Did a search but didn’t find what I was looking for, so here goes:
I hold a Master of Towing Vessels upon Western Rivers, Inland Waters and Great Lakes with an Inland Radar Observer endorsement.
I have been laid off for the second time this year(small companies) and decided to look at offshore opportunities. My dad was a seagoing tug captain from my birth until I was a senior in high school. He is the reason I got into the towing industry.
I always wanted to do the offshore thing, but the western rivers thing was available to me at the right time so that’s the route I took.
I would like to get into offshore towing or OSVs, but the offshore realm has a whole different vocabulary of acronyms that are above my knowledge. I emailed the NMC with my question, but the response I got (take exam, get mate endorsement for route you want, ride 90 days, TOAR, reapply for master) seems a little too succint. I have no experience with towing astern, which makes me think I would need to start at the bottom with a towing company that does that. Can any of you guys point me in the right direction for guidance or give me a no sh***er on how to go about this change in direction. Thanks in advance.
Thanks for the info. Being new to this realm, finding info is tricky. I haven’t a clue if my current license means anything to the bluewater world and if I’ll have to start over as a deckhand. The whole MMD, OS/AB, wiper, etc thing is greek to me.
46 CFR 11.403 shows the crossover from your license to the others. As sad as this sounds, you should probably do all the research and figure out how it’s done before approaching NMC because it’s going to be you schooling them on the process.
I took a look at that chart. My Master’s License has no tonnage rating. It’s simply “Master of Towing Vessels”. My understanding by what NMC said is I would need to take the exams to be a Mate of whatever the next higher route is above WR,IW and GL, then serve 90 days aboard. But I’m not sure if I can transition to OSVs from Towing Vessels. My other confusion is the OS and AB ratings. I have seen where I can take STCW courses to get those endorsements, but I looked all over NMC’s site last night looking for what the requirements and particulars are for a MMD and didn’t get very far. Is there a Private entity that I could contact that would know all of this, or is this going to be several month process just to [I]find out[/I] what I need to do?
I am pretty sure if you have a Master of Towing vessels and no other license such as 500 ton or 1600 ton then you are limited to 200 tons. I am not 100% but I think that is how it works.
There must be a tonnage printed on your license. Check it out and get back to us. That would help us give you better direction. But to work offshore without a 200ton restriction on your license, you must satisfy all the STCW95 requirements by taking the required courses.
Is there a Private entity that I could contact that would know all of this, or is this going to be several month process just to [I]find out[/I] what I need to do?[/quote]
Brandon, This is from the marine safety manual vol III page 16-1
Able Seaman Unlimited- 3 years service on deck of vessels operating on the oceans or Great Lakes… Notice that there is " NOT", a tonnage requirement for this rating.
Able Seaman Limited - 18 months service on deck of vessels of 100 gross tons or over ,which operate on the oceans,Great Lakes or navigable waters of the U.S.
Able Seaman Special - 12 months service on deck on vessels operating on the oceans,Great Lakes or the navigable waters of the U.S.
Able Seaman OSV - 6 months service on deck on vessels operating on oceans,Great Lakes or the navigable waters of the U.S.
There are endorsements that are required under the CFR’s that apply to Able Seaman also . Life Boatman ( personal survival craft) and also RFPNW ( Rating forming part of a navigational watch) it will all depend on what size of vessels you get on and where they are operated…If I remember correctly you need to have life boatman in order to qualify for Able seaman…
Ordinary Seaman and wiper are entry level ratings…You should easily have AB special and depending on the tonnage and time ,you may have AB limited as well…good luck
Mate/Master of Towing Vessels normally do not have a tonnage limit on them, unless the mariner was grandfathered from an older license that restricted them to 100 GRT or less. Although there is not a tonnage limit on the license, they are limited to not more than 300 GRT on near coastal/oceans routes. They are unlimited tonnage inland and western rivers.
Depending on where you operate offshore, you may also need STCW.
[I][quote=rjbpilot;18670]There must be a tonnage printed on your license. Check it out and get back to us. That would help us give you better direction. But to work offshore without a 200ton restriction on your license, you must satisfy all the STCW95 requirements by taking the required courses.[/quote][/I]
Mate/Master of Towing Vessels do not normally have a stated tonnage limit. They are good for any tonnage inland and western rivers, and not more than 300 GRT near coastal and oceans. The only tonnage limit that will appear on a towing license is if the mariner is restricted to less than 200 GRT (e.g. frm grandfathering from an older license). You are correct that STCW may be needed as well.
Mate/Master of Towing Vessels normally do not have a tonnage limit on them, unless the mariner was grandfathered from an older license that restricted them to 100 GRT or less. Although there is not a tonnage limit on the license, they are limited to not more than 300 GRT on near coastal/oceans routes. They are unlimited tonnage inland and western rivers.
Depending on where you operate offshore, you may also need STCW.[/QUOTE]
Could you point me to the regulation that says I can operate towing vessels of not more than 300grt on near coastal/oceans routes with my Master of Towing :Western Rivers, Inland Waters, Great Lakes? Thanks.
You can’t operate near coastal or oceans with an inland and/or WR license. As for the tonnage restriction on near coastal ad oceans, there isn’t a specific regulation. The limitation will be noted on the vessel’s manning documents. The standards for manning are in the Marine Safety Manual, I don’t have the relevant part at hand and am not familiar with it enough to cite it from memory.
<O:p</O:p
[FONT=Verdana]If you want to at least see something in writing, check the Federal Register notice of the current regulations. It’s from June 17, 2003 (68 FR 35801). See the paragraph titled “License Stipulations” on page 35808. This rule changed the original rule from 2001 which had a specific limit to 200 GRT. In 2003 that provision was removed, reverting to the existing manning standards that require an “inspected” license (500 GRT or more) on vessels over 300 GRT. You can check the language of the 2001 rulke at 66 FR 20931 (4/26/01), look at 46 CFR 10.463(a). You can also check this at the CFR website by looking at the 2002 version of the CFR.[/FONT]
Thanks for the clarification. I mis-understood your original answer. I will prob get my 500 ton Inland Master and then see about increasing scope to include near coastal after I get a bluewater employer. May look to United Ocean Service after the 500 t and AB card. Thanks again to all who answered. I know I have some work to do, but this is my profession, not just a job.
