MSC collar devices were different from the Navy’s because of the blue part that said MSC in the middle of them.
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Every shipping company in the world manages to provide their employees with nice work coveralls with the company logo and maybe even some reflective material stitched on. Not at MSC, shore staff / contractors have absolutely no idea of who is in fact a shipboard employee. Many Captains now 150 days or more overdue for relief. What exactly is a solution here? I can’t believe these Capts stick around.
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150 DAYS ?!?
Broken; the only word to describe MSC. I thought about it after school in '94 and again after the divorce in '16, but I am so thankful I didn’t make that decision.
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Every foreign flag company does that. Most American maritime employers refuse or are very stingy about providing work apparel. Thus you see most US merchant mariners wearing rags onboard their vessel. On the flip side for some reason the oil and gas companies outfit all their guys in head to toe, fire retardant, company branded swag.
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Not a big fan of coveralls myself. Very uncomfortable when it’s a 100 degrees outside. Would be nice if more companies provided shirts and pants.
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IDK I have met a lot of punk msc captains in my time and its hard to believe they would stick with any other private shipping companies where they would get their asses kicked pretty easily and they know this.
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Maersk issued coveralls with tiny, useless pockets. Climbing lashing bridges I’d routinely lose my radio or cargo log book. Also — navy blue with reflective tape but I still have to wear a vest? Most guys say nuts to that and throw the vests away. Want high viz? Issue yellow or orange coveralls then. Red Kap coveralls had the best fit and largest pockets.
Otherwise — just let guys on deck wear whatever they want clothing wise as long as they have on pants, safety shoes and a hardhat with their rating on it with a label maker or marker. At PASHA and TECO that made it so much easier. MLL’s whole “glasses, gloves, sleeves rolled down on deck at all times” is widely disregarded especially in the Mideast.
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Except for most US companies.
Or if they do, they’re the cheapest, most god awful heavy and hot coveralls ever. One tanker company I was with had some that were made out of the heaviest scratchy cotton I think I’ve ever seen in my life. Oh, and not FR aside from the natural properties of cotton such as they are.
Now Mormac on the other hand had some of the best… but they wore out fast.
I’m always surprised when the whole crew is kitted out in Scandia Gear. Must be nice…
Scandia’s tropic weight coveralls were great in the Middle East — but they seem to think everything you would want or need to put in your pockets is the size of an iPhone. The Velcro also sucks. I also always preferred button/snap closure on the coveralls because the zippers sometimes jammed or if I got caught on something walking along a lashing bridge there were times the coveralls tore at the zipper or the zipper itself ripped apart.
Oddly enough I prefer Velcro because button/snap/zippers inevitably break/tear or scratch something sensitive while I’m working…
The tanker company I worked for had white coveralls that were fine in the Persian Gulf.
A different manufacturer made the rule pocket on the right leg to fit a rule. We got through a lot of intrinsicaly safe 3 cell torches until the pocket was increased in size.
Just got another email today from MSC, saying that 4 on 2 off has been implemented, barely anyone is overdue, and then I look at the job listings and see third officer at 150k+ plus a year with a 56k bonus. Which is significantlu higher than what it used to be. Are things actually getting better with MSC relief times? Because the way they keep bumping up these salaries seems to suggest they are in desperate need of warm bodies
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That’s a 3M on Tagos salary and you actually get even time.
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Ya mean the Jacksonville crowd. Yes they are wonderful and a delight to be around.
If they are better only temporarily. They laid up almost half the fleet. They are building several new tankers. How will they continue to fill the jobs when the unions are dying for people too? Those numbers for a third officer are smoke and mirrors. You would have to work 10-12 months to get 150k+ as a third officer. So would you rather make 120-150K in the Union for 6 months or do that in 10-12 months with MSC.
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Half of the fleet? How many ships does MSC operate?
Those days seem to be behind us. Boards getting a little tight these days.
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Which unions? SIU or the licensed ones?
SIU Looks like it’s at about pre-covid levels, AMO still has more mate jobs than it did back then, but not like it was about a year or two ago.