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Post by Barnacle on Feb 10, 2008 18:18:26 GMT -8
Y'know, I should also mention here that working for the ferry system that has been your hobby for umpteen years is a bit of a buzz-kill for your hobby. Take it from me. So then, about those 1500 posts on a ferry fan forum.... Speaking of buzz-kills... Ravings of a lunatic? No? I will admit I'm still interested in the hobby as a part of the job. But the collecting of paraphrenalia, ephemera, and general bric-a-brac has slowed greatly. I'm running out of room, for starts. Besides, I have a couple of trophy pieces that pretty much finish off any efforts. (I had a couple of cabin chairs furnishing my living room for two years...) At the very least I have access to liferings that are damaged beyond service. ;D
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Post by farout on Mar 9, 2008 21:05:09 GMT -8
I have a book i picked up in BC that gave a brief description on the crew ranks at BC ferries. It listed some of the ranks ie: master, chief officer, chief Stewart etc, it didn't really say what there jobs were but then i was just reading a post on another thread about coastal celebration and there was a comment about sovi's master and then made a mention about a senior master??? now I'm completely lost out in left Field ??? ???
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Nick
Voyager
Chief Engineer - Queen of Richmond
Posts: 2,078
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Post by Nick on Mar 9, 2008 21:14:36 GMT -8
I'm not familiar with all of BCF's ranks, but here's the deal RE Senior Master vs master.
Master is another name for the captain. There will be more than one captain per ship (actually, there will be one per watch. MOST ships in the BCF fleet have 3 watches.)
Senior Master is the top ,or most senior, captain on the ship. There will only ever be one per ship.
The same thing applies to engineers. There is one chief engineer per watch, and one senior chief engineer per ship.
Does that clear things up a bit?
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Post by farout on Mar 10, 2008 14:25:20 GMT -8
ya i can make sense of that.
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Post by kerryssi on Mar 10, 2008 18:34:19 GMT -8
Actually you are almost right. On each run there are generally three captains, one per watch. One is appointed Senior Captain by the company. He may not be the actual senior captain on the run. The Senior Captain liaises with the company and they pass on their orders for the run via him. He has the responsibility for overall performance on that run. There are also chief engineers on each watch and one Senior Chief Engineer for each run.
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Nick
Voyager
Chief Engineer - Queen of Richmond
Posts: 2,078
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Post by Nick on Mar 10, 2008 18:37:01 GMT -8
OK, thanks for the clarification.
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Post by Mac Write on Mar 10, 2008 23:28:31 GMT -8
What is the full list of ranks from the bottom up and what's the order of promotion?
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2008 9:27:10 GMT -8
Engine Department Sr Chief Engineer Licenced Officer Chief Engineer Licenced Officer 1st Engineer Licenced Officer 2nd Engineer Licenced Officer (northern vessels only) 3rd Engineer Licenced Officer Deck Engineer Licenced Officer (northern vessels only) Electrician Licenced Officer (northern vessels only) Assistant Engineer Non officer but licence holder Engine Room Assistant non officer. does not hold licence
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Post by kerryssi on Mar 13, 2008 20:40:28 GMT -8
to the best of my recollection ordinary seaman efficent deck hand able bodied seaman bridge watchman/deckhand. watchkeeping mate 4 th officer 3 rd officer 2 nd officer 1 st officer mate chief officer captain senior captain The problem is that some of these terms are interchangeable depending on the size of the ship. And the order of priority and terminology can change depending on the ship. On some ships the mate might be called the chief officer and vice versa. I may well be wrong on some of this but it has been a while.
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Post by jacobdjanze on Mar 20, 2008 18:57:30 GMT -8
Hello, my name is Jacob and I've browsed the forum a couple times out of curiosity but have now decided to register so I can post I'm considering applying for a seasonal / casual employment position @ BCF and was wondering if the on-call workers often get called on very short notice. Being without a vehicle I would be able to up-and-go at any time, just not very quickly some times... Do you ever get blind-sided by a shift you're only told about an hour or 2 before it starts, or is the shortest notice closer to 6-12 hours or a day or more? Also, how is the starting pay for seasonal / casual employment workers? Any employees here want to describe a couple of the negative aspects of working for BCF? I'm sure you could name a few, every job has them thanks to anyone who's able to answer any of my questions or offer other relevant info ;D
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Post by ferrytraveller on Mar 20, 2008 19:08:42 GMT -8
firstly you need your Marine emergency Duties certificates from Transport Canada. You also need a medical from transport canada and First Aid.
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Post by Scott on Mar 20, 2008 19:42:59 GMT -8
I've heard that a lot of BC Ferries employees who work at Tsawwassen live in Tsawwassen or Ladner, just so they can be on call within an hour or so. If a shift is available, they'll be the first ones called.
But I'm still unsure how it all works. I think usually you get some warning. And starting wages I think are around 18 dollars an hour.. give or take a few cents.
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Post by kylefossett on Mar 20, 2008 20:40:10 GMT -8
Like any job, you could be called in for a shift 60 minutes before or a day before. It all depends on when people call in sick for the shift. Sometimes it also depends on what the customer flow is like that day. If it is busy and the vessel is not operating on an A liciense already they may decide to up it for a round trip. There are many factors as to why and when they call for a shift with short notice.
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Nick
Voyager
Chief Engineer - Queen of Richmond
Posts: 2,078
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Post by Nick on Mar 20, 2008 21:47:31 GMT -8
In a nutshell, yes, they will call you up to an hour before the shift.
The downsides to BCF are: You must have your OFA level 1 and marine safety certification before applying, otherwise there is next to no chance of being hired.
If you are working in the terminal (like a terminal attendant) you only need to have the first aid.
I believe starting wages are something like $18.50 for terminal attendants, and slightly more for a deckhand on board the ships.
The upsides: Free ferry travel while you are employed by BCF (I used this one a lot last summer...), double time for all overtime depending on where you are working, often you have 7.5 or even 7 hour days (since often you don't get to stop for meal breaks).
Oh yeah, and in the summer you are guaranteed 15 shifts per month.
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Post by Ferryman on Mar 20, 2008 22:45:49 GMT -8
I've applied for a position at both Departure Bay and Horseshoe Bay at least 10 times. I've given up and have a different plan now.
As everyone else said, the key to getting work with BCF is getting your first aid and MEDs. BC Ferries is also finishing off a massive hiring of workers for the summer. They like to encourage people to apply for work between January and March, and have them working on the ships or terminal by late April, early May.
I have a close friend who does seasonal work out of Duke Point and Departure Bay. He told me about a short notice story one day last summer. He lived in Ladysmith at the time, which is roughly 20 mins to Duke Point, and at least 25 to 30 mins to Departure Bay. Anyways, he was given a phone call at 4:30am, to be on board the Queen of Alberni for the 5:15am sailing that morning. Bit of a dangerous situation with how tired he would have been, seeming he was tired from the day before, as he was working the afternoon shift on Route 2. This is pretty much a worst case scenario, but not trying to scare you away from the job.
Good luck.
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Post by jacobdjanze on Mar 21, 2008 6:37:36 GMT -8
Thank you all for the information, you've been quite helpful!
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Post by jacobdjanze on Mar 21, 2008 6:40:34 GMT -8
I've applied for a position at both Departure Bay and Horseshoe Bay at least 10 times. I've given up and have a different plan now. As everyone else said, the key to getting work with BCF is getting your first aid and MEDs. BC Ferries is also finishing off a massive hiring of workers for the summer. They like to encourage people to apply for work between January and March, and have them working on the ships or terminal by late April, early May. I have a close friend who does seasonal work out of Duke Point and Departure Bay. He told me about a short notice story one day last summer. He lived in Ladysmith at the time, which is roughly 20 mins to Duke Point, and at least 25 to 30 mins to Departure Bay. Anyways, he was given a phone call at 4:30am, to be on board the Queen of Alberni for the 5:15am sailing that morning. Bit of a dangerous situation with how tired he would have been, seeming he was tired from the day before, as he was working the afternoon shift on Route 2. This is pretty much a worst case scenario, but not trying to scare you away from the job. Good luck. Did you have your OFA1 / MEDs when you applied or did you try without?
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Post by ferrytraveller on Apr 16, 2008 21:38:55 GMT -8
so is anyone on the forum working for BC Ferries this summer?? did anyone get interviews or anything?
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Post by Political Incorrectness on Apr 16, 2008 21:45:43 GMT -8
If I could find someway into the system, for the wages they pay, it's too good to be true. I still have yet to get a job for summer.
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Post by Curtis on Apr 17, 2008 7:08:36 GMT -8
I have it in my thoughts as one of my possible summer jobs. A terminal attendant might be more interesting than flipping burgers or working as a cashier. But I don't think I'd be able to keep it when summer ends. So I guess it might be a scratched option if that's the case.
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Post by ferrytraveller on Apr 17, 2008 12:00:21 GMT -8
well apparently they looking to keep deckhands on till october some time. so thats could be 6 months of employment that isn't too bad
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Post by Guest on Apr 19, 2008 17:29:07 GMT -8
I keep hearing that the wages are good To be a deckhand now you need a bridge watchmans ticket before you can even apply. The Bridge watch ticket is expensive it comes out of your pocket. Trust me there are better jobs if you want to work in the marine industry try get on the towboats. If you think you are going to get gauranteed 15 days a month thats a laugh. A new hire is put on the bottom of the list you are the last one to be called. If you do its very short notice. Technically they only need to work you once every 3 months to keep any certifications you have. There really isn't any 3 missed phone calls anymore. To get a full time job you will be looking at minimum 8 years most people have been casuals for 10 plus years up to 17 years. Only captains and engineers get full time jobs in less than 8 years. The older workers are retiring early to get out of the company and away from the BS. You want a career think twice about BCF. A terminal attendants take home pay per month is roughly 2100 a month as a full time employee. Getting overtime is non existant. I'am not saying much more but there are better opportunities out there. Good Luck
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Post by Dane on Apr 20, 2008 13:00:08 GMT -8
I am sure it has been posted before, but it seems relevant.
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Post by Scott on Apr 20, 2008 13:23:12 GMT -8
Guest, maybe you could elaborate on how people could get into the tug/tow boat industry?
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Post by Guest on Apr 20, 2008 15:19:02 GMT -8
Guest, you are sorely mistaken when it comes to being a deckhand at BCFS. It took me 2 years to get a regular job as a deckhand and up to then I was working full time (21 days). Being on call sucks but if you think the tugboats are any different, remember they have a union(and senority lists) too.
Don't spout off about something you don;t know
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