The Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC) recently announced that it might have to lay up seventeen auxiliaries due to a lack of qualified mariners to crew them. While this decision is indicative of leadership willing to make bold decisions to right the ship, there are other avenues that MSC should explore to close the mariner gap.
One of the greatest talent pools that MSC has to pull from is the very organization that it serves: the United States Navy. However, at present this talent pool is underutilized. Every year the Navy discharges thousands of sailors who would make ideal civilian mariners. Some of these sailors find their way to MSC on their own, eager to continue to go to sea in a civilian capacity. Fully 40 percent of MSC civilian mariners are veterans. Others might be interested in joining if only they had the proper introduction, perhaps through military-to-civilian transition programs like SkillBridge. MSC should also consider cultivating potential mariners from within the existing veteran community.
Few outside the industry realize just how complex it can be to work in the merchant marine. There are two basic career fields: deck and engine. Workers in the steward department (supply), communications, and other staff specialties also have requirements, but they are much more closely aligned to their civilian counterparts. Both deck and engine departments have licensed (officer) and unlicensed levels. For the deck department, the progression goes from ordinary seaman to able seaman on the unlicensed side, and from third mate to second mate, chief mate, and then master on the licensed side. Because the United States is a signatory to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), there is a corresponding STCW endorsement for each position that must also be earned if the mariner seeks employment on a vessel that engages in international voyages.
As a former Surface Warfare Officer with four years’ afloat experience, I began investigating the possibility of a career with MSC many years after leaving the Navy. My first problem was recency. In order to apply for a third mate license an applicant must have 90 days of sea time within the last three years. This meant finding temporary jobs on ships willing to host someone with no license. Eventually, I was able to accumulate 90 days underway and sit for the eight exams for third mate. I then began the arduous and expensive task of completing the courses for endorsement as an Officer in Charge of a Navigation Watch (OICNW), the STCW requirement for third and second mates.
The OICNW courses prescribed by the U.S. Coast Guard’s National Maritime Center number between fifteen and nineteen, depending on how the individual course providers break out the subject matter. This curriculum involves approximately 90 days of classroom study. There are also three “optional” courses that must be taken remove certain license limitations, which total another twenty days of study. Candidates must also complete a skills task assessment for their OICNW endorsement. Crucially, several of these tasks can only be completed on a vessel underway and many more are navigation-based and require access to a vessel or simulator. I found myself at another roadblock. At each point in this process, one cannot help but think that MSC also loses prospective applicants.
Struggling to complete the endorsement’s last few requirements, I approached the recruiters at MSC. This summer I and a dozen other candidates attended a virtual recruiting session hosted by MSC. The recruiter welcomed the group and gave his sales pitch. After he was done, he informed the group that there were no openings for entry level positions in the deck, engine, or steward departments. This was surprising, given the well-documented manpower woes facing MSC. Disappointed, eight of the callers disconnected.
When I had an opportunity to ask a question, I gave my backstory and goals. MSC has other positions besides deck officer, so I asked if it would be possible to work in one of those roles while finishing the endorsement. Could a temporary appointment be arranged? All suggestions were shot down, and it was recommended that I apply as an able seaman. What the recruiter did not know was that while I hold an able seaman credential, I don’t have the STCW endorsement for that rate and would thus be ineligible for the position. And it was already made clear that no entry level mariners were wanted! None of this is a reflection on the recruiters, who were courteous and professional, but who were restricted to working within the confines of their system.
MSC should develop a path for veterans who want to join but do not yet meet all the requirements of available positions. A one-year term or temporary position of deck (or engine) cadet could take a veteran with sufficient sea time for an unlimited license and walk them through the process of getting their required documents and licenses. MSC could then either partner with maritime schools that already provide STCW courses (even entire Able Seaman to Mate programs) or create its own approved courses to train cadets in their endorsement requirements and reinforce the concepts needed for the license exams. Once the cadets complete their licensing and endorsements, they could then be non-competitively converted into full time, permanent positions. Continuing service agreements would protect the government’s interest in paying for the development costs, and cadets that do not pass their exams can still serve in an unlicensed role during the payback period.
For veterans without sufficient sea time or experience for an unlimited license, MSC could run the entire unlicensed program itself, as the requirements are substantially less than those for licensed mariners. Laying the groundwork for an unlicensed program is important: given current manning issues, MSC should no longer be in the business of turning away medically qualified, interested parties that can earn a security clearance. It is true that MSC already has an ordinary seaman advancement program, but that program needs to be robust enough to take in as many new hires that want to join if MSC is going to address its mariner shortfall.
Other changes could also bolster MSC recruiting. An increased presence in areas where potential mariners live and work, such as the Great Lakes and along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers may pay dividends, especially in the winter months when most of the lake freighters are in layup. I had to attend a virtual recruiting event because I was unable to find any MSC recruiters visiting Michigan, which is home to a significant maritime industry. Streamlining MSC’s job portal should also be considered. It currently requires all a mariner’s documents to be uploaded in the system before it allows a mariner to apply for an opening. This may be helpful for the HR office but is burdensome to the applicant.
As for the author, this story has not reached its conclusion. I remain determined to work through each wicket to achieve my goal of sailing for MSC, whatever problem solving that requires. I am drawn to their long and proud tradition of service to the fleet dating back beyond the 75 years of its modern incarnation. Just as I have, MSC has had to tackle problems never envisioned when it started. Home growing talent should be the next challenge that it embraces—history has shown that when put to the test, MSC delivers.
Wade Heath is a former Surface Warfare Officer with experience in training ship crews, officer candidates, and Navy civilian employees. He holds a Third Mate of Unlimited Tonnage, Upon Oceans license and is determined to take a break from his years of ‘shore duty’.
The views expressed in this piece are the sole opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Center for Maritime Strategy or other institutions listed.
Center for Maritime Strategy
The Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC) recently announced that it might have to lay up seventeen auxiliaries due to a lack of qualified mariners to crew them. While this decision is indicative of leadership willing to make bold decisions to right the ship, there are other avenues that MSC should explore to close the mariner gap.
One of the greatest talent pools that MSC has to pull from is the very organization that it serves: the United States Navy. However, at present this talent pool is underutilized. Every year the Navy discharges thousands of sailors who would make ideal civilian mariners. Some of these sailors find their way to MSC on their own, eager to continue to go to sea in a civilian capacity. Fully 40 percent of MSC civilian mariners are veterans. Others might be interested in joining if only they had the proper introduction, perhaps through military-to-civilian transition programs like SkillBridge. MSC should also consider cultivating potential mariners from within the existing veteran community.
Few outside the industry realize just how complex it can be to work in the merchant marine. There are two basic career fields: deck and engine. Workers in the steward department (supply), communications, and other staff specialties also have requirements, but they are much more closely aligned to their civilian counterparts. Both deck and engine departments have licensed (officer) and unlicensed levels. For the deck department, the progression goes from ordinary seaman to able seaman on the unlicensed side, and from third mate to second mate, chief mate, and then master on the licensed side. Because the United States is a signatory to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), there is a corresponding STCW endorsement for each position that must also be earned if the mariner seeks employment on a vessel that engages in international voyages.
As a former Surface Warfare Officer with four years’ afloat experience, I began investigating the possibility of a career with MSC many years after leaving the Navy. My first problem was recency. In order to apply for a third mate license an applicant must have 90 days of sea time within the last three years. This meant finding temporary jobs on ships willing to host someone with no license. Eventually, I was able to accumulate 90 days underway and sit for the eight exams for third mate. I then began the arduous and expensive task of completing the courses for endorsement as an Officer in Charge of a Navigation Watch (OICNW), the STCW requirement for third and second mates.
The OICNW courses prescribed by the U.S. Coast Guard’s National Maritime Center number between fifteen and nineteen, depending on how the individual course providers break out the subject matter. This curriculum involves approximately 90 days of classroom study. There are also three “optional” courses that must be taken remove certain license limitations, which total another twenty days of study. Candidates must also complete a skills task assessment for their OICNW endorsement. Crucially, several of these tasks can only be completed on a vessel underway and many more are navigation-based and require access to a vessel or simulator. I found myself at another roadblock. At each point in this process, one cannot help but think that MSC also loses prospective applicants.
Struggling to complete the endorsement’s last few requirements, I approached the recruiters at MSC. This summer I and a dozen other candidates attended a virtual recruiting session hosted by MSC. The recruiter welcomed the group and gave his sales pitch. After he was done, he informed the group that there were no openings for entry level positions in the deck, engine, or steward departments. This was surprising, given the well-documented manpower woes facing MSC. Disappointed, eight of the callers disconnected.
When I had an opportunity to ask a question, I gave my backstory and goals. MSC has other positions besides deck officer, so I asked if it would be possible to work in one of those roles while finishing the endorsement. Could a temporary appointment be arranged? All suggestions were shot down, and it was recommended that I apply as an able seaman. What the recruiter did not know was that while I hold an able seaman credential, I don’t have the STCW endorsement for that rate and would thus be ineligible for the position. And it was already made clear that no entry level mariners were wanted! None of this is a reflection on the recruiters, who were courteous and professional, but who were restricted to working within the confines of their system.
MSC should develop a path for veterans who want to join but do not yet meet all the requirements of available positions. A one-year term or temporary position of deck (or engine) cadet could take a veteran with sufficient sea time for an unlimited license and walk them through the process of getting their required documents and licenses. MSC could then either partner with maritime schools that already provide STCW courses (even entire Able Seaman to Mate programs) or create its own approved courses to train cadets in their endorsement requirements and reinforce the concepts needed for the license exams. Once the cadets complete their licensing and endorsements, they could then be non-competitively converted into full time, permanent positions. Continuing service agreements would protect the government’s interest in paying for the development costs, and cadets that do not pass their exams can still serve in an unlicensed role during the payback period.
For veterans without sufficient sea time or experience for an unlimited license, MSC could run the entire unlicensed program itself, as the requirements are substantially less than those for licensed mariners. Laying the groundwork for an unlicensed program is important: given current manning issues, MSC should no longer be in the business of turning away medically qualified, interested parties that can earn a security clearance. It is true that MSC already has an ordinary seaman advancement program, but that program needs to be robust enough to take in as many new hires that want to join if MSC is going to address its mariner shortfall.
Other changes could also bolster MSC recruiting. An increased presence in areas where potential mariners live and work, such as the Great Lakes and along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers may pay dividends, especially in the winter months when most of the lake freighters are in layup. I had to attend a virtual recruiting event because I was unable to find any MSC recruiters visiting Michigan, which is home to a significant maritime industry. Streamlining MSC’s job portal should also be considered. It currently requires all a mariner’s documents to be uploaded in the system before it allows a mariner to apply for an opening. This may be helpful for the HR office but is burdensome to the applicant.
As for the author, this story has not reached its conclusion. I remain determined to work through each wicket to achieve my goal of sailing for MSC, whatever problem solving that requires. I am drawn to their long and proud tradition of service to the fleet dating back beyond the 75 years of its modern incarnation. Just as I have, MSC has had to tackle problems never envisioned when it started. Home growing talent should be the next challenge that it embraces—history has shown that when put to the test, MSC delivers.
Wade Heath is a former Surface Warfare Officer with experience in training ship crews, officer candidates, and Navy civilian employees. He holds a Third Mate of Unlimited Tonnage, Upon Oceans license and is determined to take a break from his years of ‘shore duty’.
The views expressed in this piece are the sole opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Center for Maritime Strategy or other institutions listed.