Does any one know how to become a driver for trading-ships?

lupe, you should read "Life on the Great Lakes - A Wheelsman's Story" by Fred W. Dutton. If your local library does not have it, they can borrow it from another Michigan library. The author started as a deckhand during his summer vacations, and worked his way up to wheelsman. After he became a lawyer, he still spent vacation time working on the lake freighters.

http://www.amazon.com/Life-Great-La...9143807?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1293122472&sr=1-1

 

Oh my - I don't get sea sick/air sick or car sick - but watching this is getting me there!!

 

I always enjoy this web site and just now wrote down some titles from their library.

http://boatnerd.com/

 

Lupe,

A job opening !!!!!!

http://jacksonville.craigslist.org/trp/2125671660.html

 

Nothing new about being a pirate. Just more coverage the last couple of years or so, but I'm sure there's always been pirates.

 

Coming to a trucking forum and asking about sailing papers is a mistake. You will get alot of answers that are not correct just for the simple fact they do not know. But still you don't need to be insulted by people that have no clue.

The license to go to sea on U.S. registered ships are controlled by the Coast Guard. You do not need to go to any maritime academies to go to work on any U.S. registered ship. You can go see the Coast Guard and get your sailing documents for the job you are seeking. If you have no experience then you're going to start at the bottom and gain experience at sea. For example if you want to go on the deck you would start as an ordinary seaman and work up from there. If you want to go in the engine room then you could start as an oiler and go up. However, the Coast Guard does have some requirements you must meet.

The maritime academies are for officers. It's like college. You go to the academy and you can come out as a Third Mate where you be standing watches on the bridge. I don't know about the engine room. For those of you who don't know you don't pilot a ship nor drive a ship you steer a ship at the helm. There's is a job that the person is called a Pilot and they bring ships in and out of ports. A ship will have to stop before going into a port and bring on the pilot. The pilot tells the helmsman where to steer. Same for going out.

Your first step to getting your sailing papers is with the Coast Guard. Then you'll need to find the union hall for the ship or ships you want to sail on. After that you'll get all the knowledge you need to better yourself.

 

Well, LUPE has not posted for a bit...
Bet he is on a Marine forum, asking about trucking......

 

Last I heard it takes about 25 years, a lot of handshakes and a powerful daddy to get in the wheelhouse of a U.S. registered ship.

 

Gas hauler is correct. I had looked into this a while back got all the info I nneded from a fellow who worked on a tug. I had all the numbers and spoke to a fellow in norfolk, va. That is the closest coastguard facitulity that has the program. Like gas hauler said u need all the proper papers from your local uscg the you have to go to a regional location. Every region has one main location, here in the south it is norfolk. You have to go thru a training and there is no pay for about three months, there you can get your tankerman endorsement to transfer fuels and chemicals over the water. The pay is good, I spoke with crowley tugs, they work about 6 weeks on 6 off and after a few years avg around 70,000.