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This is the thread about commercial vessels, and the very awesome people who work on them. Not to be mistaken with the Working on Cruise Ships thread; that’s about people getting paid to drink on a boat. FAQ What kind of jobs do you do on a boat? It depends on your position. Here’s a quick rundown: Deck Department Captain: The Big Boss, sole master after God and the email account. He’s legally in charge of the vessel, meaning he does a lot of paperwork and does the ship handling. He’ll also come up to the bridge to help the officers if they get swamped, or if things get complicated. 1st Mate: In charge of maintenance, stability and cargo handling. Works like a dog, yells like a bitch. If the captain dies, he takes over. Stands a watch, just like the other mates. Does a shitload of paperwork. Hopes to make Captain some day. 2nd Mate: Navigation. Plans the voyages, programs and "fix" the navigation equipment, all that good stuff. Does a metric shitton of paperwork. Sometime hopes to make 1st mate some day. 3rd Mate: Takes care of the safety equipment. Extinguishers, life boats and whatnot. Usually the least experienced mate, but not always. Hopes to make 2nd mate some day... Usually. A/B: Able seaman, wheelsman, bridge watchman, what have you. Those are the guys who actually drive the boat, under the watchful direction of the officers. When in port, they either help with cargo handling or stand gangway watch. They’re more experienced than OS’s. A normal ship will usually have three. Ordinary seaman: Your basic entry position. The guys who paint, handle mooring lines, chip rust, paint, mop, paint, open and close hatches, paint, and handle hull and bulkhead coating application. Engine Department (Shamelessly stolen from Two Finger) Chief Engineer - the Chief is basically responsible for every system on board the ship. They'll hold what's known as a MEC1 certificate which is about 10 years worth of study (including sea time). They make all of the major decisions about what happens to the machinery on board - overhauling, replacement, repairs, etc. 2nd Engineer - My understanding is these guys look at the engine on a longer term than a 3rd does - monitor trends rather than immediate temperatures, etc. They will hold a MEC2. 3rd Engineer - Generally these guys are the ones that make sure stuff actually works. My brother is currently working as one and he tells me his day to day life is monitoring and checking. The ships, generally speaking, are pretty reliable and all he has to do is keep an eye on temperatures, fuel consumption, etc. Again, as with the 3rd mate, they are a watchkeeping officer and experienced enough to work on their own but not really experienced enough to make decisions on their own. They usually hold a MEC3 sometimes a 4th - basically a deputy 3rd, will also usually hold a MEC3 but it varies on the type of ship. Most of the ships I’ve been on had fourth engineers. They also have engine room rating, guys who help the engineers and, you guessed it, paint the engine room. I myself am a deck officer, so if anybody wants to suggest better information about the downstairs people, go ahead. There's also a catering department, with cooks. They do the cooking. Is it like the Navy? With the ranks and all? A guy called me Lieutenant once; I spent a whole minute looking around trying to figure out who he was talking to. There’s a hierarchy, but it’s pretty informal. Unless somebody fucks up. That sounds awesome! How do I get a job like that? It’s a bit complicated, and it depends what country you’re in. Before a maritime company will even look at you, you’ll need Seaman’s documents (Known as MMDs in the states, discharge books everywhere else), which can be obtained from your local maritime authority, and basic safety training of some sort. Namely, the STCW Basic Safety Training course (Wet stuff goes on hot stuff! Wet stuff is COLD! Wet stuff no good in lungs! Duuuuur!) and marine first aid training. Armed with your safety training and discharge book, you can now try to find a job. Joining a union usually helps, connections help a lot too. Note that you still have no clue on how to be a deckhand, hence why companies are not so eager to hire you. If you have the right attitude, you'll do well anyway. I'd really like to go to see for a gap year / free trip oversea. I have no experience at sea, but lots of experience in (IT, manual labor, food services, acccordion making), how do I go about this? Short answer: You don't. It's not worth it if you're not shipping out for 3 - 5 years. Long answer: Before any company will even be ALLOWED to look at you, you need seaman's papers. These will run you up about 100$ and take a few months. You also need a passport, but everyone has one by now. Otherwise... 150$ or so? Anyway, fiddlestick. Medical exam, valid two years, assuming you pass, 200$. Marine first aid course (In Canada) 400$. Already had basic / advanced / wildlife first aid? Too bad, get on your knee and kiss that mannequin. So here you are, six months later, about 1000$ in the hole, and shipping companies could possibly hire you without getting fined. Are you a competitive candidate? HELL NO. To be seriously considered, you'd need at least basic STCW. Three weeks or so, 3000$ or so. There's usually a six months waiting list, depending. Oh yeah, get some work gear. 500$ is a good starting budget, 1000$ if there's any chance you'll work in the winter. Alright, you got that. Now go join a union. 500$ joining fees, 65$ a month. Now go sit in the hall and wait for a job call. What's that you say? All the guys with tons of experience and seniority are taking all the good jobs? Then once they're gone Captains are refusing you because you don't know a cargo hold from a Focs'tle store? You're stuck in the hall for a month or more? Looks like you're going to have to take the poo poo job shoveling crap out of ballast tanks! Awesome! Now after two months of that (8000 thousand after taxes, maybe) you go back to the hall, and there's finally an interesting job open! Three months, going around the world! Oh but by now you have to go back to college. So that whole life experience, where you spent two months shoveling mud out of a dank, dirty ballast tank only to come up and get mocked by your crewmates because you're the FNG college kid, probably netted you about 2000$, net, assuming you had no travelling and living expenses to go to the hall / training. Worth it? You decide. (Note: If you actually are trying to start a career, this counts as experience and reputation building. And your co-workers won't mock you nearly as much. The initial investment is also higher than what you'd normally spend in a year.) But you don't understand, I wanted to take a free ride accross the Atlantic so I could go backpacking in Europe... And I just described the process you had to follow. There's no telling wether you'll be able to snatch that cross-Atlantic job. Heck, I shipped out for two years as an officer before I got to cross the Atlantic. And if anything, the company doesn't want to feed and pay someone they'll have to replace in bumfuck nowhere, east Europe. There's also the small matter of "Change of orders"... Scew painting, I wanna be an officer / engineer! What do I need to do? Learn to paint. There are two paths to becoming a licensed officer or engineer: the school path, and the experience path. Both involve painting. If you go to school, you go to college for four years to get a diploma in boats (Or a degree, depends on the school. I have a technical college diploma). The program I did was six semesters and twelve months at sea as a cadet. A cadet is kind of like an intern, except more desperate. After all that, you can go to your friendly local certifying authority and ask nicely for a license. Chances are they’ll have you write a couple exams on very useful stuff (Such as morse and flag communications for deck officers), then give you the paper. If you decide to start out as a deckhand, you’ll need to find a job as a deckhand, then complete – IIRC – 24 months of sea time, a certain amount of that as an AB or Engine Room Rating. Then you’ll need to take a simulator course and more emergency response training... And finally you can go and write exams, all about very important subjects. Lots of exams. Then congrats, you’ve got your license. (This takes about 5, 6 years, from what I’ve seen) That’s the license to be a 3rd / 2nd mate or 4th / 3rd engineer, by the way. If you want to go up, there’s more sea time and more exams to be had. Figure at least five years after your OOW to make Captain. If you have no life. Is there a lot of jobs? It depends directly on the state of the economy. When the economy’s good, you can’t get any time off. When the economy’s bad, it gets slightly less insane. There’s a gigantic shortage of qualified maritime labor, and it’s only going to get worst. How’s the pay?  How’s the lifestyle?  So ask away; there’s a few mariners on SA, so someone's bound to know the answer to your question. Otherwise, I’ll gladly make one up. Edit: lightpole posted:I can post about the 3rd on my last cruise dying in India and making less money as a 3rd than electrician. Please do. FrozenVent fucked around with this message at 04:41 on May 13, 2013 |
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Feb 28, 2011 18:05
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I'll do a write up for the Engineering side of things on a US ship: Licensed Side: Chief Engineer The highest ranked member of the engine department, and splits rank with the Chief Mate if the Captain becomes incapacitated. Spends much of their time doing paperwork. Responsible for every system aboard. I very rarely see the Chief down in the engine room, unless something has gone to hell. First Assistant Engineer The first is the day-boss of the engine room. Although he still reports to the Chief, the first is the one to give out the daily jobs, and is also the one in charge of the main engine, and usually in charge of refrigeration, unless there's a refrigeration engineer aboard. The first is also in charge of the Emergency Generator. Second Assistant Engineer The second is in charge of the boiler, fuel, compressors, and purifiers. I've seen seconds do water, but that's usually a thirds job. The second is also in charge of bunkering and slops. (Refueling and Discharging unusable oil) Third Assistant Engineer The third is the low man on the totem pole on the licensed side of things. Thirds are typically in charge of Sewage, Water, and Bilge, and Auxiliary Generator systems. Thirds maintain the lifeboat and MOB boat, but I've always seen the Chief or First with them when they're doing it. Third engineers also are usually the day-to-day electricians aboard ship, unless there's an Electrician. Unlicensed Side QMED There are a bunch of jobs that fall under the Qualified Member of the Engine Department category, being, Fireman/Watertender* Oiler* Junior Engineer Deck Engineer Electrician Refrigeration Engineer Machinist Pumpman Junior Engineer is the new name for the typical QMED job. Deck Engineer is almost never a stand alone position, but the class material is based around hydraulics. Electricians and Refrigeration Engineers aren't carried on all ships, but are typically the best paid unlicensed positions. a dedicated Machinist is also a bit of a rarity on a ship, but the endorsement is needed in order to become a Pumpman. Pumpmen are really only aboard tankers, and are kind of an oddity, because although they are part of the engine department, they work under the Chief Mate. Pumpmen deal with transferring cargo from tank to tank while underway to maintain stability, and work with the Chief Mate for transferring cargo aboard and ashore. Oiler Fireman/Watertender and Oiler have pretty much combined into one position now, F.O.W.T., which everyone just calls Oiler. Although it's a QMED job, typically QMED and Oiler are two different positions. If you're on a watch-standing ship, (which is becoming more and more rare these days), an Oiler will typically be a watch-stander. Wiper lowly grunt, a Wiper is the lowest position in the engine room. Your main job is to wipe up oil (shocking, right?). Wiper is entry-level, a job anybody can do, with no experience. In addition to cleaning, wipers also paint, and occasionally assist other ER personnel with jobs requiring an extra hand. --- There are a few more oddball positions out there, which I'll get into later. I'm currently Oiler, and I'm about 40 days short of being able to take my Junior Engineers test. I've been sailing Deep Sea, but intend to take my next job on the Great Lakes. If anybody has any questions, feel free to ask.
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Feb 28, 2011 23:14
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J Corp posted:There are a few more oddball positions out there, which I'll get into later. I'm currently Oiler, and I'm about 40 days short of being able to take my Junior Engineers test. I've been sailing Deep Sea, but intend to take my next job on the Great Lakes. If anybody has any questions, feel free to ask. I've spent a lot of time on the lakes (Canadian side) in the last few years. It gets... Repetitive, and it's cold as gently caress in the winter. Money's pretty good, tho, and it's all fresh water. poo poo doesn't rust nearly as fast.
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Feb 28, 2011 23:21
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FrozenVent posted:I've spent a lot of time on the lakes (Canadian side) in the last few years. It gets... Repetitive, and it's cold as gently caress in the winter. Money's pretty good, tho, and it's all fresh water. poo poo doesn't rust nearly as fast. I'm shooting for a Converyorman gig, working in the tunnel on a coal/ore boat. I actually have to call the union tomorrow and find out if fit-out jobs have started to come in yet. I really don't want to go back to work yet, but I'm trying to get my foot in the door up there and don't want to miss any opportunities.
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Feb 28, 2011 23:28
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J Corp posted:I'm shooting for a Converyorman gig, working in the tunnel on a coal/ore boat. I actually have to call the union tomorrow and find out if fit-out jobs have started to come in yet. I really don't want to go back to work yet, but I'm trying to get my foot in the door up there and don't want to miss any opportunities. Tunnelman's pretty much the worst job. It's noisy, cramped, dangerous as gently caress, noisy, dusty, noisy and dirty. Oh, and you'll need ear protection. (Can you tell how much I hate noise?) It's not a bad job, it's just definetly not a cushy one. You're working pretty much through the unload, but otherwise it's a bit of maintenance and cleaning here and there. Money's pretty good, hours are alright as long as you're not unloading. The canadian boats are going to start fitting out at the end of March (Maybe a bit earlier for the engine / tunnel crew); I don't know about the Americans. If you were Canadian, I'd tell you not to worry too much before June, that's usually when the steady guys take leave and relief jobs open up... But on the Canadian side, anyway, there's always room for tunnelmen. I know nothing about the American side, however. It could be entirely different. FrozenVent fucked around with this message at 21:13 on Mar 1, 2011 |
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Feb 28, 2011 23:36
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So if I'm looking to travel or do something different right out of college is this a good idea? I don't care about being in lovely locations, on a boat, or being worked like a dog all day if the pay is decent. Painting/Wiping all day is fine with me and I've talked to several people who say that the pay is pretty great and you have periods of serious downtime that are co mingled with periods of frantic activity.
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Feb 28, 2011 23:37
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I'm currently an engineer cadet on board this ship redacted we run a odd crew scheme by having twice as many junior officers as we need to. Due to the company that has hired/chartered the boat having run a safety analysis. We got captain, chief mate, two first and two second mates. Chief engineer, 1st engineer, two second engnieers, cadet (me) and a oiler apprentice.
Trench_Rat fucked around with this message at 12:10 on Jan 21, 2015 |
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Feb 28, 2011 23:44
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^^^^ What the gently caress, that's a lot of people. Don't seismic boats just make long lines in the water? Why the need for the extra manpower? And you might want to avoid naming the ships you're on. Waroduce posted:So if I'm looking to travel or do something different right out of college is this a good idea? I don't care about being in lovely locations, on a boat, or being worked like a dog all day if the pay is decent. Painting/Wiping all day is fine with me and I've talked to several people who say that the pay is pretty great and you have periods of serious downtime that are co mingled with periods of frantic activity. In between the paperwork, medical exam and safety training, I don't think it's worth it for just a few months. In Canada, you're looking at 3000-4000 bucks just to get started, and that's with no guarantee of a job. If you think it's something you might want to do for a year and up, go for it. It's a pretty lovely way to travel, and it's not AN ADVENTURE!!!!!!, but as long as you understand it's primarily a job, it can be interesting.
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Feb 28, 2011 23:45
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I'm currently working my way through one of the academies. What's it like getting a job after you have a license? Do they give a damned about prior experience, or is it just do you have a license and a pulse? I used to be in the Navy, and the Nav requires new people to qualify their watchstation before standing it unassisted, and I understand it is different on the civmar side of things. So let's say I get my license and get out of this academy, get a job and show up to the boat. Are they going to expect me to be able to stand a 3rd Assistant's watch immediately without learning the engine room? That's a little intimidating.
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Feb 28, 2011 23:49
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Trench_Rat posted:I'm currently an engineer cadet on board this ship http://www.eidesvik.no/veritas-viking/category136.html we run a odd crew scheme by having twice as many junior officers as we need to. Due to the company that has hired/chartered the boat having run a safety analysis. We got captain, chief mate, two first and two second mates. Chief engineer, 1st engineer, two second engnieers, cadet (me) and a oiler apprentice. Which school are you at? Why did you pick that one over the others?
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Feb 28, 2011 23:50
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FrozenVent posted:^^^^ What the gently caress, that's a lot of people. Don't seismic boats just make long lines in the water? Why the need for the extra manpower? Safety analysis saying its less likely to get black out. If you get a black out while shooting on the (oil)field it will cost you more than the extra vages of the enlarged crew. We only have two AB's and we have a manned engine room during the night instead of E0.
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Feb 28, 2011 23:52
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^^^^ How do they figure two extra deck officer will help with black outs? Is the ship DP? Office people...  camino posted:I'm currently working my way through one of the academies. It depends on the economy. License + pulse is pretty good, at least until they figure out how to license zombies. (I'm sure they're working on it.) I had HR hounding me to go take the drat oral already; I shipped out a week after I got my license. Prior experience counts for a lot on the deck side, especially regarding ship type - I don't have any tanker experience, so tanker companies won't even look at me. But for levels of experience, for a junior job, heh. It'll give you an edge over the next guy, if there's a next guy. As for qualifying, in my experience if it's your first job out of school the other watches will go six and six or the guy you relieved will stick around for a week or so. Once you've proven you're not a gigantic shithead and know to call for help before you're up to your neck in crap, they'll leave you alone. Alternatively, the crew is composed of people who don't give a gently caress or who already know you. In which case you'll be alone on the first watch. So yeah, expect to be by yourself inside of a few days after starting out. Next boat, somebody gives you a tour and you're pretty much on your own on the first day. FrozenVent fucked around with this message at 23:59 on Feb 28, 2011 |
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Feb 28, 2011 23:57
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camino posted:Which school are you at? Why did you pick that one over the others? Went to University College of Vestfold (norway) the only school in the coutry that offers marine enginner education at bachelor level. In norway there is two ways of becoming a merchant marine officer. Either through going to college (bachelor and STCW papers) or by going to vocational high school studying maritime subjects then apprentice as either AB or Oiler for two years then go to trade school and recive your STCW papers. Unfortuanly there are no more dedicated maritme colleges in this country anymore. So we have to work out our cadet placements on our own. Trench_Rat fucked around with this message at 00:02 on Mar 1, 2011 |
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Feb 28, 2011 23:58
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camino posted:I'm currently working my way through one of the academies. The majority of ships now, at least in the US fleet, are unmanned engine rooms. What I saw was the new engineer getting a pass on duty nights the first week or so with the other two engineers splitting it. If you get on a ship that you're going to stand watch on though, I'd get ready for being thrown in after a brief introduction. Keep in mind there will be a QMED or Oiler there with you that should know enough to get you through your first couple watches.
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Mar 1, 2011 00:06
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I am a deck officer cadet in the UK and having just finished my first college phase I will be joining my first ship in couple of days. It is a chemical product tanker and I will be on it for a about 3-4 months; I'm currently packing my bags, is there anything you experienced folks can think of to bring other than the obvious clothes, laptop and documents? What is usually available in the slop chest on your ships? Any magical cures for seasickness? How badly and how long does it usually effect you if at all? Have you ever known anyone to not get over it? (despite the million ways to die on a tanker this is what I am most nervous about) Do you have to join your ships in uniform? Do you even wear uniform when not in port? Is it true that lifeboats have killed more people than they have saved?
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Mar 1, 2011 00:18
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FrozenVent posted:^^^^ How do they figure two extra deck officer will help with black outs? Is the ship DP? Office people... sorry I screwed up we only have one first mate (as I understad first mate and chief mate is the same rank in the US?)
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Mar 1, 2011 00:23
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FrozenVent posted:Tunnelman's pretty much the worst job. It's noisy, cramped, dangerous as gently caress, noisy, dusty, noisy and dirty. Oh, and you'll need ear protection. (Can you tell how much I hate noise?) I know how bad it's going to suck, but the money is just too sweet. Who the gently caress wants port time in Duluth anyhow? magpie posted:I'm currently packing my bags, is there anything you experienced folks can think of to bring other than the obvious clothes, laptop and documents? Way more socks then you think you'll ever need. Multi-Vitamins. Your own Pillow. Pornography. Extra toiletries. A carton of cigarettes. Every so often the slop chest runs out. Bring the essentials you would need if you were moving and wouldn't be able to go to the store for months at a time. quote:What is usually available in the slop chest on your ships? Cigarettes, toiletries, candy, soda, miscellaneous crap. quote:Any magical cures for seasickness? How badly and how long does it usually effect you if at all? Have you ever known anyone to not get over it? (despite the million ways to die on a tanker this is what I am most nervous about) No magical cure that I've ever heard of. Try bringing Dramamine with you I guess. I don't really get seasick, but some guys feel a little lousy their first day or two. Some people don't get over it. quote:Do you have to join your ships in uniform? If your school told you to, you should. Nobody really gives a flying gently caress, but just do it. quote:Do you even wear uniform when not in port? The only person I've ever seen wear a 'uniform' in port was a captain, and even he didn't do it all the time. quote:Is it true that lifeboats have killed more people than they have saved? 
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Mar 1, 2011 02:28
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US Academies- West Coast- Cal Maritime Gulf Coast- Texas A&M East Coast- Maine Maritime Mass Maritime SUNY (I think they are still around?) Kings Point (Federal) I might have missed one, please correct if so. I can speak about CMA if there are questions. Choosing an academy- Usually they are cheaper if you are in state so I would go with cost since most people keep an eye on that. Second, look through the programs that are available. There isnt too much difference but I think there are some like Power Engineering available at some of them. Third, check on training ships and cruise destinations. This is pretty unimportant, the academy experience is not going to be very fun no matter where you go but if you can choose anywhere you want to go and cant decide then this might make a difference. Fourth, Kings Point. They are a federal academy that takes a congressional appointment or something. I would look to the state academies first but if you can get in and want a free education and dont mind owing some sort of service then have fun. Fifth, part of the country you want to end up in. Im not an east coast fan and would recommend CMA because of that. Some schools have certain companies or regions that recruit from them. If you want to find a cake job as a stationary engineer in the SF Bay Area then CMA is the place. I dont know much about the east coast though. Thats about it. There will not be much difference between them otherwise. "BUT I HEARD THAT [ACADEMY] IS poo poo YOU DONT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT" There is some difference in the regimentation of each school, CMA was known to be much more lax than other academies. They are currently tightening the regs and changing the school a lot. I have not compared the regimentation at each school so I dont know. As far as academics are concerned, F=MA is the same in Europe or the US and the Otto Cycle does not change just because you went through the Panama Canal. You should probably not listen to anyone who tells you different. My last Chief was a KP dropout who went to the MEBA school and he was pretty sharp but had no problem admitting his ignorance. He was of the opinion that anyone who could do their job and was willing and able to learn could not be a bad engineer. At the same time, unless you were in the process of making cold fusion a reality, it would be hard to say you were a great engineer. I tend to agree with him. I have a USCG 3rd A/E's license but just finished sailing as Electrician/Reefer/Oiler. I got out of school and worked in shore-side power plants for a but and then decided I wanted to go out to sea. After sitting in the MEBA union hall for four months and getting low on cash I took an E/R/O job through the MFOW and spent six months sailing in between New York and Singapore. It was a pretty rough six months. US shipping is pretty slow from January till about May when it starts to pick up. When you graduate from an academy there will be companies such as MSC specifically looking for recent graduates. There will also be unions such as AMO or MEBA who just want a license. If you have a dream job with a specific company then get your 4.0 and do whatever they want to guarantee it happens. Otherwise there is plenty of work available, mostly through unions, and nobody will care what your GPA is as long as you can do your job. Networking with your classmates is also a good job hunting resource. I started making $70k/year in power plants before I graduated. I get 6 figure job offers 5 years since graduation. As long as you arent an rear end in a top hat, are easy to work with and show an interest in the job/learning and know what you are doing people will be happy to work with you (for the most part). Just dont be an rear end in a top hat or try too hard to be a stereotype. I did not bring enough underwear or socks so bring enough for at least two weeks between washes. I also bought like 20-30 things of almonds at Wal-Mart when we hit the USEC and they lasted me for awhile. The most essential thing I brought was my Kindle. It only had like 50 books when I started out and I managed to acquire and finish over 100 more in the 6 months I was on. When you get to your first ship as a 3rd, dont be afraid to ask questions, they probably wont expect too much. You should know most of whats going on anyways. They will give you help or orientation (or should at least). If you gently caress up (you will), learn from it and move on. Just dont stress or freak out, be chill, follow your training and if you are in trouble call the 1st or Chief and ask questions or for help. Actually, you should probably be happy to play ignorant and just ask questions until they hate you and then ask more. After 4 months you get to get off and get a new ship (if you are union) and you get a clean slate. I have never had a problem with seasickness on anything over 500'. A 1000' container ship just does not move much and your officers will be doing their best to avoid anything real big anyways. Safety drills kill and injure a lot of people. I have some good pictures from my last trip. Diesel ships can run with unmanned engine rooms, some might have a watch. Steam ships usually run with a manned engine room. Everything depends on the contract, company and Coast Guard. On my last ship I went down the USEC to Port Said, through the Suez to Jebel Ali, Karachi, Singapore, Sri Lanka (I forget the name of the terminal) and back to Port Said and NY. I got to see some of Port Said till the new terminal went into operation and some of Singapore. Over two months I got less than 24 hours off the ship. The USEC I got to go to Wal-Mart in Charleston when we pulled in at 0300 and got my hair cut in Savannah and thats about it. Singapore I got some time in and it was really fun time until I was seasick... You really get to travel when you are not working since you dont have any work and a wad of cash in your pocket.
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Mar 1, 2011 03:27
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magpie posted:I'm currently packing my bags, is there anything you experienced folks can think of to bring other than the obvious clothes, laptop and documents? Tons and tons of socks. If you figure you'll need 5 pairs, bring 12. A set of long underwear (Good pajamas, and the basis of any good cold winter gear if it gets cold). Immodium. Ex-lax. Extra deodorant. I wouldn't go so far as to bring my own pillow, but that's up to you. Soap and laundry soap are usually supplied by the company, but I wouldn't rely on their bar soap. It's usually cheap as gently caress. Maybe pack an extra toothbrush, in case yours goes flying off the shelf and land in the toilet. (True story) Expect to pack heavy your first few trips, eventually you figure out what you really need, and what you can leave behind. Don't rely on the slop chest; most of the ships I've been on didn't even have them. The others... Heh, one had booze at really good prices, the cruise ship had really overpriced laundry soap. magpie posted:Any magical cures for seasickness? How badly and how long does it usually effect you if at all? Have you ever known anyone to not get over it? (despite the million ways to die on a tanker this is what I am most nervous about) Gravol. Personally, Bonamine makes me sick, but the crew on a ferry I worked on swore by it... Be careful with Gravol, it does make you drowsy. I get sea sick pretty often (Like at least once a year). Eventually you figure out what kind of motion makes you sea sick, and you figure out when it's coming... You can deal. There's a particular sort of headache I get that means i should pop a Gravol. The worst time, I was still a cadet... We were in the North Sea, in February, and when I printed out the weather fax at 0400, we were right on the R in STORM. Holy gently caress. We had a goddamn load of steel on, so we were getting tossed 35 degrees to each side every minute, for three days straight. I spent about three days knocked out in my cabin, praying for death. Jammed my immersion suit under the mattress so the angle would force me against the wall, and let everything else lay were it fell. By the end of that mess, seven guys out of a crew of 21 still managed to work. Oh, and the Captain's wife.. Everyone else were on their asses, puking and puking and ohgodpleaseletmedie. magpie posted:Do you have to join your ships in uniform? Uniforms vary a lot depending on corporate culture. A lot of companies don't even have them, some wear them all the time, some it's just to dinner... Personally, I've never worn them on a cargo ship. Check with somebody who's worked for the same company. There's bound to be a guy around your school who has. magpie posted:Is it true that lifeboats have killed more people than they have saved? Lifeboat drills are the most dangerous operation on a merchant ship. You'll figure out why pretty soon. WATCH YOUR loving HANDS.
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Mar 1, 2011 03:37
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Yep, there's a reason why one of the other cadets at my school earnt himself the name "Fingers". As far as what you're taking away - take some sort of long replayable computer game. I highly recommend Civ IV for this, and if you want to learn another language, you'll have plenty of downtime. I'm a little jealous, I REALLY want to go back to sea.
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Mar 1, 2011 04:01
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 Click here for the full 768x1024 image. ABS lifeboat inspection. I make sure Im too busy to even be around during these let alone in the boat. gently caress that Im not crazy.  Click here for the full 1280x956 image. 3rd getting off in India. There was some discussion on how to get him off and it was decided to drop him down to a cutter. At this point he has been in the basket suspended off the side for awhile while waiting on rain and seas.  Click here for the full 1446x1080 image. Cutter coming round to make another pass and try again.  Click here for the full 1446x1080 image.  Click here for the full 1446x1080 image. Cutter coming alongside. You can see how small they are compared to a container ship. We were moving a little, our main concern was controlling the basket. They were bouncing around like a cork.  Click here for the full 1446x1080 image. Tried to get a shot showing how the distance to the water and where he had been swinging around for over an hour. Jumping off the side of the ship would not even compare to the tiny drop you take in survival swimming. Need to get the rest of the pictures resized and transfer them from my phone. Ill finish this dramatic rescue in a sec.
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Mar 1, 2011 04:03
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FrozenVent posted:Tons and tons of socks. If you figure you'll need 5 pairs, bring 12. A set of long underwear (Good pajamas, and the basis of any good cold winter gear if it gets cold). Immodium. Ex-lax. Extra deodorant. I wouldn't go so far as to bring my own pillow, but that's up to you. Soap and laundry soap are usually supplied by the company, but I wouldn't rely on their bar soap. It's usually cheap as gently caress. Maybe pack an extra toothbrush, in case yours goes flying off the shelf and land in the toilet. (True story) What I managed to fit in my duffel bag (US military green duffel) and my hiking pack. PS3 with games MacBook Pro Barely took a week and a halfs worth of socks and underwear, picked up more at Wal-Mart Kindle T-Shirts/tank tops (didnt wear t-shirts, too hot, grabbed more tanks at WM) Boots/sandals/tennis shoes Coveralls, Carharts, Dickis workshirts (Coveralls for the hot areas, switched to the pants and shirts in the Atlantic) At least 4 pairs. Shorts/jeans/Dickis polos for port Used my phone as my alarm clock. My own warm blanket. Ive been on ships in cold weather without enough bedding. It sucks. Toiletries. Bring soap/toothpaste/toothbrush/shaving needs/chapstick/moisturizer/deodorant Nalgene or other water bottle. You need this. Bring it. Also brought some of my own tools (multimeter, dykes, linemans pliers) just in case. You should not do this unless you dont care if you lose them the 1st day or they would be INDISPENSABLE to the job. Thats pretty much it. Plan for weather, hot or cold. I did not bring foul weather gear/cold weather gear since I was on during summer in the Atlantic or in the Red Sea/Indian Ocean waiting to get the gently caress out. Also our A/C didnt work for around 10-15 days during the first trip so it was hot no matter what. lightpole fucked around with this message at 04:23 on Mar 1, 2011 |
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Mar 1, 2011 04:19
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 Click here for the full 1446x1080 image. Cutter approaching basket. This is on the stbd side. We could not control basket movement to port (towards camera) and the cutter is bobbing around like a motherfucker, dont be fooled by how calm the picture looks.  Click here for the full 1446x1080 image.  Click here for the full 1446x1080 image.  Click here for the full 1446x1080 image.  Click here for the full 1446x1080 image. As soon as he hit the deck the cutter hit full reverse (I dont blame the cpt, if they hit us they didnt stand a chance) and the basket snagged in the cutters lifelines with the hook still attached. Luckily they got it free alright.  Click here for the full 1446x1080 image. At this point he is safe on-board the cutter, although he has nothing except the coveralls he was wearing the last night when the accident happened (he claimed he slipped on a ladderwell in the port DG room). The cutters cpt decided he had had enough and that he was getting out and took him to the hospital, happy ending for everyone. He died in the hospital in India of a heart attack while sitting up talking to the ships agent, totally unrelated to his accident. The hospital double checked the medical officers handiwork and could find nothing wrong with him prior to this. Anyways heres a picture of the Red Sea at sunset. Its not a very happy day because I have around 5 weeks left. At least its my last trip.  Click here for the full 1446x1080 image. Two Finger posted:I'm a little jealous, I REALLY want to go back to sea. You are an idiot.
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Mar 1, 2011 04:41
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Holy poo poo, that transfer. I thought you were just handing off his body until I read the end of your post; that's just loving scary.lightpole posted:Used my phone as my alarm clock. Oh yeah. The first trip I took, the other cadet (We shared a room  ) had brought a normal electric alarm clock. Two things with that:A) Ships sometime have weird electricity, like they were built in Europe or some poo poo B) That ship had a problematic engine plant. No fault of the engineers, it was just an old plant. They tried to used the shaft alternator a lot (SAVE DIESEL!) or something, and we had black outs all the time. Like once or twice a week. I think there was either a voltage or frequency gently caress up as well, because the alarm clock went insane after a while. (Cue the engineers going crazy on how I don't know the first thing about electricity) But you have to watch out, cell phones will sometime grab the time and time zone from the local signal. If the ship isn't on the same time zone, well you either just lost an hour of sleep, or you're an hour late. The bestest thing is a battery powered alarm clock, but mine flew off a shelf and died, so the cell phone does the job. And I second the Kindle. I got one last year, that thing is just loving awesome. I also got a small LCD tv / DVD player convo for a job on a boat where I had a couch in my room... Add gigantic bags of sunflower seeds and that was the pimpest things ever got. (I even kept the bolts I used to secure the TV. Hey, the holes are already drilled in the stand, might as well keep them around.) Of course, carrying a TV around is, um, a bad idea if you're flying. lightpole posted:You are an idiot. The polite term is "Cadet". FrozenVent fucked around with this message at 04:49 on May 13, 2013 |
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Mar 1, 2011 05:35
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FrozenVent posted:Holy poo poo, that transfer. I thought you were just handing off his body until I read the end of your post; that's just loving scary. Most ships run 220v power for sockets. If you see a weird looking plug with two round holes you are looking at a 220v power source. Dont plug in your 110v cord to these outlets. Just because you are studying to be a mate does not mean you have to be ignorant. It is difficult to maintain a steady 60 hz on the diesels and shaft generator since load is constantly shifting, the governors need to be rebuilt and the engines need to be re-timed. The shaft generator saves the engineers from having to do the hourly maintenance on the generators every ten days and saves a ton of fuel. You can turn off your time update on your cellphone usually.
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Mar 1, 2011 06:25
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lightpole posted:Most ships run 220v power for sockets. If you see a weird looking plug with two round holes you are looking at a 220v power source. Dont plug in your 110v cord to these outlets. Just because you are studying to be a mate does not mean you have to be ignorant. Yeah, that ship had every engine problems imaginable. I wasn't there, but I heard rumors that few years later a piston just went through the engine head. They eventually gave up and re-engined the drat thing. I've seen quite a few ships with 110V power throughout the accomodations; in doubt ask the engineers. Really, if it's power or machinery related and you're in doubt, ask the engineers before you gently caress it up. How much of an impact does have shaft generator have on the engine load? That ship was the only one I've worked on that had one.
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Mar 1, 2011 06:55
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FrozenVent posted:The polite term is "Cadet". Yeah, yeah, yeah... As to shaft generators I haven't personally worked on a ship with one, but the simulator at our school it draws around 5% load which I assume is somewhere in the realm of possibility.
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Mar 1, 2011 07:40
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Two Finger posted:Yeah, yeah, yeah... That seems right, I know it isn't much.
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Mar 1, 2011 08:11
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I dont remember but you just watch your BHP and engine temps anyways and keep things within threshold. We were running at our minimum speed anyways to save fuel except through the Red Sea. There was quite a lot of drifting as well. Its not hard to tell the difference between 110 and 220. You have 2 flat blades or 2 round prongs.
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Mar 1, 2011 08:46
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put your hand in the air if you have the smallest/thigthest control room Click here for the full 2048x1536 image.  Click here for the full 2048x1536 image.
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Mar 1, 2011 13:31
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^^^^ At least you have a control room. I've been on a ship where the engine log book was on a table by the engine, old school. I'm not sure where they kept the coffee machine, but they usually hung out in the work shop. The bridge on that thing was also ridiculously small, and mostly unheated. lightpole posted:Its not hard to tell the difference between 110 and 220. You have 2 flat blades or 2 round prongs. I've gotten 220v out of a flat blade socket. I think it's the Japanese standard or something. (Ship was built in Japan, anyway) FrozenVent fucked around with this message at 15:24 on Mar 1, 2011 |
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Mar 1, 2011 15:13
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Have any crazy crew stories? Any cool stuff that you've seen besides what you've already posted? How are the family lives of crew members? It seems hard to maintain a family with a lifestyle like that.
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Mar 1, 2011 16:15
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an adult beverage posted:How are the family lives of crew members? It seems hard to maintain a family with a lifestyle like that. Yeah, it's pretty hard. People have a hard time understanding that when I say "I'm going back to work, see you in three months.", it means I won't be around, or even easily reachable, for three months. And then when I come back, I'm gonna want to sleep because it's been three months since I've had a day off. FrozenVent fucked around with this message at 19:58 on Aug 8, 2014 |
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Mar 1, 2011 17:29
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an adult beverage posted:Have any crazy crew stories? Any cool stuff that you've seen besides what you've already posted? How are the family lives of crew members? It seems hard to maintain a family with a lifestyle like that. We had an AB get caught drinking on board the boat. we sort of knew he had a drinking problem when he was onshore (home). Now he he is in rehab with full pay so good for him.
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Mar 1, 2011 18:58
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Edit - NM
FrozenVent fucked around with this message at 19:58 on Aug 8, 2014 |
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Mar 1, 2011 19:06
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Trench_Rat posted:Unfortuanly there are no more dedicated maritme colleges in this country anymore. So we have to work out our cadet placements on our own. We got a few Norwegians running around down here in Svendborg, Denmark. Did you ever consider going that route?
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Mar 1, 2011 23:28
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Per posted:We got a few Norwegians running around down here in Svendborg, Denmark. Did you ever consider going that route? SIMAC? Did not know about it untill the 2nd year of college, and only Denmark (Maersk) and France acknowledge dual certificates anyway. For engineers its no problem to get cadet placement (I was the last one in my class to get one about a month before graduation). For some of the deck officers it can be hard to get a cadet placement one of my roomates applied at 38 shipping compaines before he got one. edit: det er deilig å være norsk i danmark 
Trench_Rat fucked around with this message at 22:15 on Mar 3, 2011 |
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Mar 3, 2011 19:19
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Trench_Rat posted:SIMAC? Did not know about it untill the 2nd year of college, and only Denmark (Maersk) and France acknowledge dual certificates anyway. For engineers its no problem to get cadet placement (I was the last one in my class to get one about a month before graduation). For some of the deck officers it can be hard to get a cadet placement one of my roomates applied at 38 shipping compaines before he got one. Yeah, everyone wants engineering cadets, because everyone's out of engineers. But then they're also out of deck officers. Seriously, the first year after I finished schools, I had five unsollicited job offers. In one case, I actually asked the HR rep where he'd gotten my number...
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Mar 4, 2011 03:42
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FrozenVent posted:Yeah, everyone wants engineering cadets, because everyone's out of engineers. I will be attending one of the East Coast academies at the end of the summer. I was on the fence about whether to go engineering or deck, but I ultimately decided to apply for the deck program. What you are saying and what I have heard from friends is that there is a greater demand for engineers. But I guess that doesnt mean that the job market is going to be the same four or five years from now anyways.
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Mar 27, 2011 06:55
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Out of curiosity what makes you decide to go for deck? Engines not really your thing or what?
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Mar 27, 2011 08:01
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