a life. The ship is not, NOT your home .This should have been tried Instead of that silly ass pilot program that first brown shoe msco threw down. We know how that worked out. Probably designed to fail. And maybe with the help of some of our own brethern.
The commercial model to crew rotation should have been the holy grail but unfortunately that ship sailed many years ago. The commercial industry is also having manning issues, even with the best contracts. Pigs will fly before MSC even decides to go that route.
Ships funded leave is the band-aid on a bleeding femoral artery. When finally allowed to go home, its not enough time off and if you have excess leave you could lose it.
In the meantime, stay as far away from the imenent implosion.