Deck Department
The entry rating (or grade) in the deck department is that of ordinary seaman who scrubs decks, coils and splices ropes, paints, cleans living quarters, and does other maintenance jobs. He or she may also relieve an able seaman and steer the ship, or act as a lookout to watch for other ships.
Able seamen (often referred to as AB) have a thorough knowledge of every part of the ship and can handle all the gear and deck equipment. Sometimes they act as quartermasters, steer, and serve as lookouts. Some of the skills expected of able seamen include being able to tie common knots, handle mooring lines when the boat is docking or leaving, participate in boat drills, and be familiar with launching lifeboats and life rafts. They must also be familiar with fire prevention and control and do general maintenance work such as is done by ordinary seamen.
The boatswain or bosun is the highest ranking able seaman. He or she supervises the deck crew, passes on orders from deck officers, and makes certain that these orders are carried out. He or she assists the chief mate, directs the maintenance work, and, when the ship docks, supervises the deck crew.
Engine Department
The entry position here is that of wiper. There are usually from one to three wipers on cargo ships who keep the engine room and machinery clean. Oilers lubricate equipment and may help overhaul and repair machinery. Firers water tenders check and regulate the amount of water in the boilers, regulate the fuel flow, and check the operation of the condensers and the evaporators that convert salt to fresh water. The electrician repairs and maintains all electrical equipment, and there may also be a refrigeration engineer to make certain all of the refrigerating equipment for perishable cargoes is operating properly.
Steward's Department
The preparation and serving of meals, as well as the cleaning and maintenance of living quarters, are the responsibilities of this department. Beginning jobs like utility hands and mess attendants require no skills. Utility hands bring food supplies from storerooms and refrigerators to the kitchen, prepare vegetables, wash cooking utensils, and scour the galley equipment. Mess attendants are responsible for setting tables, serving meals, washing the dishes, and cleaning the living quarters. The chief cook, assistants, and the chief steward must have cooking skills. With the increased use of frozen and prepackaged foods and smaller crews, many ships need fewer personnel in this department.
Working Conditions
Working on a ship can subject you to great temperature extremes. Standing on the deck in the hot sun or during bitter cold windy weather for long periods as a lookout can be as uncomfortable as working in the engine room with its constant high temperature.
Accommodations for sailors are not luxurious, but good meals are served in a mess room, which may double as a recreation hall. On older ships, crews share quarters and have little privacy, but new vessels have single berth rooms. However, even with improved conditions, work on a ship can become boring.
Sailors in the merchant marine work seven days a week, although individuals usually work two four-hour watches or shifts during each twenty-four hour period, and have eight hours off between each watch. Some sailors are day workers who are on duty eight hours a day from Monday through Friday. When working over forty hours a week, overtime is paid, and when the ship is in port, the basic workweek is forty hours for all crew members.
Job training
Although not required, a useful background for entering the merchant marine would be previous experience at sea in the Coast Guard or Navy.
A few high schools offer training for marine transportation careers. Perhaps the two outstanding are the Randal Aerospace and Marine Sciences High School in Washington, D.C., and the Food and Maritime Trades High School in New York City, which is located on two World War II ships. Several degree-granting as well as community colleges offer courses. The Harry Lundeberg School, St. Mary's County, Piney Point, Maryland, is perhaps one of the best known professional schools that gives training in entry or beginning job skills as well as advanced courses. Those interested in becoming cooks should obtain information from the Marine Cooks and Stewards Training Program, 350 Fremont Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. The Seamen's Church Institute of New York, 15 State Street, New York, NY 10004, offers a variety of programs in the maritime field.
You can advance in the deck and engine departments by serving for certain periods in a particular job and then successfully passing a Coast Guard examination that tests ability to maintain and use equipment.
Basic Employment Procedures
According to a spokesperson for the National Maritime Union, there are few opportunities in today's merchant marine for the unskilled. It is no longer a job for people who just want to see the world or get away from it all. Those interested have to have more to offer than just physical strength and a desire to work. This is a brief description of how to get a job as an unlicensed (non-officer) seaman in the U.S. Merchant Marine:
Every person employed aboard an ocean-going U.S. ship must have a Seaman's Certificate, which is issued by the United States Coast Guard. Before it will accept applications for a certificate, the Coast Guard requires that the applicant be referred by a recognized maritime training school or that he or she have a 'letter of commitment' from a shipping company or union addressed to the Coast Guard, stating there is a job available for her or him.
The NMU does not issue such letters of commitment. Most companies also do not issue them except in rare cases. The flow of new seamen required to maintain the normal work force of the U.S. Merchant Marine is achieved mainly through the recruitment of people with certain needed skills or those who have come through maritime training schools or have had training in the armed forces in a skill needed in the merchant marine.
After the Coast Guard issues you a certificate, you register for shipping at the employment office of one of the seamen's unions or at a government agency that employs seamen. Also some oil companies and harbor as well as inland waterways companies do their own hiring. Without previous experience you would be in the lowest seniority group. Qualified seamen in higher seniority groups usually have first claim on available jobs. In the NMU, within each seniority group, the person with the oldest registration card who has the qualifications has the option. A new person, therefore, would have to wait until a job comes down to the lowest seniority group and then must have the oldest card in that group. The job, when it comes, may be for a short trip, relieving the steady person on the job, and then the new seaman would be on the beach again. As he or she achieves higher seniority and higher skills, the waits are likely to become shorter and the jobs steadier.
There is no discrimination by race, creed, color, or sex in NMU and no discrimination on grounds of membership or non-membership in the union. Applicants can be barred for narcotic offenses or other criminal records and other specific evidence of unsuitability for work at sea. This would be decided jointly by the companies and the union, according to law.
Service in the armed forces is not by itself a factor in determining a new seaman's seniority rating. Service on foreign ships also does not count. Only sea time on American-flag merchant vessels is considered for seniority according to set rules. However, applicants with special skills that the merchant marine needs at the time would be given special consideration by a joint company-union panel.
