Crowley and kirby, whats it like now?
Not too sure about Crowley, I think the ATB guys have it pretty good, equal schedule, good pay, etc… But from what Ive heard from friends at Kirby, it still sucks, certainly on the left side of the company…
Thanks, but I cant help but wonder compared to what.
Thanks, but I cant help but wonder compared to what.
Well, compared to getting kicked in the head repeatedly, Kirby is a great option. I would much rather work at Kirby than I would work at getting kicked in the head for 12 hours a day. Hope that helps. God bless.
I am at a crossroads after getting my license and looking to get my foot in the door. I have the option of either Kirby inland or crowley wire boats. Any input as to which one sounds better?
Didn’t think they were hiring? I know kirby has about 4-5 boats tied up cold.
Well which company is more desirable ?
No clue they both pretty much just move oil barges aside from crowleys ship assist stuff which is hard to get onto from what I hear unless you want to sit in Valdez.
So nobody on here works the west coast making long tows? Ports of call was what i really wanted to hear about. Typical east coast hitch would be boston new haven maine or philly a few times. How about over there? Hawaii? Alaska? South America? Cali?
Dunlap does AK and Hawaii.
As far as i know Crowley doesnt have much left as far as conventional towing. Ship assist jobs are limited too. Valdez always needs people. The ATB’s are in need of 2nd Mates. Ports? If youre moving oil it doesnt matter, one terminal looks just like the next.
Back in the 80s I did a stint with Crowley on the West Coast. I spent most of the time hauling an oil barge from the Puget Sound to Long Beach. We made the odd stop in Seattle, Tacoma and San Francisco. Also filled in with some ship assist stuff, but that was back when they had a whole lot of that work. Different situation now.
We leave with 3 boats each week freight to SE AK and Whittier, AK. Boyer tows to Alaska a lot. Island tug and barge to anchorage. Brusco has been towing a freight barge in Alaska recently. And as stated Dunlap has a quite a few boats towing for Northland. They use all of crowleys old sea robin class tugs.
[QUOTE=rshrew;85631]We leave with 3 boats each week freight to SE AK and Whittier, AK. Boyer tows to Alaska a lot. Island tug and barge to anchorage. Brusco has been towing a freight barge in Alaska recently. And as stated Dunlap has a quite a few boats towing for Northland. They use all of crowleys old sea robin class tugs.[/QUOTE]
I hear that they finally got those ALCOs out of them. I remember spending lots of time at Fredeman’s Shipyard in Carlyss when Crowley bought those tugs. Hot summer days. . . In my “time off”. . .
Yup cats now 3606’s I think? I know they are 36 series
Thought they were 08’s…they were nice boats compared to the 9’s…
[QUOTE=mtskier;85694]Thought they were 08’s…they were nice boats compared to the 9’s…[/QUOTE]
I preferred the 9s. That is just me, though. I thought that they rode better. A bit more crowded down below, though.
I know resurrecting old threads isn’t the best practice around here but I thought this one deserved a little more discussion than it got. What’s the word from the west coast these days? I hear things like Western is growing, Dunlap is shrinking but it’d be nice to hear from the fine gentlemen here on gCaptain who slug it out in the trenches out there every day.
I also hear companies like Western and Dunlap don’t do regular rotations. What’s the incentive to work there then? Why would anyone want to work for a company where you’re never really sure how long you’re going to be at home or at work until one day you get a call from the office out of the blue? Doesn’t make much sense me to me but then I’ve never been out to the west coast. So that’s how I find myself asking for the esteemed opinions of the esteemed gentlemen herein.
[QUOTE=PaddyWest2012;132713]I know resurrecting old threads isn’t the best practice around here but I thought this one deserved a little more discussion than it got. What’s the word from the west coast these days? I hear things like Western is growing, Dunlap is shrinking but it’d be nice to hear from the fine gentlemen here on gCaptain who slug it out in the trenches out there every day.
I also hear companies like Western and Dunlap don’t do regular rotations. What’s the incentive to work there then? Why would anyone want to work for a company where you’re never really sure how long you’re going to be at home or at work until one day you get a call from the office out of the blue? Doesn’t make much sense me to me but then I’ve never been out to the west coast. So that’s how I find myself asking for the esteemed opinions of the esteemed gentlemen herein.[/QUOTE]
A lot of guys like not having a set schedule. It usually means you can work whenever and as much as you want to, at least between April and November. It is true that it is sometimes difficult to get off, especially in Alaska. Companies don’t want to pay for a lot of expensive flights to remote places. Less work is available in the winter, but fewer people want to work in the winter. The type of schedule is just one of the many differences between Eastern and Western towing.
Yes & No most people work by trip basis. So if a boat leaves per say Wednesday it’s a 10 day trip to alaska and back. That boat will leave again on Wednesday so you have 3 days off between trips. Most folks work 2 trips and take a trip off so it basically 10 on 3 off 10 on 16 off if that makes sense.