Stability & New Opportunities

Are you wondering why I'm ashore?

I'm in the application / hiring process for a new job!  

I've applied to work for an individual company vice a union.  I will still be working on ships, and I'll have to take a drop down in rank to get started but, I'll have a lot more stability on the job front.

In the reader survey one reader wanted to know the back story on why I make some of the choices I make.  I had never really thought about the fact that I share my changes but, I rarely share the why.  

In this case, I started looking for a new venue for one reason:

I need some stability.

I haven't had an actual schedule in over a year and to be a little more accurate, in over 2.5 years.  When I was sailing Chief Mate I was on a tramp vessel with a world wide schedule - the last time we pulled into port we were almost 40 days past our due off dates.  When I joined my last ship I went into the union hall and had no clue a) how long it was going to take me to find a ship and b) how long the rotation would be for.  

This would be fine and dandy if I was 22 but I'm almost 32.

I have a mortgage, a car payment and financial goals.

I also have friends and family I'd like to visit, trips I'd like to plan and time I'd like to allocate.

I need some stability.

I worked really hard in my younger years to advance my license and diversify my resume - and did a good job.  What I'm looking for now is career advancement.  Where can I go from here?  This is the question I ask myself when I'm looking at new opportunities.

When I think about my career I imagine a jungle gym instead of a ladder.  I want to be able to move side to side as well as up and down.  

Does this company have shoreside opportunities available?  Does this position give me a skill set that is in demand in any other sector of the maritime industry?  Will I be in a position to learn?  Is the pay high enough that I can cover all my expenses and plan for the future?  Does this company have regional ties to the places I'd consider living long term?

If the answer is yes then I'm really, really interested.

In this specific case this opportunity provides something I'm really looking for:  stability.

Stability, it seems, is much more important than I gave it credit for being.  It's essentially the foundation of my shipping life.  Corny metaphor aside, it's the anchor in the storm.

When bags are packed, and ships are joined the knowing is what makes it all feel manageable.  The comings and goings, the challenges, the ups and downs - they're manageable, fun even - when you know there is a beginning and an end.  When the daily challenge becomes not knowing a whole new set of challenges arise because, there is nothing fun about any of it and, it's really hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I went out looking for some knowing, some stability, some light for my tunnel - and found some.

Here's to new opportunities!  

What is the hardest part?

 People often ask me, 'what is the hardest part of your job?'.  I'm often stymied however; over the last few days I've been thinking about this quite a bit and I have an answer....with a caveat.

Currently, the hardest part of my job is the unpredictable schedule.  I'm almost 60 days into my vacation and I literally Do Not Know When I'm Going Back To Work.  

Here's the caveat:  this is more of a problem on this particular ship - a container ship, a tanker, or a car carrier would have a much more defined schedule.  Granted, even on these types of vessels it can be difficult to commit to an event.  Perhaps your relief misses his flight, perhaps your relief quits at the last second and they can't fill the position, etc.  

Regardless, I currently don't know when I'm going back to work and it has turned me into a little stress ball.  There are so many things that require a schedule.  More importantly, there are so many things that require a BUDGET!  

Ummmm....Hold Up!  What happened to:  What would Beyoncé do?  

Okay.....fine.

I'm keeping my eyes and ears open for new opportunities.  I'm embracing the everyday.  I'm working on some projects that I had previously put on the back burner.  I'm enjoying Hawaii.  I'm chatting with friends.  I'm drinking coffee.  I'm reading trashy romance novels.  I'm listening to Beyoncé's new album on repeat.  I'm eating as many fresh fruits and vegetables as I can stand.  I'm joloking (this is a new word...it means jog, lope, walk...).  I'm channeling my inner Beyoncé.

Sunny and Windy!  Power and Phone Lines down all around town.... 

Nautie Friends Ask :: Exactly how many people do you get to boss around?

Just Kidding!  Bridget really asked:  What is your current position?  How many crew are aboard?  What is your watch rotation?  Are there different levels of ABs - what is the pecking order? Thanks for all the great questions - and thanks for being so patient waiting for me to answer them!

First off, you're correct.  I have my Chief Mates license but I am not currently sailing at that rating.  I'm sailing one rating below - as Second Mate.  Getting the ticket doesn't mean an upgrade - it means you get to start looking for a new job!  Typically, Second and Third Mates are referred to as 'Junior Officers'.  To put it bluntly, Junior Officers are a dime a dozen.  We're very, very easily replaced.  (The term Junior Officers refers to the engineering department as well - Third and Second Assistant Engineers.)  Once you become top four (Captain, Chief Engineer, Chief Mate, First Assistant Engineer) you are much more difficult to replace.  Of course I hold the license and can now sail as Chief Mate but, would I be as good of a Chief Mate as the guy who has been sailing as a Chief Mate for 30 years?  Probably not.  Good Chief Mates are not a dime a dozen.  Also, the attrition rate is very high in Junior Officers.  They decide that sailing isn't for them and go back to school, or move into shoreside positions.  Which means that there are always jobs opening up.  Once you become a Chief Mate or Captain you're usually in it for the long haul (or at least longer haul).  In a nutshell:  I'm waiting for a Chief Mates spot to become open - In the meantime, I'm happy sailing Second Mate.

We are slightly undermanned considering that we're a tanker however; this subject really gets me going and before we know it I'll be ranting and raving.....so I'll save it for later.  Here is the breakdown.  The deck department consists of the Captain, three Officers, one Bosun, and five AB (Able Bodied Seaman).  The ABs are all equally ranked and they report to the Bosun - he leads the unlicensed deck department.  The Engine Department consists of the Chief Engineer, three Officers, one QMED (Qualified Member of the Engine Department) and one Pumpman.  The Stewards Department consists of the Steward, the Chief Cook and GVA (General Vessel Assistant).  The other two crewmembers are actually Cadets from one of the Maritime Academies.  In a nutshell:  My ship has a crew of 21. 

The pecking order works something like this:

The Captain is responsible for the overall safety and well being of the vessel.  Technically, the Captain is not a member of the crew - he is a management representative - meaning, he represents the shipping company aboard the vessel.  The Captains word is law.  Everyone takes their marching orders from him.  The words Captain and Master are interchangeable - the Captain may be referred to as the Master of the Vessel.

The Chief Mate is responsible for cargo - essentially anything on deck is his domain.  The Junior Officers take their orders from the Captain and the Chief Mate.  Mostly a Captain will allow the Chief Mate free reign on deck - although every now and then you run across a micromanaging Captain who can't stay off the deck.

The Second Mate is responsible for navigation - anything on the bridge falls under my domain.  This refers to all voyage planning, chart correction as well any maintenance to bridge components such as radars, etc.  (For the larger components that I can't repair - like a radar - I am responsible for creating service requisitions.)  The Third Mate is responsible for Safety.  This includes lifeboats, fire stations, life jackets....the list goes on and on.  Both Junior Officers are responsible for the safe navigation of the vessel while standing a bridge watch and safe cargo operations while standing a cargo watch.  They are also responsible for their watch standers (ABs) assigned to their watch.  While on watch the ABs take direction from the officer on watch. 

On deck the pecking order shifts a bit.  I think of it like this - The Bosun runs the Chief Mates deck.  It is wise to let the Bosun run the deck.  When I need things done on deck I always go to the Bosun first.  I'll usually mention to the Chief Mate that I plan on going to the Bosun.  Usually letting the Bosun run the deck means things unfold much more smoothly.  Sailors love routine - it is always best to keep things the same day to day.  By allowing the Bosun to manage his men everyone knows where they stand all the time.  (On a sidenote this also goes for disciplinary issues as well.  If I am having an issue with a sailor I like to let the Bosun know - this way if the situation worsens then he's been in the loop from the get go.)

In a nutshell:  It's the Captains ship - the Chief Mates deck and the Bosun makes it happen.  The rest of us are minions.

(There is slightly more to it because I haven't mentioned the importance of the Engine Department or the Pumpman. I also haven't mentioned the fact that we belong to different unions - there are different levels of ABs but it doesn't play a large role aboard the vessel - the levels are associated with their seniority within the union and their eligibility for sea time.  This can be quite complicated so I decided to leave it alone.) 

Most US Vessels do standard watches - four hours on with eight hours off.  This is normally broken down into - 4-8, 8-12, 12-4.  Esentially you'll stand two watches during the same hours of every day.  Most sailors work four hours a day of overtime in addition to their watches.  (I am personally on a salary which means I'm required to work 12 a day because that is what I'm paid for.)  I'm on a modified watch schedule.  We call this watch schedule 'European Watches'.  I stand a 6 hour watch and a 2 hour watch.  It's broken down from 00-06, 06-08, 08-10, 10-12, 12-18, 18-24.  (I realize that looks a little complicated.)  The benfit to this schedule is that you have off a large chunk of time.  I basically end up working 00-12.  I stand watches from 00-06 and 08-10.  I do my overtime in the other two hours.  Granted it is very rare that I end my day exactly on time.  The reason we do this schedule is because we're undermanned.  A tanker in the US would have two Third Mates allowing the Chief Mate to be a day worker.  Here, we have only one Third Mate which means the Chief Mate has to stand a watch.  That is why I go to 6 hours on and 6 hours off so often - the Third Mate and I will stand all of the watches allowing the Chief Mate to be on deck. (In fact, I'll be on 6 and 6 tomorrow!  Yippee!)  In a nutshell:  I work when I have to and sleep when I can however; I always wake up at midnight.

Again, thanks for the questions!  I honestly have fun answering them!  Also, I hope I didn't make the answers too long winded!

p.s. I didn't edit this at all - it may or may not happen tomrrow....I'm sure you understand...

p.p.s. The title is a joke mostly for my Mother.  She always jokes that I was such a bossy little kid that she knew I'd turn into a bossy adult.  She also says that she doesn't understand how my watch standers could possibly enjoy standing watches with me since I must be trying to boss them around all day long!  She might be right....   

Nautie Friends Ask :: Who decides where you go?

Marilyn asked:  Who decides where you will go next?  Are you on a commercial venture? The short answer is:  She's a tramp....and she does what she's told.

Have you ever heard of a tramp ship?  Back in the day there were a lot ships that were considered tramps.  Back when the majority of cargo was loaded by hand in exotic ports.  For example, a ship going to South America may load bagged grain and it may have taken three weeks.  Ships used to get cargo orders that would take them to said port and they may not know when they were loading cargo where they'd be discharging it.  Sometimes the cargo orders were split - go to this port load this much then go to this port and load the rest - discharge this much here, here and here.  While the vessel would be accomplishing their tasks the managers would be desperately looking for their next cargo.  When they were moving between ports it was called 'tramping around'. 

Tramp ships still exist - there just aren't too many of them in the US Flag fleet.  Containerships would be considered a 'liner'.  Vessels in the liner service know for months ahead of time exactly when they'll be in which port.  There is very little deviation from their schedule - in fact a deviation from the schedule is a really big deal.  If one containership is behind schedule then all the containerships are behind schedule.  Large containership terminals move 'em in and move 'em out like clockwork. 

In the United State most tankers operate 'coast wise'.  Meaning they'll stay along the coast.  For example load in Alaska discharge in Washington, Oregon and California then back to Alaska.  This is because these tankers are built in the states and are considered 'Jones Act Vessels'.  In order for a ship to trade between two US ports its keel must be laid in the US.  Tankers that are on runs like this are almost like liners.  They tend to be on long term charter with an oil company.  For example when I ran on the West Coast my ship was chartered to Tesoro and we carried product for Tesoro.  We knew what ports we'd be going to for about two months ahead of time.  There are a lot more delays associated with tankers so we couldn't bank on the exact day but for the most part we knew when they'd want us there.

While tankers in the states don't usually tramp around it is fairly common in the foreign fleet.  It's called the spot market.  Tankers will often time anchor until prices are just right then you'll see five tankers leave the anchorage at the same time.  I witnessed this a lot in Fujairah, UAE.  Sometimes tankers would anchor there for over a month until their operators could find a cargo for them.

The tanker I'm on now is not a Jones Act Vessel which means we can never trade stateside.  I am as close to a tramp ship as a US Flagged tanker will probably ever be. 

When operators pick up a contract for their vessel it is called a charter or a charter party.  The person who owns the cargo - or who has arranged for the cargo to be moved is called the charterer.  There are a different types of charters but I've only dealt with three:  voyage charters, time charters and bareboat charters.  A voyage charter is exactly that - only good for one voyage - pick up cargo here and take it there - then you're done - this makes you a tramper.  A time charter is good for a specified amount of time - in that time period you will move whatever they tell you to but, you'll probably receive a schedule.  A bareboat charter means that the charterer receives just that a bare boat.  They will find the crew and they will operate it.  I've been on ships that have had the company do very complicated things like bareboat chartering the ship out - the bareboat operator will then charter it back to the company for technical management.  You are essentially being operated by the original company but the in between company provides crewing and payroll services.  Complicated, right?!    

Operating overseas we stay busy with a mixture of time and voyage charters.  We very rarely receive a time charter that is more than 75-90 days long (when I was chartered for Tesoro they were much longer time charters).  Lots of times our time charter will be for about 30 days with about 14-21 days until the next time charter is available.  To stay busy in the interim our business unit will look for voyage charters.  For the most part, our time charters come from the government however; we still retain our commercial status.

This trip to Russia is courtesy of a voyage charter.  Pick it up drop it off....no prob!  I'm still not sure where the cargo will be dropped off.

While going to Russia and transiting the Black Sea is very exciting it's an insane amount of work.  To say that it is a navigational challenge is putting it mildly.  Most times, when we receive orders for a voyage charter I don't have the charts.  We will order the chart locally and then I will scramble around creating a voyage plan. 

For this specific trip the Captain received a phone call at 1800 saying proceed to Russia.  He woke me up at 1815 and by 1830 we were underway.  Needless to say, it is almost impossible to dot your i's and cross your t's.  I've managed to stay 24 hours ahead of the ship on the charts but just by the hairs on my chinny chin chin. 

On that note....I need to go dot some i's and cross some t's.

Nautie Friends Ask :: What are your thoughts on the Costa Concordia?

I've gotten several e-mails asking me what I think about the Costa Concordia (the cruise ship that was wrecked off the coast of Italy) and I must admit I'm hesitent to let my thoughts slip into the pipes of the interwebz however; I'm going to go ahead and let them slip (and I'm going to try not to swear).  When I departed La Spezia, Italy I actually saw the Costa Concordia on our electronic display - and I received their distress message.  Regardless of how I feel about the actions leading up to the casualty I have to remind myself that this incident has changed peoples lives.  For some, it will be the worst day of their lives.  I can't begin to imagine the terror experienced.

That being said, here's what I think:  It never should have happened.....but the crew did an amazing job. 

Look, the shipping industry is tricky - and bad things happens.....truly shitty, messed up things happen.  Straight up.  There you have it. 

Before I go any further I also have to say that I work on tankers - and have very little experience on other types of vessels.  The tanker trade and the cruise ship industry are two very different things.  I can't speak much about regulations governing cruise ships or on what constitutes standard operating procedures.

I've been reading about the Costa Concordia as much as possible - and just about everything I've read sounds like drivel.  I think it's very important to note that the vast majority of what we are reading is straight up speculation.  We're also reading a lot of commentary and data from outside sources.  It wasn't more than a day or two ago when we all believed the root of the incident was an explosion in the engine room.  I read an entire article about 'harmonic interference' and its ability to cause explosions.  We actually discussed this at the mess deck table - looking at each other we all said, 'have you ever heard of harmonic interference?  no?  me neither...'. 

Tankers are incredibly regulated.  This ship could honestly use an administrative assitant.  We do an insane amount of paperwork.  Just about every move we make is documented.  If I want to change a light bulb in one of my navigation lights I need to fill out reports - I need to have the Chief Mate and the Chief Engineer sign off on my work permits - I need to have electrical components tagged out by the First Assistant Engineer.  The voyage plans that I generate receive incredibly intense scrutiny from third party inspectors - most of these inspectors are dispatched by an oil major like BP.  I have requirements for position fixing intervals - when within 3nm of land I need to plot my position on the chart every 6 minutes - my positions can not be just electronic (i.e. GPS) - they must be a mixture (for example radar ranges and bearings, visual bearings, etc.).  It makes me wonder how much regulation a cruise ship faces and what their inspection process looks like. 

A tanker would never think of giving an island a 'salute'.  I've never even heard of such a thing.  A drive by?  Really?  I can just see myself sitting at my favorite beach on the Big Island and watching an oil tanker cruise by 200 meters off the shoreline.  Would I be thinking, 'Cool!  He just gave us a salute!'?  Chances are I'd think it was a big 'ole f-u more than a salute.

If I was the Captain of a tanker and I submitted a voyage plan for a 'salute' to the office for approval I'd expect to be fired.  Seriously.  I would hope that my company would take one look at a plan like that and think 'Megan the NautieCaptain clearly lacks sound judgement'.  To read that the company had previously approved such a plan is disheartening.  Truly disheartening.  We can all jump up and down and say that the Captain is a crack pot but, was he really?  He simply did something that had already been done - had already been done with the blessing of the company!  Which makes me think that maybe some checks and balances need to be established between cruise ships and their shore side managers to ensure that sound decisions are being made.

As to the Captains actions during the evolution to abandon ship who can truly say?  What I do know is this - don't discredit the effects of shock.  As a mariner you can only hope that when an emergency strikes you will fall back on your training.  You hope that your experience will lead you to make sound decisions.  You hope that your fellow officers and crew can do the same. 

When I read of the Captain leaving the vessel early (as in before many of the passengers) I didn't immediately think it was terrible.  What I would have liked to see was an alternate location set up as 'command headquarters'.  I don't think it's one hundred percent necessary for the Captain to remain on the bridge until the very last minute.  I do think it's necessary for the Captain to gather drawings of the ship, emergency plans, log books, hand held VHF radios - anything that could possibly be used to assist in search and rescue operations - and set up a centralized location to be used for organizing and directing emergency response.  I think that if the Captain could have established himself as the on scene coordinator (even if not on the vessel) he would have maintained his effectiveness in a time of crisis. 

I think that the ships crew did an amazing job.  There were 3,000 passengers and 1,000 crew.  The vessel experienced only a 1 or 2 % loss of life.  I in no way mean to undermine the sadness of the lives lost.  I think about how I myself would have managed the situation if aboard and can't even imagine.  Three thousand scared, frantic, disoriented humans is no joke.  The mob mentality alone is incredibly frightening.  I think of my current situation - I'm aboard a vessel with 20 crew members - what would it look like if we were all responsible for 3 people during an emergency?  While I may be able to direct three people would a messman be able to?  Now, instead of getting 20 people into a lifeboat we need to get 80 people into a lifeboat.  Again, I think the ships crew did an amazing job.

I've never taken a cruise.  It is just about the lowest thing on my list of things I'd like to do.  Do you know what you are when you go on a cruise?  Human cargo.  If a tanker ran aground and lost integrity of the hull a 1 or 2 % loss of cargo would be considered a miracle.  Lives lost can never be considered a miracle. 

Sometimes, when I'm on the bridge at night I play the 'what if' game.  What would I do if someone fell overboard right now?  What would I do if there was a fire right now?  What would I do if we had a collision right now?  I can only hope and pray that I never experience these things however; I also hope and pray that if I do experience these things I can respond efficiently and effectively.

My heart goes out to the crew of the Costa Concordia.  I hope that someone has said thank you to them in the last few days and, I hope that they are being treated like the heroes they are.

Nautie Friends Ask :: What is Christmas like aboard a ship?

It's just like any other day with better food.  Seriously. I woke up at 2320 (1120 pm) to start my morning - even though it's still secretly the previous day.  I actually set my alarm for 2300 but I get my wake up call at 2320 and this is when I get out of my rack. 

When I opened my door there were a package of socks, a can of dust sprayer, a polo shirt and a memo pad tied to the handle - with a post it note that said, 'Merry Christmas'!  Thanks Santa!

I meandered up to the bridge....I said, 'Merry Christmas' in a slightly sleep deprived voice.  Everyone said, 'Merry Christmas' back to me in slightly sleep deprived voices. 

The watch changed out and I said, 'Alright boys, guess what, we're going to listen to Christmas Carols alll freakin' morning long!!!!'.  Then I proceeded to play both Glee Christmas albums.  They loved this I'm sure.  We listened to everything in my arsenal.  Glee, Bing Crosby, The Elf Soundtrack, The Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer Soundtrack, Pink Martini, Mariah Carey.....it never stopped.

I was relieved at 0600 and I said, 'Merry Christmas!  There is Christmas music playing!  Oh yeah, there is also an assload of traffic out there....have fun!'.  Then I went down to my room and climbed back in my rack.

I woke up from my nap at 0720 and went down for breakfast.  I ate pancakes, french toast, sausage and had TWO cinnamon roles.  I figured because it was Christmas I was allowed to stuff my gullet!

I went back up to the bridge and watched the sunrise around 0830 - seriously, that is how late it gets light in the Mediterranean these days.  You're killing me December!  I of course took a bunch of pictures of the sunrise....I had to document a Christmas sunrise!  I made my new watch partners listen to my entire Christmas Song arsenal all over again....it was glorious.

At 0900 the Captain came up to the bridge and I showed him how the radar was acting funny.  Then he asked to see the service requisition from its last servicing....I couldn't find it in the bridge equipment binder (I swear I wasn't onboard for the servicing) - then I got scolded.  Then he looked in the garbage log - and I got scolded again (I swear I wasn't onboard when the entries were missed).  Then he looked at the Navtex Binder - and I got scolded again (I swear I wasn't onboard when the messages were annotated incorrectly).  The scolding just continued until I got off watch.  It went something like this, 'Megan the Nautiemermate, this is your forte!  I'm surprised the binders slipped like this....we really need to plus up.'

At 1000 I got off watch and I proceeded down to the Cargo Control Room....really I was just looking for someone who wasn't going to scold me.  I basically just killed time until the next meal hour....it's Christmas after all!

Lunch was exciting...there were tablecloths made out of real cloth on the tables!  We normally have plastic picnic style table coverings....because we're sailors and that means we're slobs.  Lunch was amazing.  Roasted tom turkey, ham, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, homemade bread.  There was shrimp cocktail, salmon with capers and TONS of deserts - pies, cookies, fruitcake, candies. 

When I got done eating I proceeded back up to my State Room where I posted my Feliz Navidad photos.

At 1300 I showered and put on my Pajamas.  I crawled into my rack with a snack and a book.  I fell asleep by 1500. 

Ta Da!  Christmas Day at sea!

(Not to be a cry baby BUT, this was the only day this week where I worked twelve hours or less and got 8 hours of sleep....I'm currently standing 6 hours on and 6 hours off and I've had two 18 hour days and two 15 hour days.....I can't describe the luxury of being asleep by 1500....that in itself was the best Christmas present I could have asked for!)