Foreign Waivers

[todd.harter]

My apologies to all G-Captain readers - especially C.Captain.
I now appreciate the frustration of taking the time to apply to companies that have no intention of hiring U.S. mariners, but only of putting on a show to obtain the next waiver.
I have thought about taking action, but what can be done? Does anyone believe the USCG will in any way penalize these companies because of a few letters sent by applicants? When on the other end are Companies with deep pockets and a staff of lawyers more than ready to fight?
I was the "token American" with one company for years and allowed to remain there as long as my wages were in line with those of European's (nothing against them - worked with a great bunch of people) but when the gap started to increase they made clear that I was no longer welcome.
Still putting my name to my words fearlessly (and possibly foolishly) -
Todd

[c.captain]

no apologies needed my brother American mariner and welcome to the fight. With you and all the other US citizen professional seafarers who are fed up with the jobs that belong to us by law come together in a unified voice our side will prevail. The tide is turning.

[anchorman]

I 'think' the day that foreigners are banned from working in the gulf will be the same day that American mariners are banned from working in foreign countries....just saying....all being equal. Which one carries the benefit if we practice what we preach?

That being said, it is frustrating when looking for work, but I can tell you there are equal time jobs, working overseas, making more money than if you were in the Gulf of Mexico.

I just seen the Bully 1 leaving Cape Town yesterday c.captain......that is a different looking ship for sure.

[todd.harter]

We already have cabotage laws in the U.S - as do many other countries (Anchorman - you could not work in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea). The only difference- they have regulatory bodies to enforce them - the Department of Labor and U.S. Coast Guard seem to have no interest in enforcing ours.

[anchorman]

We already have cabotage laws in the U.S - as do many other countries (Anchorman - you could not work in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea). The only difference- they have regulatory bodies to enforce them - the Department of Labor and U.S. Coast Guard seem to have no interest in enforcing ours.

I have worked in the Norwegian sector and hold a Norwegian Master ticket. Cabotage laws for the most part are not definitive.

[todd.harter]

If that is the case - then I stand corrected and even agree - what's good for the goose is good for the gander.
What has to stop is the silly games where the company pretends to actually have intentions of hiring, and the CG pretends they think the company is sincere and the mariner has no idea which ads to take serious.

[cappy208]

I have worked in the Norwegian sector and hold a Norwegian Master ticket. Cabotage laws for the most part are not definitive.

Actually I disagree. The Cabotage laws here in the US are quite specific. BUT, and this is the problem, there are loopholes that are put in, and abused by industry in several sectors.

One is the fishing industry. Another is the GOM, and oil exploration all over the country. And the last is Jones act trade between US ports.

Mssr Harter has pretty succinctly stated the real issue.

The companies are abusing (with little or no oversight) this ability to outsource crew manning, since the companies themselves have no one looking over their real intentions/actions. This is like the fox guarding the henhouse: "We can't find help, so we're going to hire foreign nationals." (And there is no one to actually check up on whether they have 'tried' or not!)

[Capt. Phoenix]

"We can't find help, so we're going to hire foreign nationals." (And there is no one to actually check up on whether they have 'tried' or not!)

Yeah, "we can't find masters willing to work for $200 a day" shouldn't be eligible for a waiver.

[anchorman]

Actually I disagree. The Cabotage laws here in the US are quite specific. BUT, and this is the problem, there are loopholes that are put in, and abused by industry in several sectors.

One is the fishing industry. Another is the GOM, and oil exploration all over the country. And the last is Jones act trade between US ports.

Mssr Harter has pretty succinctly stated the real issue.

The companies are abusing (with little or no oversight) this ability to outsource crew manning, since the companies themselves have no one looking over their real intentions/actions. This is like the fox guarding the henhouse: "We can't find help, so we're going to hire foreign nationals." (And there is no one to actually check up on whether they have 'tried' or not!)

I agree that in any law, if there is a mechanism that circumvents any requirement, it will be used or abused to the extent that it possibly can, but that mechanism within the law is a legal mechanism, not a criminal one - the law/waiver is there by the same people that wrote the entire context that we are currently talking about. Lawsuits can result and should if there are causes that can be proven by actual damages. There are readers on here that specifically look for such cases, and I would seek that help if I had personal damages due to any waivers. I only comment because the shoe is on the other foot with me, and I know my lively-hood depends on my ability to hold the appropriate work Visa to work in foreign countries while holding current foreign documents.

The proposition of me arguing against foreign waivers in the gulf would only have meaning by me quitting my current job for the sake of argument (since I work contrary to this particular argument), I really don't have a leg to stand on

[anchorman]

What has to stop is the silly games where the company pretends to actually have intentions of hiring, and the CG pretends they think the company is sincere and the mariner has no idea which ads to take serious.

Agreed. No need for silly games when they hurt those that should be protected and there are courts available for just cause.

[anchorman]

Yeah, "we can't find masters willing to work for $200 a day" shouldn't be eligible for a waiver.

Most of those Masters are making more, not less, just counting the large Norwegian subsea vessels.

[denis]

I inspected a US flagged vessel in a Canadian port last week. She had been in Canada for 4 months, employed as an accommodation vessel. All 40 marine and catering crew were US citizens, and held Canadian work permits. A Canadian work permit should not be issued if a Canadian national is available for the job. There are lots of unemployed Canadian marine and catering personnel, yet work permits were issued to all crew onboard.

[cappy208]

The proposition of me arguing against foreign waivers in the gulf would only have meaning by me quitting my current job for the sake of argument (since I work contrary to this particular argument), I really don't have a leg to stand on

Just for clarity, are there enough squareheads to man the fleets there? Are you a necessity, or is there a shortage of mariners there? I believe that the EU countries have a more unified hiring/manning policy. No?

I am pretty certain that there are more than enough mariners available to work in the GOM now, to fulfil ANY jobs there. A while ago someone commented that they were working in Brazil, onboard US flag OSV, and they were the ONLY US citizen abd. So it seems to work both ways.

[JP]

I find it hard to believe there are not enough US workers to crew thier vessels. I have been working on a couple of different ships over the last couple of years. On one they hired US crews from the galley dept on up. On the others, they said they could not find enough US workers. Come on! You really expect us to believe that in this economic environment, these companies can't find galley hands??? I have plenty of friends looking for work and I know a lot of qualified mariners who have been looking for a while. I am mostly working as SDPO now so I know one way these companies could find PLENTY of DPOs: hire some jrDPOs!!! You can;t tell me that you can;t find qualified US mate/DPOs when there are hundreds of them out there, many of them offering to work for FREE, just so they can get their full DP certificate. There is NO rule by ANY official body that says EVERY DPO on a vessel has to have full DP certificate! That part is only up to the company who hires them and possibly thier clients (and I seriously doubt if most clients know the difference between a DPO and SDPO so that is no excuse either!). I think the USCG has seriously neglected its duty to check into these waiver requests before just granting them to every one who asks for one. To me, it has nothing to do with not finding enough US workers and everything to do with finding cheaper foreigners who dont ask for benefits or any kind of decent working conditions! Give US workers decent pay and working conditions and you will have them beating down your doors to work for you! USCG needs to wake up to this issue!!!

[orlandocorral]

it is frustrating when looking for work