Tanker Sea Jobs: What Working on an Oil Tanker Really Involves

Tanker Sea Jobs: What Working on an Oil Tanker Really Involves

People picture oil tankers as slow-moving floating pipelines. Giant, unglamorous, not particularly interesting. The work is more demanding than that image suggests and at senior levels more financially rewarding than almost any other vessel type in merchant shipping.

The Vessel

Oil tankers range from small coastal vessels carrying a few thousand tonnes to VLCCs moving over two million barrels per cargo. Most seafarers work on vessels somewhere in the middle of that range. Aframax and Suezmax are common. Large enough to carry serious cargo, small enough to access most major terminals.

The deck is a network of pipelines, valves, manifold connections and tank lids rather than hatch covers and crane rails. The cargo handling system is the defining feature of the vessel and understanding it is what distinguishes competent tanker seafarers from those who are simply present during operations.

What Deck Operations Involve

Loading: hoses or hard arms connect the vessel to the terminal. Valves are set, pumps run from shore or from the vessel. The cargo officer monitors tank levels, trim and hull stress. Loading sequence matters for structural reasons.

Discharging: the vessel’s own pumps move cargo ashore through the pump room. The pump room is one of the higher-risk spaces on any tanker. Enclosed, with potential for cargo vapour accumulation, containing high-power rotating machinery. Procedures for entering it exist for serious reasons.

Inert gas system management runs continuously. The IG system maintains a non-flammable atmosphere in cargo tank spaces. Officers and experienced ratings monitor tank atmospheres as routine operational activity. Getting this wrong has consequences.

Cargo Watches

During loading and discharging, cargo watches run continuously. The cargo officer on duty is present throughout operations that can run twelve to twenty-four hours. Tiring in a concentrated way that sea watches are not. Mistakes during cargo operations have immediate consequences.

Port Time

Modern tankers have fast turnarounds. Twelve to twenty-four hours is standard. Shore leave rarely happens. Officers and ABs on tankers see ports on a map more than on foot. This is a genuine lifestyle trade-off compared to bulk carriers where port stays run days.

Pay

Monthly contract figures. Leave unpaid.

AB: $1,700 to $2,500 Third Officer: $3,500 to $6,000 Chief Officer: $8,500 to $14,000 Master: $10,000 to $18,000 Third Engineer: $4,000 to $7,000 Chief Engineer: $10,000 to $18,000

LNG carriers pay more than all other tanker types at equivalent rank. The premium is substantial at senior levels.