It is the company’s fault for not finding a replacement in the meantime and canceling sailings as a result. I mean you won’t find any deep sea companies canceling a voyage because they are waiting on your chief mate license. They are simply going to go find someone else.
If the Steamship Authority was honest they would say hey look we have more or less a monopoly it makes sense for us to cancel voyages right now to and raise prices on other voyages. This will reduce our overall operating costs compared to hiring more expensive outside help without hurting profits. In the meantime we have employees that are overall cheaper than outside help and are pressuring the coast guard for special privileges to get those people pilotage faster than everyone else. We are blaming the coast guard and national Mariner shortage as justification. But we refuse to hire outside help and demand the coast guard helps us out and passengers will be affected a result.
Yes. I know a couple guys with pilotage for the Steamship Authority routes. They got it thinking that it would eventually turn into jobs, but it never did, at least not beyond a few relief jobs.
The Steamship Authority was an incestuous closed shop for many years. It became an underpaying closed shop. That has come back to haunt them now. It’s solely a self-inflicted problem created by grossly overpaid mismangers.
The USCG should not be bailing the Steamship Authority out now with give away pilot licenses.
The Steamship Authority can search its records and hire guys with proper Federal pilotage for good money, or hire State Pilots, while they train new pilots.
The Steamship Authority serves two islands full of billionaires that have lobbyists and Congressmen on retainer. The USCG will give them whatever they want.
Working mariners usually get the short end of the stick.
Can someone explain to me why they need pilotage, because im a little confused. These are not unlimited tonnage vessels, they are US flag, and going to US ports. Why is a limited master’s license (1600 Near Coastal for example) not sufficient for these routes?
There are plenty of ships sailing short of the COI requirement right now. I believe there was a whole thread on it?
Steamship is run essentially by the state, they operate off of fares and from some taxes from the communities they serve. What outside help can they find? One guy said he “knows a few guys” with the pilotage. Are they working elsewhere? Do they still sail? Is the pilotage documented and are they approved to work for Steamship/in that union? What’s the answer you want here?
I just looked up salaries. Some of the Steamship captains are pulling in over $180K annually. That sounds like a pleasant salary given they get to sleep at home every night.
Edit: just checked their site and the only deck jobs listed are OS.
Exactly and those companies are doing everything in their power to find people. There’s union companies posting adds on their websites/ indeed/ LinkedIn and even using head hunters to find people.
For them to simply post an ad on their website and to recruit and hire for the positions they don’t have and are claim to be short of. Or for them to be completely honest about their true intentions which seems unlikely. Most can see through their bullshit and I hope you can too.
That’s true, but those billionaires support the island business and workers that need to use the ferries in order to provide goods and services to said billionaires.
Perhaps there is more to the story than is obvious. Like maybe an “artificial shortage” being created of a certain skillset? But of course, don’t mind me, mr cynic.
So they planned on the assumption/hope that they would be approved quickly and would then pass their exams on the first try? That applications have been delayed is not exactly a secret.
Idk what they thought. Place has been notoriously hard to get into, so if they had a bunch of retirements at once, guys quit, whatever it is they ended up with guys who weren’t ready from their own license standpoint to step in.