Prerequisites
None beyond a real interest in working at sea. If you have done ASA 101 to 104 you already know more seamanship than most first-day cadets, but nothing here requires it.
This lesson is career guidance, not exam preparation. Nominations, tuition, service obligations and Coast Guard rules change. Before you commit years and money to a route, check the current terms with the academies, the unions and the US Coast Guard National Maritime Center (NMC).
Learning Objectives
- Describe what the US merchant marine is and the kinds of ships it crews.
- Tell licensed officers from unlicensed ratings, and the three departments on a ship.
- Compare the four main routes in: the federal academy, the state academies, the hawsepipe and the small-vessel ladder.
- Explain the service obligations and funding that come with the academy routes.
- Describe a mariner's working life at sea: watches, tours and time off.
- Choose a sensible first step for your own age, money and goals.
What the US Merchant Marine Is
The US merchant marine is the civilian fleet of US-flagged vessels and the people who crew them. It is not part of the military, although in war or national emergency its ships and mariners carry the military's cargo, which is why the government trains officers and keeps a reserve fleet.
It covers far more than big cargo ships:
- Deep-sea ships: container ships, tankers, car carriers and bulk carriers trading between US ports or internationally.
- The Great Lakes: the lakers, long self-unloading bulk carriers that move iron ore, coal and grain.
- Inland and harbour vessels: towboats pushing barges on the Mississippi, harbour tugs, ferries, dredges, tour boats and water taxis.
- Offshore: supply vessels for oil, gas and now wind farms in the Gulf of Mexico and off the East Coast.
- Government ships: Military Sealift Command, NOAA research ships and the Army Corps of Engineers.
- Passenger and charter vessels: from six-passenger fishing charters to dinner cruises and schooners.
The Great Lakes are a world of their own. The Soo Locks between Lake Superior and Lake Huron close in mid-January for winter maintenance and reopen in late March, so laker crews work a hard season and get the winter off.
Officers and Ratings
Everyone who works aboard holds a Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC), the subject of the next lesson. What changes is the endorsement on it.
Licensed officers hold an officer endorsement. They stand charge of a navigation or engineering watch and run the ship. The word licence is still used every day, even though the Coast Guard now calls it an officer endorsement.
Unlicensed ratings hold rating endorsements. They do the hands-on work: steering, lookout, mooring, maintenance, cargo, engine rounds, cooking.
The three departments
A US cargo ship is organised in three departments, shown in the diagram below.
| Department | Officers | Ratings | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deck | Master, Chief Mate, Second Mate, Third Mate | Bosun, Able Seaman (AB), Ordinary Seaman (OS) | Navigation, cargo, mooring, safety gear, maintenance of the hull and deck |
| Engine | Chief Engineer, First, Second and Third Assistant Engineers | QMED (oiler, electrician, pumpman), wiper | Main engine, generators, fuel, boilers, electrics |
| Steward | (none on most ships) | Chief Steward, cook, messman | Food, stores and accommodation |
Sailors coming from yachts usually head for the deck department, because that is where navigation, boat handling and seamanship live. The engine department is short of people almost everywhere, so if you like machinery it is the faster route to a well-paid officer job.
The Deck Licence Ladder
The diagram below shows the deck officer ladder. There are really two ladders side by side.
- Limited tonnage (left): OUPV (the six-pack), then Master 25, 50 or 100 GRT, then Mate and Master 200, 500 and 1,600 GRT. These cover charter boats, ferries, tugs, supply boats and research vessels. Most recreational sailors who go pro start here.
- Unlimited tonnage (right): Third Mate, Second Mate, Chief Mate and Master Unlimited, valid on ships of any size worldwide with STCW endorsements. Academy graduates start at Third Mate.
Each step up needs more sea time in the rank below, approved courses, and an exam or assessment. Moving from the left ladder to the right one is possible, but tonnage licences do not simply convert: you need the specific sea time and STCW training that Third Mate requires.
Four Routes In
The table below compares the four routes. The figures are typical, not promises.
Route 1: The US Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point)
The United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) at Kings Point, on Long Island, New York, is one of the five federal service academies, alongside West Point, Annapolis, the Air Force Academy and the Coast Guard Academy. Its students are called midshipmen.
Getting in
- Nomination: most applicants need a nomination from their US Representative or Senator. Apply to your members of Congress in the autumn of your final school year, at the same time as you apply to the academy.
- Eligibility: US citizen, typically aged 17 to 25 on entry, unmarried, with no dependants, and medically qualified, including eyesight and colour vision for deck.
- Selection: grades, test scores, fitness and leadership. Each class is a few hundred midshipmen.
What it costs and what you get
Tuition, room and board are paid by the federal government. You still pay some fees, uniforms and equipment, but far less than at a private college.
You graduate with:
- a Bachelor of Science degree,
- a USCG unlimited licence as Third Mate or Third Assistant Engineer, with STCW endorsements,
- a commission as an officer in a reserve component, usually the US Navy Reserve's Strategic Sealift Officer program.
The Sea Year
The heart of the course is the Sea Year: about 300 days spread over the second and third years, working aboard commercial and government ships as cadets. Midshipmen stand watches, do the work of the department and complete a sea project workbook. This is what makes Kings Point graduates employable on their first day.
The academy also runs its own training vessels for shorter trips. The photo below shows the Kings Pointer.
The service obligation
Because taxpayers fund the education, graduates must give something back. The usual obligation is to work in the US maritime industry for several years after graduating, mostly at sea or in a related shore job, while keeping the reserve commission; or to serve on active duty in the armed forces instead. Breaking it can mean repaying the cost of your education. Read the current agreement before you sign it.
Route 2: The State Maritime Academies
Six state academies also train licensed officers:
| Academy | Where | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Maine Maritime Academy | Castine, Maine | Small, practical, strong engineering |
| Massachusetts Maritime Academy | Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts | The largest of the six |
| SUNY Maritime College | The Bronx, New York | Deck and engine, close to the Port of New York |
| Texas A&M Maritime Academy | Galveston, Texas | Close to the Gulf energy and offshore industry |
| Cal Maritime (now Cal Poly Maritime Academy) | Vallejo, California | West Coast and Pacific trades |
| Great Lakes Maritime Academy | Traverse City, Michigan | Licences for the Great Lakes and beyond |
Students are called cadets. Most combine a four-year degree with the same USCG Third Mate or Third Assistant Engineer licence as Kings Point graduates.
Cost and funding
State academies charge tuition, cheaper for in-state students. Some cadets join the federal Student Incentive Payment (SIP) program, which pays a yearly sum towards costs in exchange for a service obligation similar to Kings Point's. Without SIP, there is usually no service obligation at all.
Training ships
Each academy has a large training ship owned by the federal government and lent to the school. Every summer cadets go on a training cruise of several weeks, standing real bridge and engine watches, often to foreign ports.
The old training ships were converted cargo and passenger ships, decades old. A new class of purpose-built National Security Multi-Mission Vessels is replacing them, with classrooms, simulators and space for disaster-relief missions.
Route 3: The Hawsepipe
The hawsepipe is the route from the bottom up. The name comes from the pipe the anchor chain runs through: you climb into the ship the hard way. You start as an unlicensed rating and build sea time and courses until you can sit for an officer licence.
A typical deck hawsepipe
- Get an entry-level MMC. You need a TWIC card, a medical certificate, a drug test and STCW Basic Training (fire fighting, survival, first aid and personal safety, about a week).
- Ship out as Ordinary Seaman (OS) or deckhand. Many people join through a union school (see below) or as a deckhand on tugs, ferries or offshore supply boats.
- Upgrade to Able Seaman (AB). AB endorsements come in levels: AB Special, AB Limited and AB Unlimited, with roughly one, one and a half and three years of deck sea time, plus a lifeboatman course.
- Build sea time towards Third Mate. You need about three years (1,080 days) of deck service on ocean or near-coastal ships, much of it as AB, plus a list of STCW courses: radar, ECDIS, celestial navigation, bridge resource management, medical care and more, and practical assessments signed off by officers aboard.
- Pass the Third Mate exam at a Coast Guard Regional Exam Center.
Pros and cons
- For: you are paid all the way, you finish with no student debt, and you know the job inside out.
- Against: it is slower, the courses are expensive if no employer or union pays, and you study alone between tours. Many hawsepipers take four to six years to reach Third Mate.
Union schools
The unions make the hawsepipe much easier.
- The Seafarers International Union (SIU) runs the Paul Hall Center at Piney Point, Maryland. Its unlicensed apprentice program takes people with no sea experience, trains them and sends them to sea as entry ratings.
- The officers' unions (MM&P, MEBA and AMO) run upgrading schools where members take the courses for their next licence, often paid for by the union's training fund.
Route 4: From Small Boats Up
For many ASA sailors this is the natural route. You already log days on the water. With a few hundred documented days you can take a six-pack (OUPV) licence and start working on charter boats, then move up to Master 25, 50 or 100 GRT for larger passenger vessels.
From there people go in different directions:
- stay in charter, sailing school or tour boat work, often running their own business;
- move into towing, where Mate (Pilot) of Towing Vessels leads to Master of Towing Vessels;
- climb the limited-tonnage ladder to 500 or 1,600 GRT on ferries, research vessels and offshore supply boats;
- build ocean sea time and STCW courses towards Third Mate.
The lesson From ASA Sailor to USCG Captain covers this route in detail.
Life at Sea
Watches
On most deep-sea ships the deck officers keep four on, eight off: each mate stands two four-hour watches a day, shown in the diagram below. An AB keeps lookout and steers when needed. The engine room on many modern ships is unmanned at night, with an engineer on call.
| Watch | Who | Extra duties |
|---|---|---|
| 0000-0400 and 1200-1600 | Second Mate | Navigation officer: charts, publications, passage plans |
| 0400-0800 and 1600-2000 | Chief Mate | Cargo, stability, the deck crew's work |
| 0800-1200 and 2000-2400 | Third Mate | Lifeboats, fire gear and other safety equipment |
The Master does not normally keep a watch but is on call at all times. On smaller vessels, tugs and supply boats, two watches of six hours on, six off are common.
Tours and time off
Deep-sea mariners work a tour or hitch, often two to four months aboard, then go home for a similar period. Tugs and supply boats often run two or three weeks on, two or three off. Ferries and harbour jobs can be day work, home every night.
What it is like
- You work every day aboard, including weekends and holidays, then have long blocks of time off.
- Internet access at sea has improved but is still limited on many ships.
- It is safe compared with the past but still a hazardous industry: heavy machinery, heavy weather and enclosed spaces.
- Pay is good, especially for officers and engineers, and US-flag pay is well above the world average.
Worked Example: Choosing a Route
Jordan, 17, high school senior in Ohio, good at maths, wants a degree and an officer career. Best options: apply to Kings Point (with a nomination from Jordan's congressional members) and to Great Lakes Maritime Academy and one or two coastal academies as backup. The academy route gives a degree, a licence and a job in four years.
Sam, 29, ASA 104, works in IT, sails every weekend on Lake Michigan, does not want four more years of college. Best option: log every day on the water from now on, take an OUPV or Master course once the days add up, and work weekends on charter boats. If Sam later wants big ships, the sea time and courses keep counting.
Alex, 22, no degree, wants to start earning now. Best option: the SIU apprentice program or a deckhand job on tugs, then the hawsepipe to AB and on to Third Mate or towing officer.
Common Mistakes
- Thinking an ASA certificate is a professional licence. It is not. Carrying paying passengers needs a USCG credential.
- Not logging sea time from the start. Every day you sail can count towards a licence later, but only if you can prove it.
- Ignoring the eyesight and colour vision standards until after you have planned a deck career. Check them first.
- Signing up for an academy without reading the service obligation. It is a legal contract.
- Assuming tonnage licences convert to Third Mate. They count towards it but do not replace its requirements.
Summary
- The US merchant marine is the civilian US-flag fleet: deep-sea, Great Lakes, inland, offshore, government and passenger vessels.
- Officers hold licences (officer endorsements); ratings hold rating endorsements. Ships have deck, engine and steward departments.
- Kings Point is federal and free, needs a congressional nomination and carries a service obligation. Graduates are Third Mates or Third Assistant Engineers with a degree.
- The six state academies charge tuition, offer SIP funding with an obligation, and train cadets on federal training ships.
- Hawsepipers start as ratings and climb with sea time, courses and exams, often through union schools.
- Recreational sailors can start with a six-pack licence and climb the limited-tonnage ladder.
- Deep-sea officers usually keep four on, eight off, on tours of two to four months.
Check Your Understanding
- Name four kinds of vessel the US merchant marine includes besides deep-sea cargo ships.
Answer: Any four of Great Lakes freighters, towboats and barges, harbour tugs, ferries, offshore supply vessels, government ships, tour and charter boats.
- What is the difference between an officer and a rating?
Answer: An officer holds an officer endorsement (a licence) and can take charge of a watch; a rating holds a rating endorsement and does the hands-on work under the officers.
- Which deck officer is usually the ship's navigator, and which watches does that officer keep?
Answer: The Second Mate, on the 0000-0400 and 1200-1600 watches.
- What do you need, besides a strong application, to get into Kings Point?
Answer: A nomination, usually from a US Representative or Senator.
- What three things does a Kings Point graduate usually leave with?
Answer: A bachelor's degree, a USCG Third Mate or Third Assistant Engineer licence, and a reserve commission.
- What is the Sea Year?
Answer: About 300 days, spread over two years of the course, working as a cadet aboard commercial and government ships.
- What is SIP, and what does it change for a state academy cadet?
Answer: The Student Incentive Payment program: federal money towards costs in exchange for a service obligation.
- Where does the word hawsepipe come from, and what does it mean?
Answer: The pipe the anchor chain runs through. A hawsepiper starts as a rating and works up to officer through sea time, courses and exams.
- Roughly how much deck sea time does a hawsepiper need before sitting for Third Mate?
Answer: About three years, or 1,080 days, much of it as AB, plus STCW courses and assessments.
- Does a Master 100 GRT licence turn into a Third Mate licence by itself?
Answer: No. The sea time and training can count towards Third Mate, but it has its own requirements and exams.