Finding a job

I get my work through the Seafarers International Union (SIU). Today I went to Tacoma which is where my local hiring hall is located. Today only one job was posted on the board for an AB (Able Seaman) and that job was a reclaim, meaning that it was being held for a guy who had it last before his vacation. Unfortunately that guy showed up, so no one could really bid against him.

There is also an All Ports List. These are the jobs that could not be filled by any local halls, so they go out to all the halls in the SIU. Only 2 of those jobs were available. I took the list to the counter and tried to get one of those jobs. The agent made the calls only to learn that both had been filled.

Today there had to have been at least 50 people waiting for work and most of the AB's that I know have seniority over me. There was zero chance of getting assigned a ship today. I will give it a couple days, perhaps I will go up again on Monday and see if there are fewer people competing against me.

The Next Voyage

I am still home and packing my bag. I am ready to get back to work now. In the morning I will head up to Tacoma and wait in the Union Hall. With any luck I will get a ship right away and will not have to get a hotel room.

I have not yet sailed on a true container ship or a true tanker. Perhaps I will end up on one of those types of ships. Personally I would choose a tanker, the pay should be better and it would most likely keep me a little closer to home this time. We will see what happens.

I will update this blog via email. Unfortunately I will not be able to upload pictures until I arrive at a computer with internet access. As some of you know, while I may have email aboard a ship, access to the internet is highly unlikely. When possible I will add photos.

Jesse