What's a Merchant Marine?

What is the Merchant Marine, what does a Merchant Marine do, and how did you get into that line of work? This is a question that I am routinely asked. It’s with a varying degree of success that I’ve been able to answer it. With that in mind I thought it appropriate to take the time to answer the question as concisely as possible. Throughout this post I will insert links to the pages that I have referenced here. If something I say is not clear I suggest you click through for clarification.

I sometimes answer that question with a question. “What do you think a Merchant Marine is?” People’s answers range form I don’t know to I thought you guys were disbanded after WWII? Often people will confuse us with the few the proud the Marines. Mad props to those bad asses, but that’s not who we are. We do carry guns and sometimes we get shot at (pirates), but we never go looking for a fight.

The Merchant Marine in most seafaring countries is a fleet of ships used for commerce that sometimes complements the navy. These fleets may be divided into several categories: Freighters, or cargo ships, which today are mainly container ships. Coasters, smaller ships that are normally not ocean going. Tankers for the transport of fluids, such as oil, gas and chemicals. During times of war we are the guys that are tasked with transporting troops and equipment to the theater of war. The Navy does not do it because the Navy’s ships are war ships, not transport ships. For better or worse, without us foreign wars would not be possible.

A Merchant Marine is a crewmember aboard those merchant vessels. Ship’s crews are divided into three departments. Deck, engine, and steward. Deck guys take care of most of the activities done on deck such as maintenance, loading, and discharging cargo. Deckies also man the bridge and ensure the safe navigation of the ship. Engineers man the engine room and keep the ship’s engines steaming. Steward’s keep the ship’s interior clean as well as prepare the crews meals.

I’ll go further into what the deckies do because that’s my department. Chipping, painting, gangway watch, tying up, casting off, and bridge watch take up the bulk of our day. There are sometimes other tasks that come up, but these are the bulk of them. While underway each member of the deck department is required to do two 4 hour watches per day. Contrary to Hollywood the captain never stands watch and on ocean going vessels never steers the ship. Steering is the helmsman’s job. Bridge watch consists of keeping the ship on course and watching for traffic visually and with radars. Bridge watch is done standing up. Honestly though, most watches are really 4 hour long coffee breaks occasionally broken up by ship’s business. We drink coffee, listen to music, and talk X-rated sailor talk. Hey, what else did you think lonely men on long voyages would talk about?

My getting into the Merchant Marine was a fluke. Living in South Florida surrounded by million dollar yachts I originally intended to become a yachty. With that in mind I signed up for a three-month academy geared towards preparing student’s for a career in the yachting business. The week before graduation the school was visited by recruiter’s from several crew placement agencies as well as a recruiter from the commercial outfit Tidewater. They operate small boats working in the coastwise trade. At that point the only professional boating expertise I had was what I had learned in that academy class. Recognizing that that was not enough I decided to go the commercial route and build some solid skills before I joined the hyper competitive world of yachting. My intention was to then take those skills and throw my hat into the world of yachting, but I never did. Rather than become a yachty I became a deep-sea sailor. I love being a deep-sea sailor, for several reasons. First, it gives me the sense of doing an important job. A real job. I also like working with the men that are attracted to commercial shipping. I like knowing that I am competing in the most professional environment in shipping and excelling. I also like the travel and time off. As a Merchant Marine I am only obligated to work 5 months a year, however, I can and usually do work more. The rest of the year is mine. It’s a nomadic life that I am enjoying to the fullest.

I’ll go more into the lifestyle in future posts.

Here are some useful links:

So you want to be a sailor?

US Merchant Marine in WW II.

American Merchant Marine At War.

Protecting US Shipping. The Jones Act of 1920.

Comments

[Deven]

I wrote you an email asking you about the Merchant Mariners. if you could respond, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Deven

[Vicktor]

Deven,

I believe I did respond to your query but if I didn't I'll send it again.

[heath]

This column was very helpful. I am currently and active duty Navy sailor, and my rate is a BM. I would like to know how much money a merchant mariner makes a year. Also, I heard that when a merchant mariner is in port, they are off. Is that true? Thank you.

[rgreen]

Sounds like you lead a charmed life :) What's it like for women in the Merchant Marines? I'm sure there are some out there, maybe you've worked with them. Richard Avedon was once a photographer for the Merchant Marines. In your experience, have you heard of a photography position? From those of us looking for a first person perspective, Thank you for writing this blog!

[Vicktor]

Rgreen,

The life definitely has it's pluses. Yes, I have seen women on ships. Not many, but they are out there. It's not really a family oriented choice.

Merchant Marine photographer? Never heard of one. Maybe Avedon got to ride along on a ship as a guest. Anyway if I ever hear of such a thing I'm sorry but I'll definitely be keeping that one to myself ;)

[Jamie]

Nice work (explaining what a merchant mariner is and does) I'm a woman.I like men.Sailing is in my blood.I like traveling,adventures and freedom with a pocket full of cash. I tend to not put up with much societal status quo BS because I don't have to. (depend on anyone for my existence) If your interested in going out to sea. Do It! Its a great life. If your a woman, work your ass off, be strong and eventually they will respect you and in turn you will respect yourself.Fair Weather and a Following Sea! :) Jamie