# Extent of international career opportunities for american Mariners



## needadditionalinformation (Jan 30, 2006)

When I got out of high school almost 20 years ago, the differential subsidies had been cut to the american Merchant Marine, and it almost disappeared. At the same time, the cold war was winding down, so the Navy got cut in about half. 

While there may be some career opportunities in the american side, I was wondering how likely foreign ship owners would be to employ someone with a U.S. Coast Guard 3rd Mate's license, for example?

I had gotten the impression that British officers were able to find gainful employment in foreign owner / foreign registered ships; if so, does this tend to work out for Americans too?

I had heard that certain companies like to reserve officer positions for people of their own nationality, so I was wondering. 

I have no license, so would still have to get that (4 year process over here), it was always something I wanted to do, just my timing was bad years ago.


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## chadburn (Jun 2, 2008)

In my experience of "Contracting" (as it was known in the 1960's) meaning working for a Foreign Company I found that the employment of British Deck and Engineering Officer's was based on the admiration Foreign Owner's had of the British Training/ Qualification system and considered it the best in the World. Other's will know better than I what the situation is today as I left the MN in 1981. It was a major decision to move to a Foreign Owned Foreign flagged vessel in those day's as it was frowned upon by some (and still is), however, that's where the rapid advancement was coupled with the High Earning's. I have sailed on vessel's where the Master and myself as Chief Engineer were the only Brits onboard.


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## CAPTAIN JEREMY (Mar 9, 2010)

I have met a few US officers on foreign flagged ships over the last 10 years ago. There are certainly some companies who might entertain the idea.

I think it might be harder to get the qualifying sea time, if you don't already have it.


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## needadditionalinformation (Jan 30, 2006)

CAPTAIN JEREMY said:


> I have met a few US officers on foreign flagged ships over the last 10 years ago. There are certainly some companies who might entertain the idea.
> 
> I think it might be harder to get the qualifying sea time, if you don't already have it.


Thank you, and I'm guessing one of the maritime academies and their training ships would have to figure heavily in ac***ulating sea time on an American ship for a license.


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## callpor (Jan 31, 2007)

Quoting from this weeks' newsletter from John Cartner may go some way to answer you question:-
"Pithy
The moans about the Congress gutting various subsidy programs for US shipping are now whimpers. What none of the players in this trivial blue-water shipping state do not understand is that the US has a huge fleet – the second largest in the world. The reality is that US shipping capital resides in Greenwich and controls a large fleet simply not US-flagged. The second reality is that the Republic of the Marshall Islands flag is a captive US flag. The Marshalls are in "free association" with the US, analogous I suppose to the Cook Islands in the antipodes. More importantly, if Marshallese law does not cover a difficulty, US law does -- by law. What is curious is the lack of US recognition of all this of a well-run flag under a government which accepts substantial US monies in aid and whose ties to the US are strong and strategically necessary. And yes, there are many Americans – seafarers and landside – employed under the Marshallese banner. Yes, Virginia, there is a large US fleet. It simply does not fly Old Glory."


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## kewl dude (Jun 1, 2008)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_convenience

Greg Hayden


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## Klaatu83 (Jan 22, 2009)

Back in the mid 1980s, when shipping was bad, I got a Liberian license. As I recall, all I had to do to get it was send a copy of my U.S. license and $100 to the Liberian Embassy, and they sent me back a very impressive-looking license. As it turned out, I never had recourse to use it, so I can't say how easy it would have been to get a job. However, I read an account by a German journalist, published around that time, that he also got a Liberian license on the basis of absolutely no professional experience whatsoever. He managed to get a job as 3rd Mate on a tanker transporting oil to the U.S., so I don't suppose it could have been too difficult. Of course, things may be different now, since the introduction of STCW.

Ironically, the period twenty years ago was actually one of the very few good times for U.S. shipping. With the Gulf War, dozens of old ships were broken out of mothballs, and they actually had trouble finding enough men to crew them all. I, myself, got stuck on a ship, and couldn't get relieved (it was the only time that ever happened to me). If it weren't for a lot of old WW-II Merchant Marine veterans, who came out of retirement to ship out once more, I don't think we could have managed.

I have been aware of the "Marshall Islands" flag, and it's relationship to the U.S. maritime industry, for some time. Sea-Land began re-flagging their ships under the Marshall Islands flag at least 20 years ago. I was even offered a Chief Mate's job on one of them during the mid 1990s. I would have been sailing on my U.S. license, but the pay scale would have been about the same as Third Mate's scale. What really made me hesitate, however, was the fact that the ship would have been continuously operating overseas, between Western Europe and the Far East. That run didn't bother me, because I'd done that run before. However, I strongly suspected that, once they got me out there I would become stuck indefinitely, because they wouldn't be able to find anyone willing to take my place.


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