Maritime News

USMariner.info is an interactive news and information forum that contains information of interest to all mariners.

Visit it today. Registration is FREE.

http://USMariner.info

The 50th annual Marine Transportation and 85th Veterans Steamboatmen’s picnic will be from 10AM to 6PM on August 1, 2010. This picnic will feature:

• memorial services at noon to remember past mariners
• bingo door pirzes
• raffel & silent auction
• Kids games adult games
• clown face painting
• hot dogs,coffee, soda & juices provided

If you would like to donate items it would be greatly appreciated. Please contact James Kenneyat (360) 910-0186.

For more information visit the Columbia River Mariner.

USMariner.info

A maritime community were mariners can communicate with other mariners regarding:

• Their licensing and employment experiences
• Post resumes and find jobs
• Learn from each other’s experiences
• Become part of a learning community
• Enroll in online license prep courses

What do I need to do to get the Mate of Towing (Pilot) endorsement?

There are three ways to get a Mate (Pilot) of Towing Vessels endorsement.

1. Apprentice Mate (steersman): This license requires a total of 18 months of qualifying sea service experience (12 months of the qualifying experience must have been on towing vessels) and complete the apprentice mate exams. After acquiring the Apprentice Mate license you need to log another 12 months of qualifying experience on towing vessels; complete a TOAR and a Radar Observer course and the Apprentice Mate license can be upgraded to Mate of Towing.
2. Master 200 tons or less: If you hold a license as Master 200 tons or less and have three years of qualifying experience as master under the authority of the license; complete 30 days of training a towing vessel; a TOAR; the apprentice mate exams and Radar Observer course you can qualify for a Mate of Towing license.
3. Master or Mate greater than 200 tons: If you hold an inspected license as Master or Mate greater than 200 tons (meaning 500 tons or more) and complete 30 days of training and a TOAR and you can operate any towing vessel under the authority of the license.

When you get ready to take the exams please give me a call. I have an approved course for the apprentice mate exams and I can provide the Radar Observer course.

It appears that some individuals are just now thinking about getting an OUPV license for the summer ocean tuna fishing season. There is still time, but you need to start the process NOW! Here is how you can make this happen.

1. Document the qualifying sea service experience. To qualify for an OUPV license with an near coastal route (meaning 100 miles offshore) you need to be able to document 360 eight-hour calendar days of experience in the operation of vessels. For a near coastal route 90 days of the qualifying experience must have been on ocean waters.
2. Get a TWIC. This is a Transportation Workers Identification Credential issued by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), not the US Coast Guard. This is a requirement that must be completed before the USCG will even look at your license application. It takes from seven to ten days for TSA to complete the background check and issue the TWIC.
3. Complete the application and deliver it to a USCG Regional Exam Center (REC). It will take the USCG about four weeks to process your application. During this time you should complete a USCG approved course to satisfy the exam requirements for the license and if everything goes well you can expect to have your OUPV license in hand by mid June, a couple of weeks before the summer tuna season begins.

I still have a few openings in the June OUPV classes, but you need to get started with the application process NOW to have the license for this summer’s tuna season.

I have been contacted recently by several mariners who have had their license applications held up because of improper random drug testing paperwork or procedures. The easiest way to correct this problem is to simply take another random drug test using a facility that is familiar with the new paperwork ritual. One place that I highly recommend because of their attention to detail and knowledge of the USCG paperwork process is Arcpoint, formally known as Accuadiagnositic. Terry Johnson, at the Vancouver, Washington location, is partially knowledgeable on USCG random drug testing paperwork requirements and can insure that your paperwork is correct the first time through.

Contact Terry Johnson at the Vancouver ArcPoint

Email: tjohnson@arcpointus.com
Office: 360-597-4543
Cell/After Hours: 360-601-0614
Hrs: 7:30 – 5 M-F…..After Hours and Weekends By Appointment

• 13211 NE Thompson Court
• Portland, OR 97230
• (503) 841-6066

Columbia Pacific Maritime is a small private school that focuses on short duration, intense training courses that satisfy the Coast Guard examination requirements for the professional mariner credentials required to operate commercial vessels. Fifteen different US Coast Guard approved courses are maintained and offered on a regular schedule to satisfy the examination requirements for the following professional credentials.

OUPV: Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessel is the most popular license held by fishing guides operating on inland and near coastal ocean waters. This license allows the operator to carry six or fewer passengers, not counting the captain and crew.

Master: The next higher level of commercial license is called a Master. A license as Master will be issued with size limitations expressed in tons. Common limitations for original licenses include 25, 50 or 100 tons depending on the qualifications of the applicant. A Master’s license is required to operate small passenger vessels carrying more than six passengers and is required for charter boat operators, supply boat captains or the captain of any inspected vessel operated on inland or ocean waters.

Able Seaman: Able Seaman and ordinary seaman are ratings for deckhands on commercial vessels. The ordinary seaman rating is an entry level rating that does not required any experience or training.

In addition to providing USCG approved training courses for the original issue of a license, Columbia Pacific Maritime also has many courses designed to upgrade or add endorsements to an existing license.

Upgrade courses

• OUPV to Master 100
• Master 100 to Master 200
• Master 200 to Apprentice Mate (steersman) of Towing Vessels
• Master 200 to Master or Mate of Fishing Vessels

Endorsement courses

• Radar Observer
• Rules of the Road
• Celestial Navigation
• Auxiliary Sail
• Assistance Towing

A license as Master issues the authority to be the captain on any uninspected passenger vessel of less than 100 gross tons and any inspected vessel within the tonnage limitations of the license. Another important point for many mariners is that an Auxiliary Sail endorsement cannot be placed on an OUPV license, it can only be placed on a license as Master or Mate.

A license as Master will be endorsed for one of the following routes:

• Inland, meaning all inland waters of the United States.
• Near coastal, meaning all inland waters of the United States and all near coastal ocean waters within 200 miles of shore.
• Oceans, meaning all inland waters of the United States and all oceans waters worldwide.
• A license as Master may also be endorsed for very restricted routes known as a ”limited scope route”, which is restricted to a very specific area as described on the license. The USCG has become resident to issuing new limited scope licenses in the past year.
• A license Master may also be issued as Limited Master, meaning that the license is limited to a very specific route for a single company or employer on one sepcific vessel.

The sea service requirements for a license as Master of vessels not more than 100 gross tons depends on the route endorsement.

• An inland route requires 360 days of sea service experience on any waters, including lakes, bays, rivers, sounds, oceans, or the Great Lakes.
• A near coastal route requires 720 days of sea service experience on ocean waters, sea service on inland waters or the Great Lakes may be substituted for up to 360 days of the required service.
• An ocean route requires 1080 days of sea service experience on ocean waters, sea service on inland waters or the Great Lakes may be substituted for up to 540 days of the required service. At least 720 days of the required service must have been as Master or Mate while holding a USCG license as Master, Mate or OUPV.

Licenses as Master of vessels of less than 200 tons are issued in 50 ton increments, rounding up, using the following formula:

• If all your qualifying experience was on vessels of less than 5 tons your license will be limited to vessels of not more than 25 tons.
• If any of your qualifying experience was on vessels of more than 5 tons you license will be limited to vessels of not more than 50 tons.
• The maximum tonnage that 25% of the qualifying experience was on.
• 150% of the maximum tonnage that 50% of the qualifying experience was on.

Sea service is measured in eight hour calendar days where any days that you were on a boat, held a position of responsibility, and were away from the dock for more than four hours counts as one eight hour calendar day. If that entire day was spend the on the protected inland waters of bays, rivers, lakes or sounds than it is considered an inland sea day, but if at any time during the day you crossed into ocean waters that entire day is considered an ocean sea day. Sea service experience is gained over the course of your lifetime and can be documented from about age 14. Use the USCG form CG-719S to document non-commercial sea service experience and commercial experience on vessels of less than 200 tons.

The following are the Merchant Mariner Credential sea service requirements for service on uninspected vessels and inspected vessels of less than 200 tons. Note that one month is equal to 30 days and one year is equal to 12 months or 360 days.

* indicates tonnage limitation dependent on the size of vessels the qualifying experience was on.

• Six months: Inland Mate 25-200 tons * / Able Seaman (fishing / OSV)
• One year: Inland OUPV / Inland Master 25-100 tons* / Able Seaman special
• One year with 6 months as Master or Mate while holding a license: Inland Master 25-200 tons*
• One year with 3 months on oceans: Near coastal OUPV
• One year with 6 months on oceans: Near coastal Mate 25-200 tons*
• Eighteen months with one year on towing vessels: Apprentice Mate (steersman)
• Two years with one year on oceans: Near coastal Master 25-100 tons*
• Two years with one year as Master or Mate while holding a license: Near coastal Master 25-200 tons*
• Three years with 18 months on oceans and 2 years as Master or Mate while holding a license: Oceans Master 25-200 tons*

Click here to download the full document