Australian Commercial Marine Industry

Hi SH,

I'm a Class 1 Engineer. I'm currently in the offshore. Work has dried up heaps. There are still some 457s getting around that have been left over from the boom. They are currently protected by Australian workplace laws. There are about 200 Aus engineers on the beach. Was talking to the IRs this morning and they have about 450 on the data base. I'm not sure how many are looking for a job in the guild.

Did you hear about rio tinto putting in an application for continuous voyage permits to take bauxite from the NT to Gladstone?

Our shipping is in a mess ATM.

Remo

When this post goes missing, look in the Heavy Weather section
I'm not a marine professional so can't comment on that. But considering Seabreezes intended nature, I would think there are many marine professionals on this website but just don't talk shop much. I don't frequent my industries 'best known' forum and certainly never post on it. I keep myself up to date by official means and when I'm at home I like to escape the industry/work. I come here to Seabreeze instead.

Remo, couldn't have said it better myself.

Toph - I understand what you're saying, and as Remo has said, it is an extremely small industry, however, there isn't currently a platform to discuss peer-to-peer amongst ourselves, hence why I thought perhaps Seabreeze may be a good platform as well as to bring in people who are looking to break into the industry, as again, there isn't a hell of a lot of info for any young people looking for a start.

Ok, so back to the current situ. Im a Master, have been for over 10 years, as well as this, I work managing a coastal shipping company, to say the market is weak, is an understatement. Unfortunately, what is happening (Trust me, I see this every day reflected in freight rates), is that the cost of operating an Aussie flagged vessel, in comparison to the market rates are just not there, as well as are not subsidised what soever by the govt (where as rail and road are)

We are currently in the process of trying to come up with a solution to employ Aussie seafarers, to trade between Aus ports, however, it comes with its own set of hurdles.

In rgds to the 457 saga, here is the latest..have a look who is the 'regulating body'....

www.sbs.com.au/language/english/want-to-migrate-to-australia-2016-17-skilled-occupations-list-sol-announced_3?cid=trendi

What's the problem, 457s are supposed to be paid the same as locals and are not meant to be required if there are locals able to do the same job.... Oh sorry, I was being extremely sarcastic.

457 visas are fine if there really is a skills shortage, but if they are a means for someone to employ someone cheaper and keep them quiet by the potential of having to leave the country within weeks if they lose their job, then they are a blight on Australia. They destroy industries in the long term and discourage people training locals.

It was telling when there were some political party reforms/attempts to increase the amount of time that a 457 could find another job before having to leave the country. I.e. they were trying to make it possible for a 457 to realistically get another job if their current employer was taking liberties. What do you know, the other political party returned to the previous rules, which pretty much prevents them from rocking the boat if they were underpaid or mistreated. I think that tells you the real reason some people want (cheap and weak) 457 workers.

Its a shame to hear that this is affecting other industries now. You would hope that someone in government pays attention to jobs and Australian employees and figures out that there is no need for more 457s, but it seems not.

Now that the mining boom is over, we will see more of this I think.

I paid off from the Navy in 1973 as an Engine Room Artificer 2nd class, ie fully qualified Fitter and Machinist and qualified to Navy standards as a Marine Engineer (Diesel).

I went straight to the Port Office in Brisbane, sat the exam for Coastal Marine Engine Driver Class I (now MED I USL Code) and passed with flying colours. I was also granted a Power House Engine Driver's Certificate by the Dept of Trades.

Then I went to the Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers (the engineers "union"), joined and enquired about jobs on ships. They said I would have to sit the exams for Part A and Part B of the Marine Engineer's exams to qualify for foreign going ships. That would require 6 months of college for which I was not up to it financially or mentally.

They then said when I had done that there were no jobs to be had as Australian Shipping was in contraction, and this was 1973. So I went to the Whitsundays and worked on 100 ft tourist vessels. That was fun while it lasted but I really was not going anywhere.

I could have gone to South Africa and got a job on ships straight away but instead I went to New Zealand and made a pile of money as a pipeline welder for two years.

On returning to Aus I worked on tourist boats again and eventually got my Master V.

captsdh , Running a coastal shipping company in Qld you would be well aware of the fiascoes and mass walkouts that have happened with the various shipping companies based in Cairns over the last 15 or 20 years. It is a tough game and as you are saying the budget for this game is very tight.

Apart from the 457 visa debacle there is the fact that there is a shipload dive instructors and kitchen bitches running around with Master V tickets who really do not have the depth of experience for that position. This has devalued the qualification greatly.

Commercial Shipping is a great game by which I mean cargo carriers not people carriers. The neatest operation I have seen lately is the Island Trader which sails out of Port Macquarie to supply Lord Howe Island. I reckon you would have a hard time persuading any of those guys to quit their job.

Without naming names can you tell us a bit about the operation you are running??

Master 5 fish and trade med 2 stcw95 advanced rigger fitter machinist with cert 4 hydraulics....... Im on the mines we do some stuff for the submarines laser alignment etc and some on boats but mainly mines.
There is no money in anything right now due to 457 laws a lot of my work is in png india mongolia etc etc bad time to change jobs.
look what just happened to tk shipping

MUA is too strong for its own good, strangling the industry. Like it or not, the "market", i.e. free enterprise, always finds a way to deal with this (offshoring, 457s etc) and we are seeing the results of it now. Perhaps its swung to far in their favour, but the industry only has itself to blame.

Remo - Agree again mate..

For the Australian shipping industry to even start getting its feet back again, all three unions (AMOU,MOU,AIMPEI), need to realise that the mining boom is over, and unfortunately, certain benefits and salary packages MAY have to be reduced in line with the markets, it is what it is, and you can argue until you are blue in the face, but this is what will save the industry.

Talking of the Blue water side of the industry...What is sad is that the AMC is still putting deck cadets through, and in all reality, the actual percentage of deck cadetships in Australia is slim to none, which will mean the eventual die-out of young australian officers coming up. Another thing that doesn't make sense , is given the huge over supply of officers and engineers coming from strong coastal backgrounds (tugs,barges,etc), why is there not a crossover scheme in order for guys with coastal tickets (Master 4, Eng C3 etc), in order to progress to the blue water..answer to this..no F**king Aussie flag ships ! It is all related, it is all important, and this will effect a huge amount of people.

Sam

Well not in the commercial marine industry, but was in the mining industry doing construction in PNG, and have to echo above comments about the filo boilermakers etc. The guys just work, show up for work every day!, and the quality is bang on. Does not surprise me that anyone who has worked with them would want to bring them on to Australian sites, even if you paid them the same, you probably got 50% more productivity. The PNG locals were easy to deal with, but some just really didn't understand the concept of work, still stuck on "island time".

Worked underground construction in Australia, the construction super spends most of his time, babysitting, keeping his blokes from getting kicked off site for various drug/alcohol infringements, killing themselves driving home after booze binges once their last shift finishes etc etc. its a full time job, no wonder the bloke I was working with was bald.

And similar observation, you show up to a mining camp here in Australia, and the admin staff, receptionists are all "ozzies", whereas all the cleaning/kitchen staff tend to be filos, indonesians, africans etc etc. I'm not sure how they pay relative to each other etc, but it's a pretty **** job, and no surprise that no australians want to do it. Not sure where that sits with 457 visas etc, cause the jobs obviously require little skills (cleaning anyway), and there are plenty of locals with the skills to fill the positions. But strangely I don't think you hear anything about imports taking all our dunny cleaning jobs. I think there is a lot of the younger generation (my generation) who would benefit from some character building.

Just an observation. Sorry about going off topic!

coastal and abrohlos many moons ago
W

So I have just heard some news. There are some 457s that have been let go by one company, and they are taking the company to court for unfair dismissal. Its on the ground that the EBA says that the redundancy's will be given to Last On First Off. How do these temporary (fill in the gap) workers get a court date??

I also heard for a mate the other day that Skilled have let a heap of people go, but have kept the 457s on because there visas are still current. These is also another company that is in the same boat but I can't remember which one it is.

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japie said..


457's are designed to antagonize in my opinion.

No. They are designed to impoverish.