Now Ye're Talking - To A Merchant Navy Officer

Whats the merchant navy?

First time posting in one of these, you pipped my interest because my Grandfather was in the Merchant Navy.

So here goes, what led you to join and how do you join?

What does your job in tail and what skills do you need?

Also what is the pay like Haha.

Hi guys. I didn't think this would be the first question I'd get but here it goes.

Business Cat wrote: »

Is the poop deck really what I think it is?

Nah the poop deck isn't a funny as it sounds. Its basically the deck on the stern (back) of a ship. Shipping is so old it's full of names from ye olde times and a lot of them are still used now. Its almost like learning an old language like Latin at times.

PirateShampoo wrote: »

First time posting in one of these, you pipped my interest because my Grandfather was in the Merchant Navy.

So here goes, what led you to join and how do you join?

What does your job in tail and what skills do you need?

Also what is the pay like Haha.

I decided to join because I always had an interest in sailing and travelling. A few of my neighbours are seafarers and they talked me through modern life on a ship. The idea of working for three months then having three months of holidays appealed to me:D I suppose when I was finishing school I thought to myself I don't want an office job so why not get a job that allows me to travel and experience things and places I would never experience otherwise? Do ten or fifteen years at sea and then get a job ashore in a shipping company back home after building up a wealth of life experiences.

I'm a chief officer on oil tankers. At sea I will take the 0400-0800 and 1600-2000 watches. These are just navigational watches, dodging traffic, following the course etc. In port I switch to day work and am on call as required. The second an third officer's do six hour watches and follow my cargo plan. As chief officer I'm in charge of loading, discharging and carrying the cargo, security, garbage management, deck maintenance and I manage the deck crew. At 0600 I give the bosun (highest ranking rating) the jobs I want the deck crew to do for the day and around 1500 before my evening watch I will check if they did everything right. Outside of my watches I will spend most of my overtime doing paperwork. Usually this is stability and cargo calculations for the next voyage and work permits and risk assessments for jobs I want my deck crew to do.

The money! Everyone's favourite question. Starting salary for a newly qualified officer on oil tankers is around $30000. Mine is closer to $90000. Which isn't bad for six months work. That's tax free by the way since I spend more than 273 days a year out of the country. I go on a few holidays during my time off so I don't spend enough time in Ireland to become taxable.

Are the tankers drinking or sober ships?

How many people would be working on a typical ship?

What's the grub like?

Conchir wrote: »

Did you attend the National Maritime College in Cork? If so, what did you think of it? Enjoy it? Is it comparable to similar ones in other countries?


If not, where did you do your training?

Yes I did. I enjoyed my time there. Ringaskiddy is no great shakes so if I was to go there again I would live in the city and drive out. The college itself is only ten years old so it's one of the most modern in Europe. When it comes to all things marine in this country we usually copy whatever the Brits do and slap a harp on it. The college is well respected around the world. Chevron now do all their training there. You do one year in college, second year at sea and then your final year back in college. The engineers do four years in total and only six months a sea. Most cadets will be sponsored by a company from the end of first year (May) until they finish and get their licence.

entropi wrote: »

Thank you for the thread, it sounds interesting! Just a few questions if that's okay?

What is the most interesting cargo you have ever transported (you probably hear this a lot)?

Without need for specifics, do your crew have a specific kind of cargo that is transported, or is it just based on the contracts your captain can obtain?

This one is a two-parter: How long have you been working on the water, and have you always been on your current ship?

I remember watching a youtube travelog a guy done before while he was travelling the world without using airplanes. On occasion, he paid for transport on cargo ships and had some good stories to tell and hear...have you ever had people pay for passage on the ship?

One last one: would you ever return to a life on land, or has the sea claimed your heart?

Interesting cargo hmm? The most dangerous cargo I carried was probably acetone cyanohydrin. This comprises of Acetone and Hydrogen Cyanide. They are highly unstable so to make them stable, these are placed in Sulphuric Acid of 100% concentration. If it spilt on you the acid would penetrate the skin and allow absorption of the Acetone and Hydrogen Cyanide. This would lead to an inability within the body to absorb oxygen. Basically although able to breathe, a person would be gasping for breath owing to the inability of the body to absorb the oxygen from the air. We wore full chemical suits and breathing apparatus when on deck. It's seriously nasty stuff.

I work on oil/chemical tankers now so we could carry diesel one week and then orange juice the next. With chemicals it would not be uncommon for us to have 30+ cargoes on-board. This is tricky as some need to be heated, some need to stay away from heat, some react with each other so have to be kept far apart, they all have different density's so that cause stability issues. No two cargoes will pump at the same rate so cargo operations are tricky. It can be a nightmare.

The days of Captains finding the next cargo are long gone. The company will find a cargo ask, me to make up a cargo plan telling them how much we can take and what our draft will be (depth of the ship under the water). Then the next day the next cargo could be completely different and they need new calculations.

I have been at sea seven years and never on the same ship twice.

Yeah it used to be reasonably common for guys to travel on a cargo ship as a passenger. They'd pay a small fee to cover food and do a bit of painting more to pass the time than anything. The crew were happy to have them. Finally someone new to talk to :pac: If you weren't in a hurry it wasn't a bad way to get from Europe to pretty much anywhere in the world. Then 9/11 happened and with it maritime security. The odd passenger was now seen as a potential threat and that was that. We take a lot of fun out of the world sometimes:(

Haha no the sea has certainly not claimed my heart. If I'm honest I'll be looking to come ashore in the next five years. It was easy being away when I was single but with a partner and now a baby on the way I think I'll find this harder.

Is there a permanent crew who come with the ship and drive/maintain it? You say you've never been on the same ship twice, but I'm assuming there are crews who stay with the ships?

Have you ever come close to a piracy situation? I remember a (yacht) sailing instructor saying her dream was to sail around the world with her family, but the one thing that scared her more than anything - storms, boat damage, anything - was pirates.

ScienceNerd wrote: »

How are your relationships affected by the nature of your work, considering you're gone for 3 months at a time? Do you have a long term significant other/children? Apologies if this is a little intrusive, feel free to ignore

Is there any recurring things you see in portrayals of sea life in TV/films that make you roll your eyes?

What's the gender ratio like on your ship?

Not intrusive at all. It's probably the most difficult aspect of the job to deal with and the reason most will eventually get a job ashore. It's not easy at all but I try to email her everyday (even when I'm wrecked) and I call home once a week. I have a long term partner and a baby on the way so it's an area that's becoming more of an issue. I will probably look for a one month on, one month off contract if possible in the near future or else come ashore.

I suppose the whole join the navy and you're gay thing is a little annoying but it doesn't really bother me. I thought Captain Phillips was an accurate portray of life at sea. Master in Commander was extremely well researched. They used the correct terms the proper flags when signalling. Something you don't always see in Hollywood. So all in all it's fine

Gender Ratio. On cargo ships its 99% men. I've never sailed with a woman. Women normal work on passenger vessels if they go to sea at all.

John_D80 wrote: »

Excellent thread. Thank you for your time.

Do you get many former naval personnel (officers or ratings) 'jumping ship' to the merchant navy, particularly Irish Navy people??

Or would shipping companies ever head-hunt naval service people and poach them from the Defence Forces?

Are former Irish and British naval personnel well regarded and sought after in the merchant navy??

With the public pay freeze this is happening a lot with officers. There are almost no western European ratings in the merchant navy so the ratings wont be able to jump ship.

No most companies wont head hunt Naval personnel as they have no cargo experience.

The Irish navy is so small most companies wouldn't know it exists. The British navy maybe. BP do a lot of work for the RFA so I'm sure it'd be more common there.