Just wondering, I know the pay isn’t the hottest, just wanted to know what you guys think. Have a captain near me at home that keeps busting on me to go down there with him, but 429 plus 10% just isn’t doing it. Anyone really like it down there, on the tug side ?
Dont do it bro…
Why not? Whats wrong with VB?
Cause VB doesnt pay that well
Or travel.
Everyone else has pins, and you won’t… Unless you like being weatherbound, asking ferries to slow down, etc. They seem to ‘frown’ upon pilots and assist boats too.
Not “everyone else” has pins 
So no pins, the company expects you to be able to dock the damn thing on your own and they don’t pay travel???
That’s it??? Well cry me a river…
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Would anyone have Tom Lamm’s direct number, or even his extension, im getting no where with their general #. Thank you.
[QUOTE=Clear Solution;105425]So no pins, the company expects you to be able to dock the damn thing on your own and they don’t pay travel???
That’s it??? [/QUOTE]
Not a pilot necessarily for docking…but these guys i see often push the recency thing so hard that if they get in a jam it won’t be funny. I’ve had Vane guys regularly ask me some very foolish questions you’d know if you went somewhere once, nevermind 12 times.
As far as pins go, its just a comparison to the other northeast operators these days. Bouchard, Kirby and Reinauer only have a very small portion of their fleets without them, and for a reason. A nice thing is having tankermen though.
I was on an ROS vessel in Philly up till last week and would see Vane constantly. They seem like a pretty busy company outta Philly. Are they just out of that area or are they all north east? Also non union??
Vane’s got those two Atlantic III class pin tugs, the Christiana and the Brandywine, at least they’re making an effort. I’d like to think we’ll see some more of that in their fleet before too long but maybe in building those two they decided they still like the old way better. Who knows…
[QUOTE=PaddyWest2012;105438]Vane’s got those two Atlantic III class pin tugs, the Christiana and the Brandywine, at least they’re making an effort. I’d like to think we’ll see some more of that in their fleet before too long but maybe in building those two they decided they still like the old way better. Who knows…[/QUOTE]
They have built a ton of wire boats after those 2 ATBs were built…
They treated me like a human being on the phone, ive got to say, maybe speaking “Tangier-nese” wont be so bad… LOL They said they plan on building more pinned units, big pay diff between the wire boats and pin units.
One thing about VB I liked was the fact that you got a call back from them even if they didnt have any openings. I applied there several times a few years back and each time Tom would call me or someone else would.
Hear that the paying H&B suck, but otherwise it seems pretty nice that one gets an opportunity to handle vessels without a pilot. Tom’s called me a couple times since I first applied a few years ago to see if I’d be available, but since I’ve been comfortable with another outfit. So at least it seems they keep your file on hand for a while if you’ve experience/documentation. 1600 ton MOT & Tankerman’s PIC come in handy as well! Speaking of Tankerman’s PIC… when the going ever gets tough & there’s layoffs with not many other options, a PIC will be a golden ticket! Be sure you can manually strip a barge too. And $400+ a day is great compared with most shore jobs (*note: I’m unsure of the going rate for barge captains/mates for VB).
Living above that you’ll probably develop into some snobby rich b!tch anyway. *opinion
Smooth Sailor… You’re the rich bitch, shopping at Jared’s.
It’s just drill-pressed stainless steel, I swear!
Where do you live that you can afford to raise a family, have a decent home life and save for retirement all on 72grand a year??? With the trailer park boys!
Move in with bubbles!!