The Merchant Marine Express

After a week of being home, I’ve accomplished a few things which a mariner typically needs to achieve after signing off a vessel.

First of all, a member of a union, such as myself, “clears a hall” or notifies the union of completion of a contract. Most maritime unions require that their members present themselves to the hall which they applied for the job, and send in their discharge in preparation for their “vacation pay”, or bonus monies owed. The drawback of such a visit may be the fact that the union may be so far from the seaman’s home port that an additional trip may be required at the expense of the seaman for another flight back to their home. The business through American Maritime Union is conducted via the comforts of the phone. All correspondence is through telephone or fax. So, I called Dispatch the following day of signing off and briefly mentioned that I signed off “such-and-such day.” A hefty penalty in the “thousands” may apply if such a call isn’t made in due time from ending the contract.

And, therfore, I applied for my “Vacation”, which is the Subsistence that is owed to me from accruing during the contractual period aboard. This, theoretically, is money that a seaman lives on during their vacation period, and may be as much as thirty-days per month for every thirty days worked. In essence, if one works four months, ideally, their vacation would be a lump sum of two months worth of pay at the end of their contract.

Moving on…requirements for a federally issued Identification card has now been established for all transportation workers. And I’ve had to apply at a local office that has been established by the Homeland Security Department and run by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers. All seaman are currently required to carry with them, a valid Merchant Mariners Document or “Z” Card which for decades, has been the norm. I went to a small town called Marine City, forty miles south of Port Huron to apply. There, a kind woman who was dressed in the customary white button up shirt with Epaulettes that you see on officials at airport security check points, greeted me.I answered questions like, “Have you ever been incarcerated or been convicted of a Felony?” This question would automatically disqualify an applicant of obtaining a card and possibly put one’s career of working in the maritime industry, at risk! I answered all questions successfully, and submitted my fingerprints, for their records.

However, since 9/11, a push for more stringent screening of one’s background and a national identification has finally been approved. A Transportation Workers Identification Card or “TWIC” Card is the result of such actions. All mariners, long shore workers, and truck drivers carrying maritime related commerce are obligated to obtain a card by April of 2008. This card may not allow seaman access within a secured area, alone, as oil refineries for example, require personnel to be on an access list. Many believe this TWIC card is just something more that the government wants to control their citizens.

The summer season has nearly arrived to Lexington, Michigan. Temperatures in Michigan typically settle in the mid 70’s during this time of year and an occasional day of an upper 80’s may be associated with an afternoon thundershower. I’ve been working on the yard and used my riding lawnmower to cut the nearly half acre of grass and trimmed trees of their under brush. The Cyprus bushes all need trimming as well, so this is my next task.

I have been researching oil prices just to understand this latest increase in the cost of gasoline and found out what effect it has on the price of fueling up ships such as the one I just completed. I found an article put out by Crowley on their website, which you might find appalling. The description of how much is spent on fuel per voyage as well as an example of five ships fueled per year as follows: “…To illustrate the effect of the rising fuel costs, consider the following example of a large modern container vessel used in the Trans-Pacific trade with an actual, maximum container capacity of 7,750 TEUs (twenty foot equivalents) or 3,875 FEUs (forty foot equivalents).[This size vessel is used only as an example. Fuel efficiency varies by vessel size and other factors] With the cost of bunker fuel at $552 per ton, with fuel consumption at 217 tons per day, and a 14 day voyage, a single round trip voyage for this one vessel would produce a fuel bill of $3,353,952.” The second article goes on to describe,” ….if extended to a single weekly Trans-Pacific service using five vessels, would create an annual fuel bill to the carrier of $220 million.[(5 ships) x (217 tons/day) x ($552/ton) x (365 days per year) = $218,605,800] “.

Lastly, I have also researched that a penalty imposed on the mis-use of VHF Radio communications as it applies to cursing on the radio may be as much as $11,000 and/or up to two years in prison. So, be cautious of showing those true colors while communicating between vessels.

Hey folks! Have a great day!

Tags: Michigan – Home Port, Uncategorized