Trans-Atlantic Entry Level Tech

**Green Wrench** · October 15th, 2011, 08:51 AM

Hows it goin there lads. I've recently moved to New Jersey USA from Ireland where I worked on refrigerated shipping containers and I'm wonderin if there's any kind of work to be had here that would let me travel back home once and a while. I've worked on the containers aboard docked ships and the docks themselves but never at sea. I've all my papers and such so I have American citizenship as well as British. What research I've done has confused me more than helped. Not askin for a map just a point in the right direction. Ta.

**seadog6608** · October 15th, 2011, 11:33 AM

Failte, a chara. By all your papers, do you mean your seaman's papers (US)? Or just passport and such?

**Green Wrench** · October 15th, 2011, 11:42 AM

Aye just the passports and working rights. I take it I'll be needing these seaman's papers then though.

**seadog6608** · October 15th, 2011, 08:08 PM

Search on here for MMC and TWIC. those are the acronyms for the Merchant Mariner Credential issued by the US Coast Guard. and the Transportation Worker Identification Credential.

**cmakin** · October 17th, 2011, 07:22 AM

I am not sure how things are structured these days, but it is a safe bet that those working on container maintenance while underway are from the engine department. I know that whey I sailed as Day Third with SeaLand some 30 years ago, about 30% of my time was spent up on deck attending to problems with the reefer containers. I don't know that there is a position just for container maintenance onboard a Vessel, unless there is a riding crew doing the work, separately from the Vessel's crew.

**brjones** · October 17th, 2011, 07:32 AM

The last container ship I sailed on was with APL. They had a reefer tech out of the MFOW working them. They were a member of the engine department. They raked in the dough as well. Lots of OT in port plugging and unplugging boxes

**cmakin** · October 17th, 2011, 11:17 AM

Originally Posted by brjones

The last container ship I sailed on was with APL. They had a reefer tech out of the MFOW working them. They were a member of the engine department. They raked in the dough as well. Lots of OT in port plugging and unplugging boxes

I would have, too; but this was on an SL-7 and there were two Day Thirds. Still did pretty good on the OT, though.