Work on a fishing vessel is one of the hardest
For example, going to sea for six months as a captain, one can expect a salary of up to about $20,000 per month. But such sums are only within reach for seasoned sailors who have already completed more than one voyage. The officer corps, in particular – assistant captains, also earn well: their income ranges from $2,000 to $5,000. Mechanics who have been on three or four voyages can earn about $2,000 per month.
It is worth noting that on vessels carrying dangerous cargo, such as fuel or chemicals, salaries are significantly higher: even a motorman there will earn at least $2,000 per month. However, it should not be forgotten that no salaries can compensate for quite predictable health problems.
Fraudulent crewing agencies
Guaranteed income and safety of a sailor depend on a wise choice of a crewing agency. As experienced seafarers admit, unfortunately, the relationship between Crimeans and these firms has been deplorable. "They are just middlemen of middlemen," says Kerch sailor with five years of experience, Pavel Petrenko. "They work carelessly. Now it is very difficult to find a decent agency that does not ask for a crazy prepayment and will arrange a voyage in a short time. Once I got in touch with an office that led me on for six months, fed me promises, but in fact only extracted money. Good thing I decided to stop it in time, threatened legal action, and they even returned the money I had spent."
Speaking of prepayment – it depends on the position and salary a person takes to sea. "Suppose you are offered a monthly salary of $500," says Pavel. "Be sure that exactly that prepayment, or even more, will be taken from you. If you go as an ordinary sailor with a salary of no more than $100, then perhaps you can manage with 1,500 UAH. Nowadays everyone needs competent specialists. If you are one, then you won't wait for manna from heaven and sit in queues for a year, but will pay faster and go to sea." Today, you can only go on a voyage for free immediately after receiving your diploma – educational institutions place their graduates. However, they do not provide many vacancies, and the queues of applicants are huge.
Of course, not everything is so bad with employment, and many guys manage to successfully get a job with minimal expenses. As the chairman of the Kerch sailors' union, Viktor Dekhtyarev advises, to avoid trouble, one should follow a few simple rules: "Be sure to immediately check all documents and licenses of the agency you approached. Do not hesitate to ask questions, because literally your life depends on their answers. In addition, contact only those employers whose names and reputations are already well-known and have proven themselves among your colleagues. Consult with experienced sailors, they can refer you to trusted companies that will not let you down. It has happened that people came to me for help whose son went on a voyage, and the crewing agency that sent him simply stopped working."
Not a woman's job
Work at sea is traditionally considered male. And, despite the common saying that a woman on a ship brings bad luck, representatives of the fair sex are often found in maritime affairs. Traditionally, these are stewardesses, cooks, duty cleaners on cruise and passenger ships. But there are also female navigators. "It is more realistic for a woman to become a captain than a mechanic. But in general, she is more likely to just do an internship on a ship as a cadet than stay to work long-term – the loads are too high," explains Viktor Dekhtyarev. "Most often, a woman with a maritime education can be found in the office of a stevedoring (wharf-owning) company, a shore-based ship servicing agency, or in the same crewing agencies."
There are also many female shipbuilders who design and build ships, but they graduate not from maritime educational institutions but directly from shipbuilding ones.
Tons of responsibility
Besides the fact that a sailor's work is difficult and involves long separations from loved ones, it is also very responsible. "Too much is entrusted to sailors," says the union chairman. "The cost of a modern container ship sometimes reaches $30-50 million, not counting the price of cargo. The crew of such a vessel is 25 people. A passenger liner can accommodate 3,000 passengers. A tanker can carry 500,000 tons of oil or a more dangerous substance. Therefore, before choosing the profession of a sailor, think about whether you are ready to be responsible for all this."
Ekaterina SEREDA.
"Segodnya"