Where to get the initial 30 days of DP seatime?

I will be taking the DP induction course on my own dime. As soon as I have 30 days of DP seatime, I’ll take the DP Advanced course on my own dime. After that I’ll be looking for the best permanent job that I can find on any DP vessel.

Any suggestions on the fastest and easiest places where I could get the first 30 days of Nautical Institute acceptable DP seatime?

I don’t want to work for free, but I don’t care what I have to sail as, or what kind of vessel, the gross tonnage, or how low the wages are, as long as I get the NI required one hour per day of DP seatime properly documented.

Just wondering if you have a job?

I’m working, but I’m about to make a change.

A lot of companies are hiring now even if you don’t have a DP certificate. Once you take the first class I would go ahead and put a few applications out there. No company that I know of will let you come onboard to get you DP time unless you have been hired and passed the proper physical and drug test.

Very true. HOS and Chouest take care of the DP training for you… Just get those applications in and don’t waste your money. Even if you blow your own dime on Basic DP, you will find it very difficult to get the 30 days familiarization period aboard a company’s vessel without being a permanent employee. And if you ARE employed there, it’s more likely they will be paying for your training anyhow.

Yes. I will be looking for a paying job to provide the initial 30 days of DP seatime, but I’ll be in it for the DP time, not the money, title, benefits, or whatever else. I’m assuming that the first job on a DP vessel will not be something that I would want to stick with, but I wouldn’t rule that out. For instance, I’m not interested in working on crewboats, but would do it temporarily for DP time. With a 1600 ton license that was issued a long time ago, I’m not going to try to BS anyone that I’m going to stick with some low pay or low quality job.

Drug tests and ordinary physicals are not a problem, but I assume that I (like most people my age) would not be able to pass the very intensive physicals that some of the top oil patch companies are now doing. So I’m probably looking for a smaller company,

For what it’s worth, 30 days of DP will take you a while if you are actually playing by the NI rules. I know that if I were audited that my DP Log, deck log, and DP Utilization Report would all support actual reportable DP time, not sea time on a DP capable vessel.

Where can you find info on 1 hour per day rule?
The current NI log book can only record the same data as your seamans book so just get a job on a boat tied to the dock.
The new log book will be similar to the IMCA one so console time will be recorded apparently?
PS most likely you will face the exam in the basic course and you had better study before you go to the school if you are not familair with DP equipment and operations

[QUOTE=powerabout;83342]Where can you find info on 1 hour per day rule?
The current NI log book can only record the same data as your seamans book so just get a job on a boat tied to the dock.
The new log book will be similar to the IMCA one so console time will be recorded apparently?
PS most likely you will face the exam in the basic course and you had better study before you go to the school if you are not familair with DP equipment and operations[/QUOTE]

REPLY. I just looked on the NI website for the definition of a “day” of DP seatime which requires that at least one hour be actually on DP, but this morning I could not find it again. I’ll look again later.

I did notice on the NI website that the sample logbook entries showed days onboard, not days on DP. The NI website also mentions that 28 days of DP seatime is sufficient to attend the Advanced DP simulator course so that the Advanced DP course can be taken after one 28 day hitch. There is an NI assessment sheet (I don’t remember what the NI calls it) with tasks to be successfully completed while on DP.

I have ordered the DP manual from NI. However, the school in the US that I spoke with said that there is no need to pre-study. I recall seeing comments on gcaptain claiming that the basic class at some schools in Louisiana is indeed extremely simple and a very poor value considering the cost, if not an outright waste of time and money.

I want to do exactly what is legitimately required by the NI, no more, no less.

I would consider taking the DP course in Europe, Canada, or anywhere else. The least expensive course that I can find is in Louisiana. Also, I would be willing to work on a foreign flag DP vessel to obtain the initial 30 days of DP seatime.

Let me put my question another way.

What are the lowest paying, worst working conditions, highest turnover (— nobody would blame you for leaving them after a fairly short period of time —), and easiest to get a job at, companies that operate DP vessels?

today you dont need to study
when the exam starts ( soon?) you will

[QUOTE=tugsailor;83345]Let me put my question another way.

What are the lowest paying, worst working conditions, highest turnover (— nobody would blame you for leaving them after a fairly short period of time —), and easiest to get a job at, companies that operate DP vessels?[/QUOTE]
best paying DP jobs are Africa…make sure you make a will before you go

From the Nautical Institute website – PDF dp-operator-certificate — definition of a “DP day”:

DP day: Is any day
when DP operations
are undertaken by
the vessel.[B] (A
minimum of one hour
is accepted)[/B]
Dates on DP: are the
dates the vessel is
actively engaged in
DP operations.

From the NI Website

SEAGOING FAMILIARISATION
This is a period of 30 days seagoing DP experience during which the prospective DPO
has to complete the majority of the tasks set out in Section C of The Nautical
Institute’s Dynamic Positioning Operator’s logbook.
The Institute does not wish to extend this familiarisation unnecessarily and so, for
example,[B] if the prospective DPO is on a 28‐day work/leave cycle they may be
allowed to attend the Simulator/Advanced course after one period of sea service.[/B]
However approval to attend should be sought from the training centre and/or
Institute.

The NI intends that DP familiarization can be completed in 1 (one) 28 day hitch.

Still the same problem? i got the Dp basic certificate about 2 weeks ago. From the date i got it, i sent countless application to the companies but unfortunately no reply.
Where can i do my 30 days training for get the advance course.

I’m in the same boat pal, have my C/O Unlimited, got my D.P Basic at the start of the year also BOSIET and MIST, fired off a ton of applications but no such luck.

You look on Agency web sites and there are a shed load of D.P jobs out there, the problem is certain people out there offer their service for free and at reduced pay, (the same people that have put the merchant navy in the state it’s in today).

I also believe that clients ask for D.P operators working on the chartered vessels to have a certain amount of D.P time for insurance purposes.

I reckon the best way to go is get with a company that has D.P and non D.P vessels then side step onto their D.P vessels, getting your full D.P ticket is going to be a long haul.

I’ve not benefited at all paying for my D.P basic, £1500 quid down the drain.