I searched these forums and got most of my answers answered with just the search button but I was wondering I always hear the company pays it and will train you. I was eye balling
It seems like you come out with a lot for the $5000. But Why would you want or need the simulator time if companies train you? Unless of course you are not a permeant on a tank ship and are just moving around but JD brings up a good point in one of his old posts that you need 90 says sea time on the tank ship and you should be able to get all your loads in those 90 days.
I was wondering if it would look good already having some loads done if i was going to apply at SGS or say even offshore as a AB with some loads as maybe it would be cheaper for the company maybe when they are ready to train me maybe?
Most Tankerman courses cost about $1,000. I see value in a simulator course, but not anywhere near $4,000 worth of value. With a $1000 course you can get an endorsement as Tankerman Assistant and the corresponding STCW.
Having credit for a couple of loads and discharges doesn’t mean much since you need five of each. If you can get three real onboard loads and discharges, you can just as easily get a couple more.
Getting the 90 days of tankship seatime is much harder. If you can get that, then you can get the loads and discharges too.
While a lot of companies might send you to a $1,000 course, damn few will send you to a $5,000 course.
I would be paying my self not looking for hand outs. What value do you see taking a class like that first and not last to finish any loads you need if i may ask
If you are paying yourself, just take a $1,000 course. It would be nuts to pay $5,000.
I have seen job ads in the past for ABs with Tankerman Assistant.
Having Tankerman Assistant might give you some competitive advantage even if the employer does not require it.
There use to be a bunch of small harbor tankers around, but most are gone. There are a few. This might be the easiest place to get your 90 days and your loads. It’s also likely to be 12 hour days, so you might only need 60 days.
You don’t need 5 of each. It’s worded as 5 loads and 5 discharges, to INCLUDE 2 commencements and 2 completions of each. So two full evolutions (load port, discharge port, load port, discharge port), gets you 8 right there. It’s not 5 full load ports and 5 full discharge ports.
You still need 90 days onboard, which is hard to do these days. Most companies will only bring out cadets from a maritime school, not just somebody who’s trying to ride to get their days. I believe Seabulk might bring on extra 3/Ms to get their PIC’s, but I don’t know the specifics of it.
5 loads (including 2 commencements and 2 completions) + 5 discharges (including 2 commencements and 2 completions) = 10.
In other words 5 of each, totaling 10, not a total of 8 or 12 or 14.
I don’t remember the exact rules for what constitutes a “commencement” or a “completion”, but for a commencement it’s basically: be involved in doing the declaration of inspect, initial soundings, connecting the hose, and starting the transfer. For a completion, it’s topping off, stopping the transfer, disconnecting the hose, be involved in doing completion paperwork and final soundings. No big deal to do that twice during loads, and twice more during discharges.
I think you only need to do 4 hours (a typical watch) out of a long load or discharge to get credit for it. Something like that. You don’t have to spend 18 hours straight all the way through a long load or discharge. You don’t need to do both the commencement and completion during the same transfer. Whatever the rules require, it’s no problem getting it while riding or working on a product tanker for 90 days.
I’ve heard that AMO will arrange for members to “observe” on its contracted tankers for 90 days at $50 a day of pay. I don’t know if that’s actually true.
There are a handful of small harbor tankers run by small companies around the US. I know of at least three, but I’m not going to name any and have people mad at me for flooding their offices with hundreds of guys looking to ride their little tankers. I don’t think that it wouldn’t be too hard for a polite young man with a professional appearance and demeanor, and willing to work, to talk his way onto one of these little harbor tankers.
Not if you are on a Valdez to Panama tanker. You would need 5 trips (4-5 months) to get the transfers. If you are on that run, getting the included transfers might mean the difference in getting the endorsement after one assignment, or waiting for another. But it is still pricey.