Best way to research the Maritime industry?

[Devil Doc]

It's not just Academy applicants who struggle to learn about the industry. The US Maritime industry can be very segmented and regional. The tanker world can be very different from containers so a tanker mate may not know a ton about container ships. West Coast vs. East Coast, Union vs Non-Union, Drilling rigs vs Ships, etc ... and don't even get me started on deep sea vs. inland. Unless someone really takes the time to learn about the rest of the industry other than their own niche, even the most grizzled and experienced seafarer may not know a lot beyond their own experiences.

I see what you did there.

 

[Zinc4]

Disclaimer: I’m still just an applicant to USMMA, but this is my understanding. Those who have more experience feel free to correct me.

The main issue is lack of competitiveness, which is, in part, caused by a lack of reciprocity due to foreign competition that is government subsided. China, for example has state-run shipping lines and has the shipyards to produce vessels for their corporations.
One of the terms used in the industry is a vessel’s “flag.” A vessel that is registered in a particular country flies that country’s flag and must abide by that country’s laws. The United States has many regulations which make it unappetizing for companies to register their ships under the American flag. Typically, the only reason an unlimited tonnage merchant vessel is registered in the United States is (1) the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (aka the Jones Act because the bill’s sponsor was Senator Wesley Jones) which requires, among other things, that vessels transporting cargo between two American ports be registered in the United States, (2) the Maritime Security Program which pays corporations to register their vessels under the American flag to provide more sealift for govt. cargo that needs to be transported by American vessels, or (3) the ship is owned by the government under either Military Sealift Command, or, to a lesser extent, MARAD. The Jones Act is typically the subject of controversy when a natural disaster happens and cargo needs to be transported from an American port in the U.S. to the location of the disaster.

Now, I have a more positive view of the maritime industry than many. In addition to +180 privately owned merchant ships the U.S has, MSC and MARAD’s Strategic Sealift Program provide additional tonnage. We already pump tons of money into Naval Shipbuilding, but the equally important Merchant fleet simply doesn’t have enough public attention. You just don’t see recruiting ads from MARAD encouraging young people to go join the Merchant fleet like you do with branches of the DOD. The Merchant Fleet is NOT dying, but it is small, and it needs more public attention. The Jones Act is good, but ideally, it shouldn’t be necessary. Our merchant fleet should be competitive enough to survive without laws banning foreign competition. Making the American flag more competitive to private corporations is the solution. How to do that....well, that’s another matter.

Thank you for the feedback. Lack of public attention to the maritime world-that's why we are spinning our wheels. My son is trying to make informed decisions having heard very little concerning this branch of service compared to the others. And we've gotten nowhere as far as visiting our area's shipyards because of COVID. Not making excuses-it is what it is and you just keep asking questions to gain knowledge.
Best of luck to you!

 

[cmakin]

Interesting. So the industry needs to adapt to modern changes (technology, environmental, etc)? Adaptability and flexibility are the keys to anything staying viable but the leadership needs to be able to see what's coming down the pike before it actually does (an outsider speaking here

Overall the industry DOES adapt. It is just that a lot of those innovations are not applied to the dwindling US Flag Fleet. KP Engineer has already stated much about the FOC/Open Registry topic. When I worked for the American Bureau of Shipping (10 years as a field surveyor) most of the vessels I surveyed were FOC. Many were equal to or better than US Flag when it came to safety and condition, crew capabilities, etc. Others, not so much. It was more of a function of the ownership than the flag on the stern.

 

[UnitedStatesAircraft5]

Thank you for the feedback. Lack of public attention to the maritime world-that's why we are spinning our wheels. My son is trying to make informed decisions having heard very little concerning this branch of service compared to the others. And we've gotten nowhere as far as visiting our area's shipyards because of COVID. Not making excuses-it is what it is and you just keep asking questions to gain knowledge.
Best of luck to you!

No problem and thank you!

 

[KPEngineer]

It was more of a function of the ownership than the flag on the stern.

I think the Class matters the most, even more than the owner or the Flag.

I am not aware of a single country which conducts it's own SOLAS/MARPOL/LL surveys and issues the corresponding statutory certificate. As far as I know they are all done by a classification society on behalf of the country of registry. Even within IACS some are better than others and once you go outside of IACS the quality of the class society falls off very quickly.

 

[cmakin]

I think the Class matters the most, even more than the owner or the Flag.

I am not aware of a single country which conducts it's own SOLAS/MARPOL/LL surveys and issues the corresponding statutory certificate. As far as I know they are all done by a classification society on behalf of the country of registry. Even within IACS some are better than others and once you go outside of IACS the quality of the class society falls off very quickly.

We are getting a bit off track, but yes, there are differences between IACS member societies. At ABS, I only would see other society vessels when they were changing class to ABS, and it is hard to make a judgement on these vessels since there was reason for changing, and they weren't necessarily in the best condition. I also recall surveying a vessel (ABS classed) so bad that I requested their Class certificate until repairs were made. They changed societies to another IACS member (Polish) that willingly accepted it. The ship was a deathtrap, as far as I was concerned. Wastage in the holds and piping so bad that there was fuel oil in the ballast double bottoms. My inspection hammer got stuck in the fire main on deck. . . One of the two auxiliary generator engines was just a bedplate with charring all around where the rest of the engine used to be. All engine room ventilator closing arrangements inoperable. . . and that is just the stuff I remember offhand. . . .

Oh, and regarding statutory certs, I believe that Mexico issues their own LL certs, and others, only because I had to be given special permission to issue same on a particular vessel. Doesn't the US Coast Guard still issue SOLAS certs, too? At least the Safety Equipment Certificate.

 

[KPEngineer]

We are getting a bit off track,

Yes we are off track a bit but this is good stuff that isn't being taught at the Academy but should be. I was C/E on an ATB undergoing annuals. My OWS was acting up and the ABS Surveyor said it was no problem that I still had 6 weeks in my survey window. I had to ask what a "survey window" was. Too much (near all) of the regulatory scheme is expected to be learned via on the job training but it should be taught at the Academies.

 

[deepdraft1]

I'm a parent of an applicant to the USMMA. We have a long history of military experience in our family to include air transportation but have less knowledge of movement on the water. What's the best way to research the Maritime industry to learn about the various career options (non-military) that might follow graduation? Is it possible to actually tour civilian ships associated with the Academy and hear first hand what it's really like to work in this industry? I assume it may be next to impossible right now because of the COVID shutdown, but we live in the northeast and thought it might be worth a try (Bayonne/Philly areas). I did ask the Alumni office if they could connect us with such folks, maybe alums themselves, but there doesn't seem to be this type of tool in place for applicants and their families. I have to wonder, how's an applicant supposed to know that he/she wants to work in this industry if they've never had exposure to the vessels/workers and what this sort of career choice may bring?

Appreciate any feedback.

@Zinc4 if you live near one of the major port cities a good place to get information is to visit a Maritime Officer union hall and talk with 'rank and file' members and the local port agent. The three main officer unions and their websites are:
International Organization of Master, Mates and Pilots. MM&P which represents mostly deck officers. [It's the union my son and I both belong to] https://bridgedeck.org/
Marine Engineers Beneficial Association. MEBA which represents mostly engineering officers. http://www.mebaunion.org/
American Maritime Officers. AMO which represents both deck and engineering officers. https://www.amo-union.org/

With COVID restrictions you might want to call ahead to see if it's possible to schedule a visit. Also, although they are separate unions MM&P and MEBA have an agreement to share the same union hall in some ports.

Another source of information is the maritime and offshore industry blog gCaptain. Here's the link to that website.
https://gcaptain.com/

One company, States Lines went under while I was sailing with them during Sea Year. The ship was arrested in Manila, and we sat for two weeks before being released.

@cmakin, I remember the States Lines bankruptcy and MarAd ownership takeover. That was a very sad end to a once great family owned business. The Dant family deciding to continue running breakbulk ships as the maritime world was fast shifting to containerization was not a good business move. I recall you once mentioned you were on the MONTANA when States went under. I was 2nd Mate on the Matson containership MANULANI in Honolulu Harbor and watched you guys arrive there on your way back from Manila heading for the west coast to lay up. Those COLORADO class were sure nice looking ships... They would roll on a wet dishcloth though..

Liberia [Bureau of Maritime Affairs] and Marshall Islands are both in Virginia.

When I got my Liberian 3rd Mates license back in 1976 it was issued from the Liberian Bureau of Maritime Affairs office on Park Avenue in New York City. They eventually moved to Vienna Virginia. I think they're still located there.

 

[cmakin]

Yes we are off track a bit but this is good stuff that isn't being taught at the Academy but should be. I was C/E on an ATB undergoing annuals. My OWS was acting up and the ABS Surveyor said it was no problem that I still had 6 weeks in my survey window. I had to ask what a "survey window" was. Too much (near all) of the regulatory scheme is expected to be learned via on the job training but it should be taught at the Academies.

Oh, yeah. I learned so much as a Class field surveyor, and nothing that I ever even had a clue about from my time at KP and my time at sea.

 

[cmakin]

@cmakin, I remember the States Lines bankruptcy and MarAd ownership takeover. That was a very sad end to a once great family owned business. The Dant family deciding to continue running breakbulk ships as the maritime world was fast shifting to containerization was not a good business move. I recall you once mentioned you were on the MONTANA when States went under. I was 2nd Mate on the Matson containership MANULANI in Honolulu Harbor and watched you guys arrive there on your way back from Manila heading for the west coast to lay up. Those COLORADO class were sure nice looking ships... They would roll on a wet dishcloth though..

Yeah, our itinerary after Manila was, well fluid. We were supposed to head up to Kaohsiung, but there were some political issues (Carter had just recognized the PRC) and I believe that money was owed the agents there, as well as the planned Japanese ports. For a few days, we were just meandering north, and then were told to head to SF, bypassing the planned Hono stop. . . .and then that changed, and we DID get into Hono. As far as that COLORADO class, man, they were probably the top of the line when it came to steam break bulk ships. Stainless steel cargo tanks. Hatch seal air. Oh, and from an engineering standpoint, vacuum pumps instead of air ejectors. There was a flume system to counteract the rolling, but ours was out of service because of wastage in the flume tanks. And roll? Here is a photo from Thanksgiving Day, 1978. Yeah, rolling enough for me to remember.

MONTANA by Carey Akin, on Flickr

 

[KP Eng]

Yes we are off track a bit but this is good stuff that isn't being taught at the Academy but should be. I was C/E on an ATB undergoing annuals. My OWS was acting up and the ABS Surveyor said it was no problem that I still had 6 weeks in my survey window. I had to ask what a "survey window" was. Too much (near all) of the regulatory scheme is expected to be learned via on the job training but it should be taught at the Academies.

To get further off track, I have to respectfully disagree that this should be taught at KP. I also had to learn this after graduation, but teaching the minutia of Annuals, Special Surveys, Load Line Surveys, etc. would have been in one ear and out the other at school. It wouldn't be relevant for a lot of people depending on their career path. I learned it later because I needed to know it then. I'm sure there are plenty of things in this category that I will learn when the need presents itself.

 

[deepdraft1]

There was a flume system to counteract the rolling, but ours was out of service because of wastage in the flume tanks.

The APL Pacesetters and Seamasters had a flume system too.. The flume tanks slowed the rolling period but I found it didn't do much to reduce the amplitude. I was captain on the SS PRESIDENT MADISON one winter when, despite having the flumes in, we rolled 35 degrees almost all the way back to Seattle from Yokohama. We busted 11 lower lashing rods but the hatch base sockets and IBC's all held the stacks and we didn't loose any boxes over the side. We didn't stop rolling until we cleared Cape Flattery and were well inside the Straits of Juan de Fuca.

We also had wastage problems in those flumes probably due to the fact they weren't used that often. On the Pacesetters the lower flume sat on top of the fuel oil settler tank so there was agitated sea water above and hot bunker fuel below. That accelerated the corrosion on the tank boundary.. the bottom of the flume eventually wasted through and made for costly repairs.

Nice photo you posted.. With a white hull and tophamper those ships were a nightmare to maintain. I'm sure the Mate ordered Rust Away and Citriclean degreaser by the pallet load and had the deck gang washing down frequently to keep 'em looking bright..

@cmakin Here are a couple of photos of your old ship I think you'll like.. The first is her being launched at Avondale in 1969 and the second [color photo] is her departing Hono probably around the time you were on there.. The third is her under pilotage in an unknown port.. Enjoy!

 

[shiner]

Everything You Need to Know About the Merchant Marine

There is another maritime "service" you may not have heard much about, yet, the United States Merchant Marine is arguably incredibly important to the Armed Forces. They also help keep America's economy moving. But what exactly is the Merchant Marine?

www.military.com

 

[cmakin]

The APL Pacesetters and Seamasters had a flume system too.. The flume tanks slowed the rolling period but I found it didn't do much to reduce the amplitude. I was captain on the SS PRESIDENT MADISON one winter when, despite having the flumes in, we rolled 35 degrees almost all the way back to Seattle from Yokohama. We busted 11 lower lashing rods but the hatch base sockets and IBC's all held the stacks and we didn't loose any boxes over the side. We didn't stop rolling until we cleared Cape Flattery and were well inside the Straits of Juan de Fuca.

We also had wastage problems in those flumes probably due to the fact they weren't used that often. On the Pacesetters the lower flume sat on top of the fuel oil settler tank so there was agitated sea water above and hot bunker fuel below. That accelerated the corrosion on the tank boundary.. the bottom of the flume eventually wasted through and made for costly repairs.

Nice photo you posted.. With a white hull and tophamper those ships were a nightmare to maintain. I'm sure the Mate ordered Rust Away and Citriclean degreaser by the pallet load and had the deck gang washing down frequently to keep 'em looking bright..

Oh, man. Thanks for the photos. Here are a couple that I took during our Hono visit. Notice the same Coast Guard cutter in one of the shots.

Honolulu by Carey Akin, on Flickr

Honolulu1 by Carey Akin, on Flickr

 

[Bosley22]

Loving these amazing photos that you're sharing!

 

[deepdraft1]

Oh, man. Thanks for the photos. Here are a couple that I took during our Hono visit. Notice the same Coast Guard cutter in one of the shots.

@cmakin When you guys arrived the 'LANI was tied up over at berth 2 Alpha [Fort Armstrong].. 2A is just across the harbor in line of sight with Diamond Head.. Looks like you were docked at berth 30 or maybe 31 across from Sand Island.. Here we are at 2A in Hono around the same time period..

 

[cmakin]

@cmakin When you guys arrived the 'LANI was tied up over at berth 2 Alpha [Fort Armstrong].. 2A is just across the harbor in line of sight with Diamond Head.. Looks like you were docked at berth 30 or maybe 31 across from Sand Island.. Here we are at 2A in Hono around the same time period..

I can't recall. I do believe that the MAUNALEI was at the Sand Island Terminal, though. I did shoot this picture and I think that it was from the MONTANA. I sailed on the MAUNALEI a year later. If I hadn't taken this photo, I probably wouldn't have recalled any other ships that were in port at the time.

 

[Zinc4]

@Zinc4 if you live near one of the major port cities a good place to get information is to visit a Maritime Officer union hall and talk with 'rank and file' members and the local port agent. The three main officer unions and their websites are:
International Organization of Master, Mates and Pilots. MM&P which represents mostly deck officers. [It's the union my son and I both belong to] https://bridgedeck.org/
Marine Engineers Beneficial Association. MEBA which represents mostly engineering officers. http://www.mebaunion.org/
American Maritime Officers. AMO which represents both deck and engineering officers. https://www.amo-union.org/

With COVID restrictions you might want to call ahead to see if it's possible to schedule a visit. Also, although they are separate unions MM&P and MEBA have an agreement to share the same union hall in some ports.

Another source of information is the maritime and offshore industry blog gCaptain. Here's the link to that website.
https://gcaptain.com/

@cmakin, I remember the States Lines bankruptcy and MarAd ownership takeover. That was a very sad end to a once great family owned business. The Dant family deciding to continue running breakbulk ships as the maritime world was fast shifting to containerization was not a good business move. I recall you once mentioned you were on the MONTANA when States went under. I was 2nd Mate on the Matson containership MANULANI in Honolulu Harbor and watched you guys arrive there on your way back from Manila heading for the west coast to lay up. Those COLORADO class were sure nice looking ships... They would roll on a wet dishcloth though..

When I got my Liberian 3rd Mates license back in 1976 it was issued from the Liberian Bureau of Maritime Affairs office on Park Avenue in New York City. They eventually moved to Vienna Virginia. I think they're still located there.

@deepdraft1 -thank you for these ideas. Yes we are relatively near the Philly and Manhattan harbors so I will research your suggestions regarding the Maritime Union etc. Appreciate it! We've watched some youtube vlogs but nothing beats real-world interaction.

 

[deepdraft1]

I can't recall. I do believe that the MAUNALEI was at the Sand Island Terminal, though. I did shoot this picture and I think that it was from the MONTANA. I sailed on the MAUNALEI a year later. If I hadn't taken this photo, I probably wouldn't have recalled any other ships that were in port at the time.

@cmakin That's an interesting photo.. I would guess that the MAUNALEI was using the Sand Island pier as a lay berth [they may have also been loading molasses there].. The Sand Island facility was taken over by Matson Terminals after Seatrain Lines vacated it in 1974. However Matson didn't commence container operations out there until 1981 after completion of improvements to the yard, it's access roads and extending the wharf. The first Matson ship to call at Sand Island to work cargo was the MANUKAI in early September of that year.