To qualify as an officer you must be at least twenty-one, be a United States citizen, obtain a U.S. Public Health Service certificate attesting to your vision, color perception, and general physical condition, and have had at least three years of appropriate sea experience or have graduated from an approved training program. To advance to higher ratings, officers must pass progressively more difficult examinations.
Your best means of becoming a well-trained officer is to attend one of the established training programs such as are available at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York 11024, which admits students on the same basis as the military academies. You may also want to investigate one or more of the five state maritime academies: California Maritime Academy, Vallejo, CA; Great Lakes Mari-time Academy, Traverse City, MI; Maine Maritime Academy, Castine, ME; Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Buzzards Bay, MA and State University of New York Maritime College, Throgs Neck, NY. A number of trade unions in the maritime industry also provide officer training.
The working hours for officers on board ship are similar to those for seamen. Most officers belong to a maritime union and enjoy excellent pay and living conditions aboard ship.
PORTSIDE JOBS
The merchant marine could not operate without the men and women responsible for loading and unloading the ships at portside. Nor could they operate without those who work in offices doing the necessary planning, recordkeeping, accounting, and purchasing.
In the old days stevedores, or longshoremen, performed all of the manual labor of carrying cargo on and off vessels, but much of that work is now performed by lift trucks and cranes, which cut down the need for manual workers. The introduction of containerization has reduced the employment of longshoremen, too, but there are still opportunities for these workers as the following job titles suggest.
Car-loaders load and unload railroad cars, trucks, containers, and barges. Ship cleaners clean the ship's hold, wash painted surfaces, clean and check lifeboats and living quarters, and perform other duties. Marine carpenters crate and pack cargo, repair pallets, and do other work related to wood. Timekeepers keep track of work performed on the docks, ships, barges, and terminals. Billing and manifest clerks do the paperwork while checkers keep track of all goods received or shipped. In addition there is the usual cadre of guards, mechanics, crane operators, ship maintenance personnel, truck drivers, and other workers.
Most ports have an organization called a port authority, which controls activities of the harbor. Many of them have training programs and may be helpful in giving advice about employment. You can obtain a list of such authorities from the American Association of Port Authorities, 1010 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA.
Although many harbor workers learn on the job, clerical and technical skills can be learned in high school or a vocational school. A college degree or previous experience as a ship's officer is helpful when applying for the administrative jobs.
One other area in the portside is the familiar tugboat, which in some harbors is essential for pulling the larger ships into and out of the harbor as well as for towing barges. Here is an opportunity to work on a ship without ever going to sea. The next section discusses tugboats.
INLAND MARITIME CAREERS
Few Americans are aware of the extensive inland waterway system that includes the Great Lakes, the Intracoastal system, and rivers such as the "Mighty Mississippi." Actually about 15 percent of America's total transportation now moves on its inland waters.
Barges carry much of this freight, which consists principally of chemicals, grains, forest products, iron, steel, and petroleum products. These vessels are not manned nor are they self-propelled, but are pulled by a tug or pushed by a towboat.
Here is a world apart from that of the merchant marine. Instead of three departments, each with its set of specialists, most towboats have a crew of two, the captain or master, and the pilot or mate. They work together closely, each standing two six-hour watches per day. If it is a longer route there may be a second mate and they stand two four-hour watches per day, the same as seamen. Those boats that ply the western rivers or the Gulf of Mexico inland waterways need a steersman, who steers the vessel while an engineer is on duty down in the hold of the engine room if it is a larger boat. Towboat cooks are responsible for serving the food they prepare, but deck hands may perform this work on smaller boats.
Responsibilities of the deck hand vary according to the size of the boat and its cargo. Aside from routine duties on the boat, the deck hand ties together the barges to be pulled and later breaks them apart when they reach their port of destination. He or she usually works six hours on, six off, a certain number of days on and off each month, creating a type of schedule and lifestyle that will not appeal to everyone. The work can be dangerous and boring too, but the chance to travel over the waterways has a definite appeal to many.
