Hi, I am a mariner as well, in fact my family has sailed with MSC for 2 generations since it was known as MSTS. I just felt like I needed to shed some light on some of the things this fellow is claiming.
First he will not be traveling the world. MSC ships can only pull into certain ports seeing as the tankers are still single hulled, and the ships carry a military status. He will spend most of his time at sea when the ship is deployed. They don't normally spend more than 1-3 days in port unless repairs are needed. On top of reduced time he will still be responsible for port watches and navigating into port, which means most likely he will maybe spend about 2-3 hours away from the ships in most ports to grab a quick bite of non prison food.
Working for this company is not some grand tale of adventure. No company is fun to work for as a mariner anymore. With the ever increasing efficiency of global trade due to factors such as containerization and massive investments in port infrastructure being a mariner is an extremely dull job with no time to see the world. Ships simply do not sit in port for long periods of time anymore. Sealift Command is particularly terrible at getting actual reliefs out to people because most the time there aren't any replacements available. So have fun being stuck out to sea well past your relief date. I'm talking months past when in comes to 2nd officers and above.
My advice get your Chief Mate license get any free training you can along the way, and then find somewhere else to work. Anyone reading this and thinking about going to a maritime academy. Its not worth it in the least bit. If you have a medical/family issue come up or decide you want to stay ashore and find a new job, you will be extremely hard pressed to find anything your degree will directly qualify you for. Especially if you go Deck/navigation like this poor sucker. I know this is harsh but it really is true I've lived it.
marinerdude446 karma
(this is my first post ever I usually just lurk)
Hi, I am a mariner as well, in fact my family has sailed with MSC for 2 generations since it was known as MSTS. I just felt like I needed to shed some light on some of the things this fellow is claiming.
First he will not be traveling the world. MSC ships can only pull into certain ports seeing as the tankers are still single hulled, and the ships carry a military status. He will spend most of his time at sea when the ship is deployed. They don't normally spend more than 1-3 days in port unless repairs are needed. On top of reduced time he will still be responsible for port watches and navigating into port, which means most likely he will maybe spend about 2-3 hours away from the ships in most ports to grab a quick bite of non prison food.
Working for this company is not some grand tale of adventure. No company is fun to work for as a mariner anymore. With the ever increasing efficiency of global trade due to factors such as containerization and massive investments in port infrastructure being a mariner is an extremely dull job with no time to see the world. Ships simply do not sit in port for long periods of time anymore. Sealift Command is particularly terrible at getting actual reliefs out to people because most the time there aren't any replacements available. So have fun being stuck out to sea well past your relief date. I'm talking months past when in comes to 2nd officers and above.
My advice get your Chief Mate license get any free training you can along the way, and then find somewhere else to work. Anyone reading this and thinking about going to a maritime academy. Its not worth it in the least bit. If you have a medical/family issue come up or decide you want to stay ashore and find a new job, you will be extremely hard pressed to find anything your degree will directly qualify you for. Especially if you go Deck/navigation like this poor sucker. I know this is harsh but it really is true I've lived it.
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