Deckhand On A Supply Boat In GOM

How old are you? Are you working three on and one off, or what?

I am 20 years old. Almost 21. We work 28 and 14

Did you get your job by doing the usual door-knocking around Houma and other nearby locations? I've worked on OSVs in Cook Inlet, AK, and I've considered working in the GOM in the winter time when it's not so bloody hot. I have all my MMC stuff in order, just not sure how to go about getting a job.

My journey started in the shipyard doing electrical work for a year. The shipyard will break you and make you a better man. Then I got an offer from Big Red. Just that name on your resume throws enough weight to get you a phone call before they finish reading your application. They payed for 2 weeks of safety training before I even hired on so I had all of that in order then stayed a while for "oilfield" experience. Then I applied to about 15 different boat companies. I got a call at lunch time the next day then was on a boat by 12 that night. More emails came but first come first serve. Keep applying, there are about 30 majorish players in the gulf, someone will give you a shot. Private message me for my top 5 you should try if interested. Thanks!

I currently work in Baltimore in the tourism industry, what's your advice for Getting a job in your industry in the gom?

Apply. So many people don't even apply. Google boat companies in Gulf of Mexico. Submit resumes until your fingers fall off. If you haven't applied to 30 companies, you aren't trying. Make your maritime experience and hard labor stand out and wait. Research licenses you can get with the cost card from there. At least have your twic card first then start applying, crew boats, supply boats, anything! Goodluck

What is the most dangerous situation you've ever been in?

6 to 10 foot seas while tending the hose. We were pumping water to a platform and there is no way I shouldn't be floating around in the Gulf right now. DP wouldn't hold and we only sit 2 feet over the water on the back deck. You do the math on that lol. Whatever it takes!

I have been lurking on reddit for close to 3 months or so and decided to make an account today. The turning point in my life was when I actually started getting reddit inside jokes.. I can post pictures on this thread? I'm not sure how to do that yet if anyone wants to explain it. Big thanks

Do us mighty drillships look impressive from the deck of a supply boat? Also how did y'all do two days ago when the gulf was really rough? I was chilling on the bridge watching a pretty big supply boat getting thrown around pretty good, didnt look like a good time for them. Also do you have a Kongsberg DP system or a shitty one?

It gives you hope that bigger and better things are out there. But really just seeing a structure that huge at sea really is something else. Hat off to yall guys over there putting in the man hours! How do us OSV look from up there? Lol

Yeah the drilling companies are pretty good to work for. At the very least you would get 21 on 21 off instead of that 2 on to 1 off bs.

Where do I sign up?

with your experience I would think it wouldnt be too difficult to become a roustabout for one of these companies, I know our ship gets new roustabouts pretty regularly. Try to get with a deepwater company if possible.

I will definitely look into that. Thanks for the tip

Get your AB ticket and try to get a job on tugboats just about anywhere besides the gulf. Equal time on/off is the industry standard on both coasts. Contact one of the unlicensed unions, IBU SIU, SUP, etc. I'm a captain on the West Coast; I live in Louisiana now and I've had a lot of offers close to home for almost the same money, but I won't give up my schedule of 4 weeks on/off.

I just like being out here man. The time doesn't bother me but I'd like a little more compensation for my time after I've earned it.

We have a bier radio dp system. Lord have mercy on our souls if you know what I mean. We are on our 5th revision for the system. It's not that bad of a ride, gives us some excitement!!

How large is the oil infrastructure in the GOM? I never fully realized how large these operations are until flying over the Gulf of Arabia. Would you say it's comparable?

Also, how many rigs do you service a day? Any unusual requests for things to drop off?

We moved a pair of crocs from one rig to another. I was speechless. Crocs. Crocs. Crocs. What in the hell

As a production operator who's ran a loop once or twice, you don't know what it's like to shower after a 350 lbs electrician after steak and beans night. I'd call the boat for a pair of crocs.

Crocs man. Just crocs

The first day coming out here changed my thoughts completely. They have rigs almost everywhere the eye can see. Of course some are just remotely operated wells but it is breath taking really. Human innovation for the pursuit of money puts it all into perspective..

What duties are involved in being a deckhand on a supply boat? What do you do in the time between cutting loose from the dock and tying back up?

You maintain everything from main deck to the pilot house. Cleaning wise, inventory, cooking if you have time. You are also going to be pumping water and fuel to platforms, moving personnel, lifts, and any other equipment our field might need. You also relieve the captain if he needs a break, start the engines, and do whatever is possible to keep the boat going if there is a problem. Washing the boat and painting will occupy some of your time depending on how much you want to do. We are lucky to have direct TV and Internet which a lot of boats don't have. Along with a dp system, dynamic position, which can hold the boat in place. We only go into port once or twice every 2 week period to refuel, load up on water, and crew change.

Which crane operators are bigger assholes, Production or Drilling and why is it drilling?

Drilling because they think working dangerously is "cool" I even get that feel from the rig workers. Why would you put yourself in extra danger if not needed. This job is as safe as you make it.. I support your hatred for crane operators!

What is the appropriate length for a tag line? A thumbs up signal to the crane operator signals for him to do what? What is the only acceptable coffee allowed offshore?

I like a tag line in 10 to 20 feet in length depending how big the lift is. Google crane signals. Don't be an orange hat. And Folger for the old timers. Community for me personally. Or both if the back deck is full with lifts

My SO wants to know "What should you never do to a tag line?"

Trick question, you should never use it

Another good answer to question 3 is "fresh".

I like coffee that has been sitting for 4 hours or so. Taste good to me. But then again I'm just happy to have coffee provided

Merry Christmas! Are you on duty today?

Merry Christmas to you also kind stranger. The oilfield stops for no holiday's. My watch is 12 pm to 12am. My captain is letting me take it easy today so you can say I have gotten a big present this year. On a positive note, the field is pretty quiet today!

Merry Christmas! Yes I'll be here all day.. but really I saved money on not buying presents so there's that

What are the biggest inefficiencies or problems that you see (on your boat and on the rigs)? Merry Christmas!

Non communication. Logistics wise, no one has a clue. Also general waste, food and supplies as I see it. Why was the money if you don't have to is how I see it. These companies run their self drive on waste. I'd rather they waste money though then not have enough in a way. I'm on both sides of the aisle on that one. Great question though !

Thanks for the response! Is there a particular bad story of logistics/communication failure you can share?

Guys ending up on the wrong boat then going on the wrong rig because he didn't have the information about which boat to get on. Just recently. So much time and money wasted..

Why did you stop wireline? There's so much more room to move up and other avenues to take in the oilfield. You kinda get stuck at captain on a boat. Just curious. I'm betting it was the 24/7 on call and not sleeping for three days that did it though.

Because fuck Halliburton. Half of those people are there to collect a check and don't want to be bothered with working. I love balls to wall get it done jobs but it's all about your crew. The room for advancement comes with time (and who you suck up to). I personally like a set schedule offshore, not just when there is a job to go on. I can't deal with everyday life so this is the place for me.

I hear ya. I left boots and coots right as hallabortion bought em out. I worked boats when I was 18 but wound up chasing the money onto the rigs. I'm a snubbing supervisor now and I'm set. Stay safe out there. Worst shit I ever seen was 25+ footers in the middle of winter. Broke a 10" poly line on a standby buoy three times. After that we said fuck it and ran weather patterns.

There is many different careers I can pursue. Still 20 so I'm just putting in time and having fun. Don't even start with lines breaking, nothing like waking up half through your sleep and having to pull in 400 feet of line. Better than an alarm clock I must say..

I worked boats before most of them had DP. The bow thruster was usually my alarm clock. Like you said, you're still young. Have fun with it, but also keep your future career path in the back of your mind. If you ever wanna hit land on a rotation and make some stupid money, I can give ya a few leads.

I'm going to ride it out here till around April or so then I'd be looking for something with a little bit more advancement. What kind of leads do you have in mind? I'd start researching it early to get a feel for what I need to do

Check out snubbing. Mainly standalone and some rig assist. Gotta have a strong back and be ready for some long days in some shitty weather. But it pays out in the end. Some operators with 5 yrs experience can break the 150k mark if they stay busy.

Well thanks man. Any company that should be at the top of my list?

How much do you make?

Roughly 45000 a year after all deductions for taxes and the benefits you pay. That's with 3 months off for the year and no expense while at work, food gas and other other every day cost. I figure I save at least 600 dollars a month or more every hitch so that's not entirely too bad and you add to your seatime to get a license with the coast guard. From there you can be within 60000-90000 a year easily if not more depending on demand and experience. The most valuable thing in the Gulf is experience!!

It seems like OSV supply is going to outpace drilling growth in the Gulf, especially after capex cuts from the big drilling companies due to the new oil environment. Are you guys afraid your wages will be negotiated lower in this market?

Most of our boats have set contracts. I can't say the same for others

is it true there is good fishing near oil rigs?

Yes a lot of people do well fishing out here. Sometimes fish just land on our deck too

TPIC here. Why do Tankerman hate all of the deckhands? I've seriously never heard one say a single nice thing. They use and abuse you guys.

Are you planning to become a Tankerman? Have you considered terminal operations? As a terminal operator I make damn good money working 14 days a month and I go home every night.

I believe you are referring to tug boat deck hands. Most are useless lol. But you never know what the future can bring. might end up in Canada for all I know buddy lol

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My captain treats me very well also. Not sure if those guys are just cry babies lol

Have you ever had any interest in working on-board a passenger boat?

The way my checking account is set up, I don't believe a passenger type vessel would be in my best interest but this is also a crazy life, you never know. Is that your profession?

No it isn't (I'm a student in game design and programming). I did however have a summer job last summer on-board a passenger vessel (Which mostly consisted of things like picking up food/articles for the passengers and cleaning)

How big was the vessel? A good experience in your mind?

I worked on the ferry called M/S Visby (The first one). And yes it was a good experience.

You should try river tugs on your summer off. I hear awesome stories all the time from a few friends who work on tugs. Wish I would have had the chance honestly.

What are the best, most often useable, simplest knots?

A slipknot?

A hold tension knot?

A no-slip ever knot?

A tie your boss up knot?

Prove your credentials...

Tie up your boss knot lol

what pieces of modern equipment would make your job much easier?

Most of our equipment is modern on this vessel. Could you be a little more specific?

I imagine some materials in the boat are easier to clean than others, so I suspect that if the boat were made out of different materials, you might not need to clean them at all, or it could be self-cleaning, for example. Also, how big are crew quarters? Is it reasonably quiet?

Please can we do away with rubber floors! Other than that, all good. you Pretty Much have your own room. In rough seas, the bow thruster makes it sounds like the earth is crumbling beneath you. I enjoy it, helps me sleep actually. They also have ear plugs for the faint of heart. I jam my rock Playlist on Spotify while working out then going to bed so that helps..

what recreation facilities are there on a boat like yours -- i'd imagine if there was enough space, someone would put together a projector and screen for some pirated movie theater.

We watch movies sometimes, not often because you have to keep a eye on the boey line. You never know. There's weights, tv, and Internet. Music is my only sanity keeper. Some guys play on Facebook. I like reading some articles on reddit a few times a day.. you entertain yourself

What's the boey line?

There is an anchor buey in the middle of the field with a rope. We tie up to in when on standby to save fuel

Are you keeping a journal of all your trips?

Pictures is that counts. We mostly stay in one field

Thought you were my brother, but doubt it based on your answers. He goes out of Fourchon, but his company is in the FL panhandle. His shift changes are every other Tuesday, but on this one they wanted to bring the boat back to the Panhandle, but didn't want to pay for a lot of gas, so limited the crew to 700 RPM. It took 3 and a half shifts for him to get home noon yesterday. Question - How many different supply boat companies have you worked for? It seems like my brother has only encountered people who have worked for lots or people who have only worked for one.

We work out of Venice. Currently waiting on our pirate flag and for a brothel at the port. I'll be waiting for a while, sigh. I'm on my first company and hope to stay here as long as possible. These really are good people over here

How much stress gets passed on to you when coast guard inspections are coming up? As an inspector I know a lot of work gets done preparing for us to show up and the vessel reps are sometimes pretty tense.

Not much stress on the boat. Everything is kept up to date and in order. I've been on oceanering and gulf mark boats that weren't up to level we are in a sense. Where do you do most of your inspections out of? What snacks/baked goods do you guys like on the day of inspection?

Good that you guys keep everything up. That's usually the difference between an easy inspection and a long one. I do a lot of fourchon and golden meadow so I'm pretty familiar with the area you're describing.

You forgot the snacks man

Im a Great Lakes Maritime cadet currently on an Alaska Marine Highway ship for a sea project. What do I need to do to get hired in the GoM when I have my third mates license (besides a DP)? What companies are the best to work for?

Have all your paper work ready and start applying online. Try the maritime side of oceanering. Gulf mark, Harvey gulf. All the big name operators would love to have you with that experience. Google boat companies in the Gulf of Mexico and go from there. Apply till your fingers hurt and you'll get a reply! Kinda slow with the holidays right now so I'd wait a week or 2. But start as soon as possible!

Why not get a job as an OS on a dive boat or work towards your engineer licence as QMED? There is so much more money to be made in the gulf for what you are doing.

I'm working on my sea time to become an ab then work on my qmed from there. Thanks for the advice, will keep those in mind

I have a brother that is an AV and a father that is a chief engineer out in the gulf, and myself looking to get into it. What company are you with?

A small to medium sized company. I'd try everready marine if you are looking for some where to start. Or even candy fleet out of Morgan city just to get time on the boat, after 6 months or so you can go anywhere

I'm from Morgan City and we have lots of boat companies here.

I'm from Franklin. Don't judge based on that! Didn't know they had fellow redditors in Louisiana honestly. Most people have no idea what I'm talking about when trying to explain it

Yep...we exist haha

Oh and you cant explain reddit :)

Very true haha

Ha! just saw you're from Franklin. I'm from Centerville. What's your name man?

Baxter. Yours?

Why didn't you put AMA in the title?

This is my first post, thanks for the help. I'll see about editing it

Which boat do you work on? And here's a pic of a supply boat that I took for anyone who wants to know what they look like, 24 ft center console for scale.

How do you post pictures on here?

Upload to imgur, and post the text in brackets and the link immediately following it... Like this without the spaces: [ Words here ](link here)

Anyway faster than that? Satellite Internet is not the best..

What boat are you on? I'm one of the captains on an OSV. We have a kongsberg DP system. DP2 CLASS vessel. I'm offshore right now in the Mississippi Canyon area. I work a two week on two week off schedule. I make 6 figs work 6 months per year.

Check your inbox. Thanks

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You have to go to a DP basic/advanced school first and then record your DP time on an ABS DP classed vessel. DP time on a class 1 vessel will earn you a limited cert and DP time on a class 2 will earn you a full unlimited DPO cert. Check out the nautical institute website.

I thought he was referring to a dp0 boat. Thanks for the information!

I believe these guys went to a 2-5 day class. Very simple system. You'd be up and running in 1 hour if you were shown the ropes. I believe these captains are 300-400 a day with very little stress in a way.

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Sounds like I'll need to catch a ride on one of yalls boat in the near future.

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I'll just get your coffee. No job taking going on over here lol

You said you work 12 hours on 12 off. Do you get a meal break while you are on? What do you typically eat? Do you eat differently when you are off?

There are no designated breaks. You eat when you have time if you can. You might be on back deck rigging for 8 hours straight. Sometimes the rig will send down food once a week or so. Generally we have food you can eat on the go but most things have to be cooked. It only sucks because I spend a lot of time getting food ready for everyone and have to neglect other duties.. but happy to have food provided for free!

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I hate to say it but maritime personal are not inclined to except outsiders. You would be better off pursuing production or drilling which you can find online. It's never too early to start applying! How is the oil/gas sector in India? Shoot towards Saudi production companies as well. Goodluck

The comment you answered to was deleted. So I'm assuming "outsider" is term for newbie that hasn't grown up in a maritime environment. If so, how long does it usually take for the outsider to not be considered an outsider?

Work hard and don't complain. We will all group hug anyone who doesn't complain! No hugs out here though unless you are a scared production operator swinging from the platform to the boat lol. Google working in Gulf of Mexico, enjoy!

Is the sea changing?

Like current, tide in/out, winds, weather conditions? If so then constantly.