In trouble with drugs by proxy...

[Guest]

OK, basically the bosun offered me a handful of drugs during a port visit...I said no and reported it to the Master. Atmosphere terrible, pot shots have been slung and the Master has now apparently "dealt with the matter". I've emailed my training officer a quick account of what went on (confidentially) just in case...any ideas on what to do now...if anything? I've only got about 10 days left to go, and I'm counting them down!!!

[beer-engineer]

Re: In trouble with drugs by proxy...

If you're in trouble through this is anyway i'd contact the union. Give them an account and they'll back you if anything goes wrong.

[GuinnessMan]

Re: In trouble with drugs by proxy...

Email your training officer and the DPA for your vessel and let them know whats going on and ask them to remove you. If "pot shots" are being slung then it's time for you to go home....

[Lewis]

Re: In trouble with drugs by proxy...

are we talking about verbal or physical pot shots?

[Brimbo]

Re: In trouble with drugs by proxy...

Get legal action involved

[YoungMariner]

Re: In trouble with drugs by proxy...

OK, it's a pretty serious situation. By directly getting authorities or legal action involved yourself isn't the most sensible first move. Informing the Master and then your training officer is a very sensible move, see how they respond to your concerns, if your not happy with the situation, you can then escalate it. I would think that if hte Master and training officer are involved, that most likely the whole office are aware. The Master may already have a resolve, such as removing the crew member at the next sensible port or reporting to the authorities, but the next port or the present moment may not be the most ideal. For instance if you were Master in that situation and your next port is a country that has the death sentance for drugs, would you hand the bosun over there? I wouldn't.
So there probably is action behind the scenes.

[Guest]

Re: In trouble with drugs by proxy...

*pot* shots

Sorry couldn't resist. Sounds like you are doing everything by the book, you could have taken the easy option and done nothing but I am sure the fact you spoke up will give you a tick in the positive box on your record. Hope it gets resolved for you, it must be quite awkward.

[size4riggerboots]

Re: In trouble with drugs by proxy...

Without naming names or putting yourself at risk, is the shipping company you're with reputable and what nationalities are we talking about? If it's a good company and the master and senior officers take their job seriously then they should have given the Bosun a drugs test straight away, and if he tested positive, started disciplinary procedures. If it's not so reputable though, they may already know that the crew partake in recreational drugs ashore and ignore it. There is also the question of whether he is good at his job, is popular with the officers, and whether this is the first time he has been accused of unprofessional behaviour. There's also the question of how the master views you, and your telling him, and how the crew views you - do they view you as a conscientious cadet who'd trying to do the right thing, or are they viewing you as a snitch? I'm sorry to hear that a cadet has landed in such a minefield, it should be cut and dry (drugs are bad and have no place on a ship or in a ship's crew), but there are so many grey areas. I guess you're feeling somewhere on the scale of awkward to terrified right now, but you did the right thing, and may I say, the brave thing too, as anon said above, you could have taken the easy option. I hope things work out for you, hang in there for the next 10 days, but if you feel that your safety is in danger from crewmembers looking to get revenge, and the master doesn't make sure you know you will be kept safe, then contact your training company and consider getting off the ship early if you can. Let us know how things go too.

[GuinnessMan]

Re: In trouble with drugs by proxy...

If the crew are taking pot shots (whatever that means) then I fully believe that it is time to take the cadet off of the ship and have an outside company drug test the entire crew....

If you feel your safety is at risk, go to the Captain and if he is unwilling to help then call the DPA. It's part of the job of being a DPA as this would be a management issue.

[Guest]

Re: In trouble with drugs by proxy...

Out of interest is this the sort of thing that would follow a bloke around?

Obviously in theory it shouldn't but in the real world??

[D-Triv]

Re: In trouble with drugs by proxy...

I can't say for sure but I can't imagine that someone else getting done for drug possession/use on a boat that you reported would go against your own name. As anon said, it may even be a tick in the box as far as your record is concerned. Well done for reporting it, I can't imagine how difficult such a situation must have been for you. Let us know how you get on (if you feel it's appropriate to do so), hope the issue is resolved quickly.

[Guest]

Re: In trouble with drugs by proxy...

No, the problem is far from sorted. He accused me of being drunk and threw me off the deck (I was not) about 20 minutes after I saw the captain to say that I felt very uncomfortable and wanted to get off. My worry is that if I take it further, that accusation will rear up and the roles will end up reversed.
I got a bollo**ing from the mate who told me that I'd taken the issue too far and should apologise to him and the captain wants the issue to remain on the ship-these aren't insinuations...it's actually what has been said to me!
So now I'm getting the cold shoulder for being a snitch who has a problem with the whole drugs issue. Another problem is that this firm employs a lot of families in its fleet and the bosun is related to someone who I will more than likely end up sailing with etc etc etc. Utter poo and not the first problem I've had with regards to professionalism in the company-although up until now I've remained pretty quiet about it. But like I say, at least I have a statement (of sorts) logged with my CTO and I'm on the homeward stretch.

In answer to the post re: foreign ports, we are in UK waters and I wondered why a drugs test wasn't taken immediatly as every cadet knows that cocaine is out of your system for a urine test very quickly! Basicially I'm in the position where i can't now prove my accusation to be true and enough mud has been slung for all concerned to feel a bit deflated.

[YoungMariner]

Re: In trouble with drugs by proxy...

Has your training officer replied? If not, forward your complaint to the DPA, and also request to be disembarked.

[size4riggerboots]

Re: In trouble with drugs by proxy...

Yeouch, that's an utterly sh1t situation to find yourself in, is it uk crew too? How far along your cadetship are you? And how many other ships does the company have? If it's a small company I fear you may well find this follows you, as you said there's family involved. If you can't get off or want to tough it out I'd keep your head down and drop the subject on ship. When you get off talk to your training officer first and if they don't give you satisfactory answers then go to the DPA. You don't wan to get yourself a reputation as a cadet who's always stirring up trouble, if you have comments on the way the ship is run I'd suggest holding on to them until your cadetship is done and you are no longer beholdne to these people, (after that, let em have it!) I hope you get the rest of your cadetship on ships far enough away from that one to be able to be judged on your own merits, not this incident. And if I were you I'd start looking at other companies you'd like to work for when you're qualified, give yourself some motivation to get through the sh1t.

[steamer]

Re: In trouble with drugs by proxy...

Is this not one of those rare cases where a chamge of sponsor could be possible? Ideas....