Thank you again. I don’t mean to sound stupid or anything. Going from inland to offshore is a hell of a change for me but a necessary step. Unfortunately I lack at the knowledge when it comes to a lot of things. Here on this side, with just your drivers license, twic, and PIC is more than enough unless you’re trying to get in the wheelhouse.
Thank you guys. This information is well needed.
Basically, OSVs are combo freighter/tankers that deliver freight, bulk oil, bulk drilling chemicals, and bulk drilling water to drill rigs, but they are exempt from all the requirements that would normally apply to any other vessel operating as a tanker.
As I understand it, the oil patch ignored the law for so long that their illegal operations became established customs of the trade, and they bought so many Congressmen, and hired so many retired USCG officers, that they were able to get rules passed, or misinterpreted, to give the bayou boat companies, and the drillers that hire them, whatever they wanted. They didn’t want to comply with the regulations that normally apply to tankers, and they don’t have to.
Except for the HOS Strongline and Centerline when they are operated in Subchapter D/O tankship mode. I was aboard the Strongline when we did well flow back jobs. The Chief Mate was the 06-18 Tankerman PIC and I was the 18-06 PIC when we did cargo operations. The USCG COI for the Strongline required several PICs, and several tankerman Assists onboard. I ran regular OSVs for a few years and then when things went south and everyone quit they yanked me to the Strongline because of my PIC. Only other time I was needed was on a subsea job on the HOS Bayou. They needed to load methanol and toluene from totes to the skid on the ROV. They used me for my PIC to settle whatever requirement the USCG wanted for that particular job. In general not many PICs in the oilfield.
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