I’m currently a truck dispatcher. I graduated from Mass. Maritime in 2001 with a BS in marine transportation. I sailed as a third mate for two years in the Alaskan trade aboard tankers. Long story short - I wasn’t ready to ‘stomach’ the responsibility to sail as a 3rd mate and a decision was made for me by the company (if you know what I mean). I just renewed my license, but then realized I needed to get the VSO (Vessel Security Officer) endorsement in order to actually sail. So, the only thing holding me back right now is the VSO endorsement that I need. I’ve worked a bunch of different jobs over the years - worked ashore in the maritime industry, worked in customer service for a major financial services company, tractor trailer truck dispatching and now I’m thinking about going to sea again. I know the best route would be to sail as an AB. I would be a train wreck on the bridge if I were to sail as a 3rd mate. I haven’t done cel nav or any chart plotting in years. So, I’ve got my 3rd mate ticket w/TPIC endorsement in a desk drawer collecting dust.
Again, the only thing I need right now is my VSO endorsement. Just need to figure out when to take the course.
I decided to stay away from ships for a little while after having a bad experience with the company and some captains. In hindsight, I’d probably have a bank account chock full of money like the rest of you guys and my skillset wouldn’t be so lacking.
Any suggestions on where I might want to seek employment? Anybody know anything about working as an AB aboard OSG tankers? What about Chevron tankers? Pay? Do have to be part of a union?
I give you credit for divulging what you did before us…that took guts so no pointy stick from me. I do know that the companies with ATB’s are hiring tankermen…Crowley and Harley out west. Go AB/tankerman on a tug, get your TOAR signed off as well. Not the kind of money as in the GoM but not TransAtlantic Lines either.
anyone give this guy some insight into the ATB trades in the Gulf and on the Eastern Seaboard?
Thanks c.captain for your post. Thanks for being nice to me, too. I’ve followed some of your posts, so thank you for being considerate. I’m not dumb, just wasn’t mature enough for the job. As you know, just because these young guys go through the academies and pass the test doesn’t mean they have the mental capacity to actually stand a bridge watch. Going through the academy gave me a taste for what ship operations were like, but once you’re actually out there, it can be scary and overwhelming - time is money and people expect you to do your job and do it confidently and be assertive. Easier said than done. I knew a guy who sailed as a 3rd mate for 10 yrs because he knew he needed time under his belt before he could upgrade to 2nd mate. By the way, I live in New England.
What about Seabulk Tankers? I know they’re with Seacor Holdings. Seabulk has a small fleet of tankers, though.
Most new mates are a train wreck and I doubt any of your classmates have done much cel nav either. Don’t be scared you won’t have to stand a watch by yourself for a while you’ll be fifth mate in charge of the laminator for at least a year. Pay for the class and go for the training mate spot.
Take the class. Take an AB’s job somewhere after that. It won’t hurt you. I sailed AB for a time out of school because there were no mates jobs. I worked for a non-union tanker company and then as an AB with MMP. I quit sailing after the MMP job and went ashore for a year or so. 9 to 5 sucks ass. You get up in the morning, go to work, come home, eat and watch the boob tube for a hour or two. The next day it starts over. Weekends are way too short and two weeks vacation isn’t enough. I went back to sea after that and have been doing it for 25+ years. I never regretted quitting that shore job and the AB time actually did me some good. If you have the VSO while you are sailing as AB, you don’t know what will happen. There may be an opportunity to bump up and you may realize that it isn’t so bad.
Thank you for your post. Good advice. You’re right - never know what will happen if I were to sail AB with all of my 3rd mate credentials. There are always opportunities in the industry. At this point, I’m just thankful that I renewed my license. I did actually contemplate letting it lapse. A guy at the Boston REC said, “Yeah, I’ve got some buddies who let their license lapse and they regretted it.” At least I have it my back pocket, so to speak. One of the reasons why I’m strongly thinking about going back to sea is because I do miss the time off. Right now, I work for a trucking company and have not taken a sick day or a vacation in a year. It’s awful. Every employee is eligible for a vacation after 1 year of employment. You’re right, it sucks ass. Yeah, 2 weeks vacation isn’t enough. A little while back, I interviewed for a job with an energy company and they’re policy was 2 weeks of vacation after 6 months with the company and then you get 3 weeks after 5 years of service. Regular people in the working world think that’s a deal. It’s NOT a deal. Many people work way too hard to only be rewarded with a limited amount of time off. If I took the VSO course, I’d would be using up half of my vacation time. Ridiculous! One of my family members gets 7 weeks of vacation/year. She works in assisted living facility. Seven weeks of vacation! That’s a deal!
One last thing…Don’t get discouraged if you get on a crappy ship. The are crap ones, really good ones and everything in between. I have heard of many people that come out and have a bad first trip. They quit the business because “this sucks”. Well yeah that ship may but there are plenty that don’t.
You got to do what makes you happy. I get not liking the daily grind of land based employment. I did that for a short bit myself and agree the daily commutes suck, there’s barely enough time in the evening for home life to matter, the weekends blow by and vacation is just way too short.
What I don’t get is why you are thinking about diving back into the sector of the business that drove you away in the first place. There’s other sectors such as cars, containers, lakers, tugs, and cruisers. Just saying…
[QUOTE=Fraqrat;144415]Come on man you know why he wants back in the life. Ain’t you ever seen the big Pimpin video?[/QUOTE]
lol… Was that you in the video? jk
[QUOTE=+A465B;144427]Personally, I was thinking of T Pain, [I]I’m on a Boat[/I][/QUOTE]
AWWW SHIT! GET YOUR TOWELS READY, It’S AbOuT to GO DoWn!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avaSdC0QOUM
I’m not sure if Reinauer is looking but they only hire ABs with licenses. It would give you some sea time and pad the bank account. You should also have time to refresh your PIC and get your VSO when you can. I’m not sure when the last time you sailed was so your STCW may need some class time too.
Thanks for your post. Yeah, I’ve always been interested in Reinauer. I know they visit Portsmouth, NH on a regular basis. Portland, ME, Boston, Rhode Island and New York, too. Don’t know much about them. I check their website all the time. Seems like they’re never hiring. Of course, there’s Moran, but Moran is a mystery to me. I’ve heard Moran isn’t easy to get a job. To me, tugboats always seemed like a great way to become really proficient in seamanship, linehandling, talking on the radio, traffic situations, etc. I submitted my resume one time to Moran in Portsmouth, NH and never got a response, phone call or anything.
Thanks for your post. Yeah, I’ve always been interested in Reinauer. I know they visit Portsmouth, NH on a regular basis. Portland, ME, Boston, Rhode Island and New York, too. Don’t know much about them. I check their website all the time. Seems like they’re never hiring. Of course, there’s Moran, but Moran is a mystery to me. I’ve heard Moran isn’t easy to get a job. To me, tugboats always seemed like a great way to become really proficient in seamanship, linehandling, talking on the radio, traffic situations, etc. I submitted my resume one time to Moran in Portsmouth, NH and never got a response, phone call or anything.[/QUOTE]
If you can’t get your dream job with Reinauer or Moran, Bouchard has an ad in this month’s Workboat magazine seeking AB/tankermen. They are a scumbag operation but if it gets you going again then how bad could it be?
and you are certainly correct about tugs…short of the offshore, that is the place to be these days. In fact, if the wages are coming up to become close to offshore then I would rather be there. Anyone getting a raise on their tug?
Updated - - -
[QUOTE=TrainMan;144428]AWWW SHIT! GET YOUR TOWELS READY, It’S AbOuT to GO DoWn!!![/QUOTE]
Trainman…I am going to make you regret for the rest of your sorry assed life when you posted that…
No more scumbag than any BAYOO company. I don’t work there but there are way too many happy people working there making good $. If you needed barge experience or want to work ATB’s what’s wrong with Bouchard? Don’t go quoting some 10 year old stories of Morty firing whole crews.
Raises negotiated and coming soon on my tug!!! Not osv cash but the money is coming up. Non-union with no representation…just guys that refuse to eat the shit sandwich as a whole.
[QUOTE=c.captain;144444]EAT SHIT AND DIE…YOU GANGMAN EMM EFFER![/QUOTE]
That video was pretty funny too. With the number of people in it, there has to be someone who was in Annapolis here when that was filmed…
[QUOTE=TrainMan;144462]That video was pretty funny too. With the number of people in it, there has to be someone who was in Annapolis here when that was filmed…[/QUOTE]