SEA HISTORY for kids Careers in the Marine and Maritime Field
Wes Heerssen TO
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courtesy of wes heerssen
Deck Officer, US Merchant Marine
es Heerssen is a deck officer in the United States Merchant Marine. He currently serves aboard a transAtlantic commercial roll-on/roll-off car carrier, or “Ro-Ro.” Ro-Ros are huge cargo ships that carry wheeled vehicles of all kinds that can be loaded via ramps, as opposed to shipping containers that have to be loaded with a crane. Both the military and commercial shipping companies own and operate Ro-Ros.
sail professionally. I spent 25 years working in sailing vessels, working my way up from deckhand to captain. Those years were full of adventure, sailing to ports all over the world. I knew I wanted to one day work on big commercial oceangoing ships, but I was having so much fun on sailing ships that it took me a while to decide to make the shift.
I work on ships for about six months per year. I stand the 8-to-12 watch at sea, which means I am on duty from 8am to noon navigating the vessel, and am back on watch on the ship’s bridge from 8 pm until midnight. I also serve as the ship’s safety officer and medical officer. During the afternoons, I spend most of my time conducting monthly safety inspections of the vessel’s lifesaving and firefighting equipment, watertight doors, etc. Occasionally, I’ll spend the afternoon working in the ship’s hospital making sure it’s ready for use. It is my responsibility to treat crewmembers’ wounds or illnesses, and carefully document everything, just in case I need to call a doctor ashore for advice. Accurate record keeping is a big part of my job.
A lot of deck officers start their training at maritime academies where they can graduate with both a college degree and license to serve as a deck officer or ship’s engineer. Wes, however, is what they call a “hawsepiper,” someone who starts at the bottom and spends many years working up through the ranks. “A captain is fortunate to have both hawsepipers AND academy graduates comprising his officers, as both career paths bring different strengths to the job.” Wes says that the most important qualification he has is a willing attitude. In addition to on-the-job training at sea, he has kept up with formal training, taking USCG-approved classes in marine firefighting, medical training, navigation and radar certification, plus a few vessel-handling simulator courses. He estimates his formal training exceeds 2,000 hours. To qualify to sit for your merchant marine license, you need sea time—documented working days underway. By the time a maritime professional is a senior officer or captain, he or she has put in years underway. “At sea, you can’t fake knowledge and experience, so you need to approach the job and the lifestyle with humility and demonstrate a genuine interest in learning.” Spending a lot of time out at sea in a confined space with a small group of people also requires an agreeable attitude: sailors refer to this as being a good shipmate. “The sea is not a forgiving place for fools: be smart, pay attention to your surroundings, and don’t sit on the rails! After pulling your weight, you also need to look after the needs of others by being courteous and respectful. It is essential to learn when to speak and when to listen, no matter your rank. The good news is that nearly every mariner is willing to ‘show you the ropes,’ if you are courteous enough to appear worthy of their effort.”
In port, Wes’s duties are a little different because the ship doesn’t need a navigation watch. Instead, he stands cargo watch from 6am to noon, and again from 6pm to midnight. He keeps track of all the vehicles that are moved on and off, and, importantly, makes sure the ship remains level while loading and discharging cargo by shifting ballast water. Once all the vehicles are onboard, he makes sure that all the cargo is properly lashed for sea before departure. Wes grew up on St. Croix, in the US Virgin Islands, and has been on the water his whole life.
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Growing up on an island in the Caribbean, I learned to row and sail small boats and yachts, to scuba dive, and to love travel and adventure. It wasn’t until I left home at age 18 to work on tall ships that I knew I wanted to
SEA HISTORY 163, SUMMER 2018