No, I'm not in the Navy: The Maritime Transportation Thread

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > No, I'm not in the Navy: The Maritime Transportation Thread

J Corp: Oct 16, 2006; I risked hypothermia and broken limbs and all I got was this shitty avatar and a severe case of shrinkage

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.

# ¿ Feb 28, 2011 23:14

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# ¿ May 3, 2024 01:04

J Corp: Oct 16, 2006; I risked hypothermia and broken limbs and all I got was this shitty avatar and a severe case of shrinkage

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.

# ¿ Feb 28, 2011 23:28

J Corp: Oct 16, 2006; I risked hypothermia and broken limbs and all I got was this shitty avatar and a severe case of shrinkage

camino posted:

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.

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.

# ¿ Mar 1, 2011 00:06

J Corp: Oct 16, 2006; I risked hypothermia and broken limbs and all I got was this shitty avatar and a severe case of shrinkage

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?)

It's not a good 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.

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?

# ¿ Mar 1, 2011 02:28

J Corp: Oct 16, 2006; I risked hypothermia and broken limbs and all I got was this shitty avatar and a severe case of shrinkage

Two Finger posted:

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.

That seems right, I know it isn't much.

# ¿ Mar 1, 2011 08:11

J Corp: Oct 16, 2006; I risked hypothermia and broken limbs and all I got was this shitty avatar and a severe case of shrinkage

lightpole posted:

SIU - Sailors something Union

Seafarers International Union.

Miss Fats posted:

So I'm sure this has been asked but I'm going to anyway because I'm stupid and can't be bothered:

Say I got around 10-12 months to kill and I'm looking for something to do to be employed and get the gently caress out of dodge. I'm ok with horrible manual labor because whatever. A 6 month slave ship cruise sounds like it would at least get me out of town. I've never even seen the ocean. Never been on more than a lake boat.

What are my chances of finding a quick job on a ship and how would I go about it?

I'm sure it doesn't matter either but I have a Bachelor of Arts if that helps.

For reference, I've looked into working everywhere from Buddhist monasteries across the country to manual labor at the South Pole Station.

Doing it because 'gently caress it, whatever' is a bad idea. As others have said, it takes a long time to get your documents in the first place. Also, even if you're 'ok with horrible manual labor', working a lovely job you hate 8 hours a day is not even close to working a lovely job you hate everyday for weeks and not being able to get away from it at all.

goku chewbacca posted:

Let's say I'm not interested in going to any more university, but wouldn't object to a couple of years of technical education. On the job would be even better...through a walk-on apprenticeship and then sitting for exams and certifications sounds perfect. How soon can I be making $US60-70k? What does it take to make $100k+? Where does it top out after that? Do the captains get to keep smoking hot wives in every port?
...
Home base for me would be in northeast Pennsylvania, just under 2hours from NYC and Philly. Maybe 5 from Erie. What are the major port cities (for finding jobs) here in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region? How about the eastern Great Lakes?

SIU is the major unlicensed union in the US. Starting from the bottom and working your way up, you can make $60-70k after probably 3 years, maybe slightly longer. It depends on how fast you upgrade and how much you work.

The halls in the part of the US you asked about are Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Norfolk VA, and Algonac, MI(almost Detroit). Brooklyn and Norfolk will be the busiest.

# ¿ Mar 30, 2011 08:12

J Corp: Oct 16, 2006; I risked hypothermia and broken limbs and all I got was this shitty avatar and a severe case of shrinkage

FrozenVent posted:

But you don't understand, I wanted to take a free ride accross the Atlantic so I could go backpacking in Europe...

I don't know how it is in other countries, but in the US we have laws that specifically forbid ships to dump you in foreign countries. These were enacted to prevent companies from ditching sick or injured sailors in some hellhole half way around the world. Unfortunately, it makes no provision for you if you actually WANT to get dumped in some hellhole half way around the world.

If you ditch out in a foreign country, the company you work for legally HAS to find you and put you on a plane home. They hire some rear end in a top hat to track you like dog the bounty hunter and physically put your rear end on the plane.

# ¿ Mar 31, 2011 21:27

J Corp: Oct 16, 2006; I risked hypothermia and broken limbs and all I got was this shitty avatar and a severe case of shrinkage

Signed on to a RoRo tramp ship a few hours ago, setting sail the morning after tomorrow.

SoCal, Guam, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Mexico, Panama, East Coast.

See you loving NEVER.

# ¿ Jun 2, 2011 07:28

J Corp: Oct 16, 2006; I risked hypothermia and broken limbs and all I got was this shitty avatar and a severe case of shrinkage

lightpole posted:

Did you get the Green Dale or Wave?

Green Ridge. Only scheduled overnight is in Busan :/

The crew seems cool. But what the gently caress is the company thinking only having 2 oilers for the entire unlicenced side?

# ¿ Jun 3, 2011 04:04

J Corp: Oct 16, 2006; I risked hypothermia and broken limbs and all I got was this shitty avatar and a severe case of shrinkage

In Busan, Korea.

I would not recommend sailing on Green ships. The crew is cool, but we're so short handed everybody works their rear end off for lousy pay. Also, there are only 2 Oilers in the engine room, and the other dude was ill for a week and a half. What's up double duty for a company that doesn't pay missing man wages?

We should be in Okinawa next, which I'm stoked on because it's been a place I've always wanted to see.

Anybody that is looking into sailing but doesn't want to commit to 4 years of school to do it, look into sailing unlicenced. I've been sailing since 2009 and if I keep at it like I am, I should easily have my 3rd Engineers license in the next 4 years. As it stands I should be able to take the class for Jr. Engineer when I sign off here and sail as QMED.

Don't listen to all these jerks, Hawsepipe all the way! :P

# ¿ Jun 22, 2011 10:01

J Corp: Oct 16, 2006; I risked hypothermia and broken limbs and all I got was this shitty avatar and a severe case of shrinkage

Fish Shalami posted:

Considering they take about the same amount of time, I'd suggest going to school to get your license. It's much easier compared to jumping through all the hoops the US Coast Guard requires of you these days. It would be very easy to miss some STCW's or forget some crucial form that can slow down the whole process. Better to just let the school take care of it all. You'll also get a BS on top of your license.

That's just me though.

If some of my time transferred, maybe, but I'm not going to go back to square one. I don't need to be told what a valve is when I can already overhaul a generator engine myself.

Besides, I'm making money now and it's the same amount of time, or less if I sail more.

# ¿ Jun 24, 2011 04:39

J Corp: Oct 16, 2006; I risked hypothermia and broken limbs and all I got was this shitty avatar and a severe case of shrinkage

100 HOGS AGREE posted:

Supposing you're a 25-year old guy guy who lives in Michigan and currently has no career prospects and a rather useless liberal arts degree, has no problem doing manual labor and is extremely wary of going to get more school-debt. Maybe in the Great Lakes, maybe further out, who cares.

Where do I start, getting all the papers and initial stuff out of the way? Is there somewhere I can call in Michigan so I can get on track to start pissing my money away in hopes of getting hired to shovel crud and paint the sides of poo poo several months from now?

The closest SIU hall for you is Algonac. Your going to need your twic and mmd which have already been talked about here before you can get a job. Also try talking to American Steamship, they handle a huge ammount of lakes shipping and they hire direct.

San Juan, PR looks beautiful, too bad we're only here 4 hours.

# ¿ Jul 26, 2011 18:49

J Corp: Oct 16, 2006; I risked hypothermia and broken limbs and all I got was this shitty avatar and a severe case of shrinkage

Southampton, England.

I've slept for 7 hours over the last 3 days, non-consecutively, so of course I'm at a bar.

# ¿ Oct 8, 2011 00:58

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# ¿ May 3, 2024 01:04

J Corp: Oct 16, 2006; I risked hypothermia and broken limbs and all I got was this shitty avatar and a severe case of shrinkage

Michael Bayleaf posted:

I'm 32, have no skills at all, have poo poo for education, and am miserable. If I were to put the effort into it, would I stand even a chance of getting a maritime job? It's been something I've been thinking about for a decade, and my life is going nowhere

edit wow this was depressing. Also yeah I read the OP I just want to know if I'm too damned old already to start more than anything

I haven't posted in this thread in awhile, but I think I'm the only unlicensed guy here, and I will make the same recommendation to you that I make to every one else that asks me: Go to an academy. Don't waste time sailing unlicensed trying to hawsepipe, it really isn't worth it.

I'm finally sitting for my 3rd's test in the next few months after 8 years as a qmed, and my biggest regret is not going to academy out the gate. I really felt like I was prepared to do the job until I started studying for the exams

# ¿ Sep 12, 2017 09:21

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > No, I'm not in the Navy: The Maritime Transportation Thread