Where are they??? Where is the best place or any place other than oil and tug boats to go to get more unlimited horsepower seatime to upgrade to 3rd Assist Eng. Unions only hire 3rd and up. Got apps in at MSC and a couple of oil companies.
MSC, for all its faults is probably your best bet for unlimited HP and tonnage jobs.
You could investigate the big Fish Processing factory ships.
Make sure you will get Engineering seatime, get it in writing.
Check out the OSVs in the Gulf of Mexico. You will get your time there.
Check out the OSVs in the GOM. You will get your time there.
Original post was where to get time “other than oil and tug boats”.
For some reason I thought it read Oil Tankers.
[QUOTE=STEVO63;55439]Where are they??? Where is the best place or any place other than oil and tug boats to go to get more unlimited horsepower seatime to upgrade to 3rd Assist Eng. Unions only hire 3rd and up. Got apps in at MSC and a couple of oil companies.[/QUOTE]
Don’t rule out the ATBs. Many are under SIU contract, some are IBU.
Regardless of where you work, your time has to be on vessels of over 100 GT and over 4000 hp to qualify for unlimited hp.
Thanks for all your responses. I’m holding a DDE Unl HP w/500 GT restriction. Used to work for Tidewater on OSV’s & ocean tugs. Great experience but like to move on. Read book on fish processors up in Alaska, I’d rather be sailing. Been to the SIU halls in New Orleans and Jacksonville and neither wanted to talk to me, did’nt even know what the license was that I have. Also costs over $1000 to join up front with no gaurantee of job. My application for MSC is now in its 2nd month of evaluation and they say it could be 2 more months. Strange that we are all investigated by the government for all of our paperwork but MSC (government) still has to take so long. More of our tax money being wisely spent I guess. The only other way to upgrade to 3rd I figure is to step down and take a position as QMED, get seatime, then test for 3rd. Need about 9 months of unlimited hp seatime to get to 50%. Thanks again.
Have you checked out marine firemans union and conoco phillips. CP just hired an oiler earlier this month, have an in house union, atlantic maritime employees union (google). They used to be ARCO. I know you’re trying to avoid the qmed route, but… Luck to you.
Thanks, I sent application to conoco phillips for oiler position bout a month ago, never heard anything. Guess they found someone better than licensed engineer to fill that qmed spot. Never heard of the 2 unions you mention, but I will certainly check em out. Doin a little time on the old NOAA boat Albatross IV getting ready to take her up to Baltimore. Thanks again.
[QUOTE=STEVO63;55980] Guess they found someone better than licensed engineer to fill that qmed spot.[/QUOTE]
Unless you want to work on something < 500 tons your license doesn’t mean anything to the people you are talking to. When you approach a union about a deep sea job you would be much better off if you just keep your license to yourself and state that you have the certificate you need to sail as a QMED. They don’t have much time for guys who think their DDE makes them a better choice for a job than their own members who have been very competent QMEDs for many years.
There is more to getting a job than having a piece of paper.
To a company that operates unlimited tonnage vessel you are not really licensed per se, since your license is of no use to them. Unless you have a QMED also you are just a wiper to them. It wouldn’t surprise me if they didn’t even know what a DDE is.
I totally agree with you about keeping the DDE license to myself. Big difference in language between limited and unlimited licenses, found that out the hard way. You may have misunderstood my comment on QMEDS. I was a QMED at one time and now that I am more experienced and having served more time at sea, naturally a company would prefer that over someone with less experience unless, as you say, is already a member. This is also information that limited guys have to learn in trying to communicate with the unlimited world. At this time, I am applying for QMED positions since this is all I am eligible for in order to get to 3rd. As for the paper, you dont get the job unless you have it.
[QUOTE=KPEngineer;55995]To a company that operates unlimited tonnage vessel you are not really licensed per se, since your license is of no use to them. Unless you have a QMED also you are just a wiper to them. It wouldn’t surprise me if they didn’t even know what a DDE is.[/QUOTE]
Exactly. As I recall, DDE stood for Designated Duty Engineer and, for the most part, was to document those that worked in the engine room as engineers on unispected vessels and/or supply vessels. I do recall from my time on ocean tugs and ITBs, there was no requirement for licenses for engineers on these vessels, however most companies that I worked for preferred their engineers to have at least a 3AE unlimited license. It worked well for me since all of my tug/ITB time was in excess of 4KhP. The DDE documentation just started either prior or just after I came ashore. As I understood it, it was a replacement of the old “Oil and Mineral” Engineer’s license; which, at least from my experience, didn’t amount to much.
[QUOTE=cmakin;56555] As I understood it, it was a replacement of the old “Oil and Mineral” Engineer’s license; which, at least from my experience, didn’t amount to much.[/QUOTE]
The original M&O engineer’s license was good for vessels up to 500 gt. Late '70s, it was raised to 1000 gt. This was about time the massive new-build program started in the Gulf. The companies pressured the CG to ease the requirements for licensing. That’s when the “instant license” came into being. All you had to do was fill out a declaration form, get your temporary license (wheelhouse and engine) and follow up at a later date. (Scarey huh?) It froze wages. After the down turn in the early to mid '80s, the glut of licensed personel made the move North during the 333 strike…OK…I started on a rant…The DDE was supposed the lump the engineer of uninspected vessels less than 300 gt with a license that would cover inspected vessels up to 500gt.
I KNEW there was something about you I respected. The problem is, some of these dingalings are still around! Just dumb luck I guess.
I had a couple when I was Chief on an ATB. “Parallel Generators, why do I need to do that?”. “Which mechanics do you use for engine repairs?”. Yeah. Fun times.
That’s pretty good. I got one from 1989 or so. I was chatting with a skipper on a NY tugboat. He was sitting in the galley having a sandwich for lunch.
The ‘engineer’ was dressed in his usual work attire. (horse coat, long, canvas, slit up the back,) The engineer came into the galley, harrumphed about having to go do some work, stuffed a wd40 can into his coat pocket and started to walk out. The Captain asked him, “what are you going to do?” The ‘engineers’ response was: "I’m going to grease the tow winch!’ Yes Toto, we aren’t in Kansas anymore, but sometimes I really, really wonder !
Maybe he was going to use the WD-40 to clean his hands or to clean up any stray grease. It works great for that. Why would anyone think he was going to use it to grease the winch?