Tankers payscale?

[clarkson]

Hi everyone just has a quick question about the salary on tankers. Basically I just want to know what the average pay is for a starting 3rd officer on a tanker, 2nd officer, chief and captain, now I know this will vary from company to company but hopefully someone can give me a average range as once i complete my cadetship im very interested in working on tankers.

Thank you!

[GuinnessMan]

Approximatly ?20 - 26,000 per year as a starting officer depending on contract type and length. Some companies operate a contract system, so you only get paid whilst on board and time on board ratio's can vary quite a bit. I know one tanker company operates a 6:2 ratio.

Most tanker companies prefer to take people on with some experience and hold the appropriate DCE's, so try to see if your current sponsor can put you on a tanker and pay for your Tanker Fam. It will also take you a bit longer to go up in the ranks on tankers as a lot of companies will want you to have spent a few years in each rank before moving upwards.

[Unregistered]

I will be with a container company only, CMA CGM, so i cant go on tankers CMA CGM have told me i will start on 24k once qualified so i thought a tanker 3rd officer would be significantly more than that like in the 30k's? And also how long would it take me to work my way upto captain with a tanker company then, i will be 24 once qualified could i make it to captain by 30 as thats my goal

thanks again

[ETwhat?]

We kinda need a little graph of different ranks/departments/salarys as this is probably a common theme but then with the multidute of variables its almost impossible to find a clear figure which means you end up getting stupid numbers with massive ranges.

The other thing to consider is that for the time at sea you have no expenses: commuting, food, beer &c. so the money you get to play with on a 20K salary is considerable higher than a shorebased salary.

[CharlieDelta]

I will be with a container company only, CMA CGM, so i cant go on tankers CMA CGM have told me i will start on 24k once qualified so i thought a tanker 3rd officer would be significantly more than that like in the 30k's? And also how long would it take me to work my way upto captain with a tanker company then, i will be 24 once qualified could i make it to captain by 30 as thats my goal

thanks again

Captain by 30 is a bit of a stretch - maybe a few years after. Assuming you've just turned 24 when you qualify and you're on a 3-3 ratio, you would just have the seatime required for your masters ticket by the time you reach 30, though it's unlikely you'd get a command straight away.

[GuinnessMan]

If you're on tankers I guarantee you will not be a Master by 30 if you're completing the course at 24. Maybe (at a push) you'll be a Chief Officer, but even then that is doubtful.

Reason is, most tanker companies want people to have a fair bit of experience in each rank before promotion, and even then they will want you to be a sort of understudy to the next rank before they will even consider promoting you. Promoting people too fast, in the tanker world at any rate, has lead to too many accidents and incidents where the root cause has been inexperience.

I'm sorry if we sound negative, but that is the reality of the tanker world....

[clarkson]

Wow thank you for the replies everyone much appreciated! Oh i suppose chief officer by 30 is still a great achievement I fully understand the safety of tankers is utmost priority so that's good news Just out of pure curiosity what type of ship/vessel generally pays the most money?

Thanks again!

[alistairuk]

As has been said - you are unlikely to hold the masters position onboard - but it is certainly possible to hold your masters licence assuming you pass all exams as soon as possible and aim to get the sea time as quickly as possible (as in; no long holidays).

I was / am in same situation as yourself, I completed the cadetship at 24, now 26 and due to sit my chief mates exam early next year. Alas I doubt I shall have my masters by time I am 30, but thats mainly due to my insistence on having time off :-)

[GuinnessMan]

LPG, Chemical and White Oils are the more higher paid in the tanker world. Simply because it's easier to make them go boom, kill yourself or pollute the environment with all the funky stuff they carry and that working on them requires a very high level of technical skill.

Even a Chief Officer by 30 is a stretch, not as big as a Captain, but still. Most half decent companies hate promoting people quickly because it causes all sorts of problems (not just from a safety point of view) with the SIRE inspections. Doesn't look quite as good to an oil major if the Chief Officer or Captain has only been on tankers for 6 years and in rank for less than one. It's the age old argument of "how do I get the experience without doing the job?". What we did was have them understudy, so we would have 2nd Mates who where considered to be Additional Chief Officer's and Additional Masters and so on.