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U.S. Merchant Marine & Commercial Industry
 Do you often find yourself looking out to sea, finding the midnight profile of an anchored vessel on the horizon, and wonder how you
could get a job like that? Or perhaps you’ve thrown a leaf or small stick into a river and watched it float away until it was out of sight,
feeling the pull of adventure, yearning to travel, and wishing you could get a job in the Maritime Industry?
Have you ever sat on the beach and watched as a ship slips below the horizon and wondered where it was going, what it was carrying?
In the words of John Masefield have you ever “ hungered for the seas edge, the limits of the land. Where the wild old Atlantic is shouting
on the sand”. If the answer to these questions is yes then a career in the merchant marine may be for you. It’s not as difficult as you
might think, if you know where to begin.
Maritime Professional Training can be your start to a job in the Maritime Industry. Whether it is cruise ships or yachts, tankers or sea going
tugs, research-vessels or off-shore platforms, this new and exciting world can offer you the adventure you seek, the financial rewards you
desire, and the leisure time to enjoy with your family or to pursue those things you thought you never would have the time for anymore.
Q. What Is
The U.S. Merchant Marine?
Q. What
Kind Of Jobs Are Available?
Q. What
Exactly Is The Commercial Marine Industry?
Q.
If I Want To Be Captain Of A Large Ship
Do I Have To Go To A Maritime Academy?
Q.
Where In The World Would I Be Working?
Q. Why
Would I Want To Go To Sea?
Q. What is the
Pay Like?
Q. Maritime
Transportation Facts
Q. In a Nutshell
Q.
What Is The U.S. Merchant Marine?
A. All U.S. seamen (citizens and green card holders) are
certified, documented and licensed by the U.S. Coast Guard. Anyone
holding such a certification or license is a de facto member of the
U.S. Merchant Marine. There is no fancy uniform and it doesn’t come
with a rifle or sword (unfortunately).
These are the professionals that man our commercial fleet of vessels.
Everything from the massive ocean going tankers and container ships,
longer than the highest skyscraper is tall, to the ferryboats carrying
hundreds of thousands of people to work every day. From the tugs
pushing barges full of grain, ore, and petroleum products to the
fishing fleets harvesting the bounty of the sea, and research vessels
trying to unlock the mysteries that lie beneath the ocean waves, which
by the way cover 70 percent of our planet.
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Q.
What Kind Of Jobs Are Available?
A. It’s easy to see that the options are
numerous for someone choosing a seagoing
career. If you want to stay close to home
there are jobs available on vessels on our
inland waterways as well as in our harbors.
If you like to travel the merchant service is
an ideal way to see the world. We as a
nation and the world as a whole rely extensively
on the maritime industry to
move raw materials as well as consumer
products, and every one of those vessels
have merchant marine professionals
guiding them to their ports of call. You will
also find them standing on the bridge and
manning the engine rooms of passenger
vessels and harbor tugs. There is a large
population of civilian mariners operating
the growing number of support ships for our
military. The choices are virtually endless.
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Q.
What Exactly Is The Commercial Marine Industry?
A. Simply put, any vessel that floats and
generates an income is a commercial vessel.
The only vessels that would not be
considered commercial are private yachts
that never charter and the boat you and your
buddies go fishing on, provided no one paid
to go fishing with you. Even vessels that do
not try to make a profit will be considered
commercial if they have an income (such as
a non-profit sail training ship).
Commercial shipping is more than the
captain and some sailors on deck. There
are engineering and steward departments
just as on yachts, only far more involved.
Where a mega-yacht may carry an
engineer or even two, a larger commercial
ship can carry an entire engineering
department. The engine room watch staff
can have wipers, oilers, watchkeepers,
and engineers all on duty at once.
Depending on the size of the ship there can
be specialized crew positions such as
electrician, or refrigeration specialist.
The stewards department will have
everyone from cooks on a cargo boat to
chefs and bartenders on a cruise ship.
From a pantryman and galleyhands to
cabin and dining room stewards all the
jobs available in a five star hotel or a truck
stop diner are available in the commercial
maritime industry.
Ships officers share the responsibility for
the safety of their ship, her crew and her
cargo. As a deck officer you will be in
charge of supervising the safe navigation
of the vessel at sea as well as the discharge
of cargo while in port. You will be called
upon to quickly develop your management
skills while supervising the ratings that
comprise your crew. As an engineering
officer you will be involved in the
operation of the ships main propulsion
machinery and physical plant. Within 10
years of starting your career you could be
eligible to qualify as Captain or Chief
engineer with the operation and
management of the entire vessel and her
crew your responsibility.
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Q.
If I Want To Be Captain Of A Large Ship Do I Have To Go To A Maritime
Academy?
A. No. Any rank can be attained in the
maritime industry simply by starting at the
bottom. People who start out as an ordinary
seaman and chose to stay in the deck
department to pursue command are said to
have “climbed through the hawsepipe”. The
hawsepipe is the hole through which the
anchor chain passes through the hull of a
ship. Luckily it is just an expression and no
one has to try and fit through the hawsepipe.
Command of all departments on a
commercial vessel can be achieved by
someone coming from an entry level
position with no college education. This
does not mean that no schooling is involved.
The amount of education and training
required to be a professional mariner
increases in parallel with the national and
international standards being raised on a
steady basis. But these are industry specific
courses such as first aid, fire fighting, ship’s
stability, sea survival, etc.
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Q.
Where In The World Would I Be Working?
A. Everywhere and anywhere. This could be
the most diverse area of the industry.
Depending on what type of ship you went
to work on, your travel could be extensive
or limited, your schedule set in stone or
changing every hour. A cargo ship may
regularly cross the oceans or a ferry boat
may regularly cross the harbor. A cruise
ship may run the same itinerary week after
week or a sail training ship may embark on
a ‘round the world cruise. Dive boats may
search out good weather to match the best
dives and fishing boats will follow the fish.
You can be home every night or not see
home for a year or more. The possibilities
and opportunities are endless.
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Q.
Why Would I Want To Go To Sea?
A. The reasons are many, but they need to be
yours. The life of a seaman can be filled
with excitement and boredom, glamour
and drudgery all in the same day. It can be
very financially rewarding or you can
struggle to get by, just as in any other walk
of life. Perhaps the romantic view of the
life of a sailor is what you seek or the
adventure of travel. Whatever reason is
yours, it can lead you to a vast and
energetic industry that is well worth the
pursuit. If you have an urge to travel there
may not be a better way to see the world.
The ships that carry the worlds goods
travel to the most exotic of locations
offering the seafarer a true glimpse of the
many cultures and customs that make up
this planet. While delighting in our
differences you will also get the chance to
marvel at the true brotherhood of mankind,
making friends and contacts that will truly
last a lifetime. Friendships that you will
make with your shipmates are in some
ways stronger than the bonds of family. In
many respects you are joining a fraternity
of highly skilled professionals that share a
special relationship. You not only work
with these people you live with them and
depend on them. You are a team that must
work together for your own safety and the
safety of the ship.
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Q.
What is the Pay Like?
A. The pay is good, but perhaps more
important is the opportunity to enjoy it.
Many employers offer about three weeks
paid vacation for every month on board.
Some companies offer day for day paid
vacation for their officers, meaning they
get one month paid vacation for every
month they work. Of course wage scales
vary but the average pay for an able seaman
rating is about 40K-45K per year, while a
junior officer may receive between 60K-
75K. Senior officers like a chief mate or
first assistant engineer can expect a yearly
pay of about 80K –125K and a Captain or
Chief Engineer from 100K to 180K.
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Q.
Maritime Transportation Facts
A. The US marine transportation system
encompasses a national and global network
of navigable ocean, lake, river, and inland
waterway routes. The system includes over
3,500 bulk oil transfer facilities, 10,000
marinas, a network of locks and dams, over
97,000 aids to navigation, commercial
vessels making over 70,000 port calls
annually, 110,000 fishing vessels and 20
million recreational vessels.
As the worlds largest trading nation, the
U.S. exports and imports about one-fourth
of all global merchandise trade ($1.9
trillion in 2001). The largest parts of this
merchandise trade – over one billion tons
of cargo – are moved by water. Another
billion tons of cargo is carried in domestic
waterborne movements, which serve over
90 percent of the U.S. population. By the
year 2020, US foreign trade in goods is
expected to grow by more than half of its
current tonnage, and inland waterways
traffic is expected to increase as well. As
ships and transportation systems become
more complex, training requirements will
increase, and crews are currently required
to be trained and qualified to operate in
accordance with international standards
(STCW). Marine Transportation is an
integral component of the US
transportation system and is essential to
our nations economy. The entire US
transportation infrastructure, including
ports and waterways and maritime training
schools, are expected to be able to handle
and provide this projected increase. As of
31 December 2004, there were over
250,000 mariners with Merchant Mariner
Documents, Merchant Marine Officers
License or both, issued by the United
States Coast Guard.
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Q.
In a Nutshell
A. If you don’t fit into the water cooler crowd
and your idea of success goes beyond the
corner office to a life of travel and
adventure. If you are looking for a career
that offers you challenges and responsibility
and rewards you for being innovative and
self directed perhaps a career on a
commercial merchant vessel is for you.
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