Hello All!

[Vetinari]

Hi all! Well as it says on the left I'm an aspiring deck cadet. Recently graduated from university but none of the usual graduate schemes really interest me so I'm looking to enter the merchant navy! I first started looking about 2 years ago but I was focussed on my studies so never really followed it up.

Fired off a few CVs and applications in the past fortnight, ideally I want to work on cruise ships, though from what I'm reading they seem to be quite popular. On that note, at this time of year how long am I likely to be waiting for a reply? Do most companies take the time to reject you or do they just not reply (though I'm hoping this won't happen of course!)?

Anyway decided to finally sign up to the site as I discovered it a few weeks ago and it's been a big help!! Thought I owed you all a thanks, and I'm sure I'll have some more questions in the near future! :P

[GuinnessMan]

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[Clanky]

I have worked on both cruise ships and cargo ships and there are definite benefits for both as deck cadet and as a junior officer.

I would never recommend that anyone do an engineering cadetship on a cruise ship.

As a senior officer, for me, cruise ships are great, but they are not for everyone. I don't know for sure if I will stay on cruise ships or eventually go back to dry cargo ships.

[dannyboy]

I would never recommend that anyone do an engineering cadetship on a cruise ship.

Could you explain why please, I would of thought it would of been better.

[Clanky]

OK, first of all, just had a PM from an ETO cadet asking why not, I actually think passenger ships are really good for ETO's

The problems with passenger ships for engineers is that passenger ships tend to carry 2 engineering officers of the watch and it is very easy for cadets to end up shadowing the junior watchkeeper all of the time instead of learning to do the senior watchkeepers job which is what they are actually training for.

On a cargo ship, especially a UMS cargo ship the work is planned by one person and it is very easy to arrange for a cadet to be involved in a particular job when everyone is on daywork, on a watchkeeping ship the individual watchkeepers have responsibility for certain bits of machinery and without very careful planning it is difficult to co-ordinate what cadets need to be involved in with what a particular watchkeeper is doing at that time and getting the cadet onto the right watch.

On cargo ships the engineering officers tend to be much more hands on with both the operational and maintenance sides of things with much more being left to motormen on passenger ships so again a cadet might not always get the full overview of the operation of the engine room whereas it is much easier to get the whole picture of a smaller (often more simple) engine room where everyone is involved in almost all aspects of the day to day running.

I was a passenger ship cadet and really believe that I would have been better off on cargo ships, I find myself now struggling to find time to deal with the lack of knowledge of some of my junior officers let alone having time to get involved in cadet training.

[dannyboy]

thanks for that, just wondering what your opinion is with offshore vessels for cadetships then

[ETwhat?]

Clanky for the ETO side its a bit hit and miss, I think the cruise ship side is better organised for cadets as its a bigger department however a lot of the reason for that is that you have more of the same stuff to deal with, 16 lifts etc so again it is a bit variable as you need to be thinking of where the cadet needs to go/ see, but again that is simplified by the fact its not generally watch keeping. My passanger experience was limited to ro-ro's so not quite the same set up.

Tankers etc are simplier and certainly our systems are pretty basic not true for every ship though, however theres more responsiblitly as its a one man band, and theres generally some systems that you wont find on passanger ships, gas monitiors and a good deal more explosion proof stuff that needs correct handling.

[Clanky]

thanks for that, just wondering what your opinion is with offshore vessels for cadetships then

Hi dannyboy, no personal experience of offshore vessels and as I suffer from seasickness, not intending to gain any. I do however know several very good engineeers who did cadetships entirely in the North Sea, so can't be all bad.

ETwhat, for me passenger ships are great for ETO's for a number of reasons, firstly more chance of electric proplulsion, more galley and laundry equipment, more sound and light equipment, and generally more happening, ro-ro's are another good one with lots of hydraulics and the associated electrical systems.

At the end of the day, no matter what the pros and cons of different ships are, most of it will come down to the individual cadet putting the effort in and the officers around him / her giving the needed support.

[dannyboy]

no personal experience of offshore vessels and as I suffer from seasickness.

You suffer from seasickness, now that's a surprise.

[Clanky]

Used to be terrible, now generally work on big white ships with stabilisers so not so much of an issue, but did feel decidedly queezy a few weeks ago when we went through a bumpy bit.

I spent a winter working 3 weeks on / 3 weeks off on a little box boat in the North sea, thought I was going to die a couple of times and haven't been anywhere near as bad since.

[dannyboy]

ha and theirs me thinking you where a hardened sea dog, being a chief engineer who could handle the sea

[Clanky]

Nah, big girlie wuss in anything over a force 2.

[Hatchorder]

I spent a winter working 3 weeks on / 3 weeks off on a little box boat in the North sea, thought I was going to die a couple of times and haven't been anywhere near as bad since.

I can honestly say I was only ever seasick twice. The first time was my first day at sea when I crossed from Amsterdam to Hull. I have never seen the English Channel so smooth before or since, but it was definately a case of it all being in my head. By lunchtime I was bored of it and went for lunch and never had another problem after that for 7 years.

Then I joined the Maersk Cutter. Winter on a rig shift and the ship had a funny motion. When it pitched in a heavy sea the accomodation block vibrated back and forwards and you could literally feel it "shuffle" under your feet. It was truly awful, and it was worse on the bridge, and I have never ever experienced it on any other ship. We got stuck on a tow in truly awful conditions (The waverider buoy for the rig was measuring peak to trough of 65 feet waves) and I suddenly started feeling sick. It got so bad that I took to my bunk and the skipper had to stand my watch for a couple of days. I vommed up my ringpiece, was giddy, disorientated, could not sleep, and generally wanted to throw myself overboard.

They say there are 2 stages of seasickness. The first one is that you are frightened you are going to die and the second stage is that you are frightened that you are NOT going to die. I was on the second stage.

The weather abated, we eventually got off tow and headed into Aberdeen. I was able to resume watches, but still suffered giddiness for a couple more days. I was going to sign off the ship but the skipper had other ideas, he took me ashore and got me hammered and the next morning on the bridge, over a coffee, he told me that it was not abnormal on that ship but that I had been really unlucky to get such bad weather on my first trip out and he did not want me to sign off. He convinced me to stay onboard and I did. I never suffered seasickness again on her, but did feel queasy a couple of other times, but then witnessed a poor cadet go through the same thing some time later, and he actually did sign off the ship after his first trip out.

They say the only real cure for seasickness is to sit under an apple tree, and it is true. However my first experience was definately all in my head. The second was beyond belief and I will never, ever take the piss out of people who suffer it, because it is truly beyond believing when you do suffer from it.

So I know how you felt Clanky.

Ian