10 Reasons Why Maritime SUCKS (NEED TO KNOW Before Joining Merchant Marine)

Heyo! If you are still interested in maritime after hearing the cons, check out the pros in "10 reason why Maritime is AWESOME" video!

I did a 4 year cadetship 1973 to 1977 Blue Star Line UK, and when I got inboard the ships I hated it. Seasick, did not mix in, very bored. I had not been trained to know what to do or what to expect it was dreadful so I left in 1978 thankfully and never looked back, The money was good, booze was cheap but that was abut it, ship politics were rife, and any clash of personality could not be remedied. Maybe things are better now I do hope so.

All is fine for me but they are drinking. Big no for me, so I didn't became sailor

You all have the power. Go on strike til they double your pay

you say there are different sexes.... but I have yet to see a video with a woman on deck... and even if there are some - they are rare.

No Internet? Sounds like heaven

It is unconscionable that when the sailor who lost his relative passed away that they did not allow him to leave immediately. That's really insulting. No company should treat people in such a manner.

Wow amazing how entitled these people sound. Oh no, no wifi. Oh my god i cant get a gym membership! Poor guy 😢. Stop crying and go to work. Thats what your there for.

The best part of it was the lack of social life. Personally, I’d rather take the challenges of the bitter stormy sea than experiencing numerous pesky Homo sapiens in my life. Hope the Ocean and Sea become an obsession for me!

Do you have Africans on board before

Thanks Jeff! Grateful for the info!

You forgot to mention the risk of Leviathan attack! Vewy scawy!

I can't live without internet long enough to sleep. But if you can see the stars out there it might be ok. Maybe by now they have internet. If not they will soon probably because of Starnet.

MSC EMPLOYEES SOME OF U GUYS R ACTING LIKE SPOILED BRATS

ITS PROBABLY A GOOD THING WHEN HE SAID NO INTERNET ALL THEY R GOING 2 DO IS WATCH A SHIT LOAD OF PORN

MSC EMPLOYEES COUNT YOUR MFing BLESSING U HAVE A GREAT MFing PAYING JOB & STOP THINKING ABOUT ALL THE TOYS U BOUGHT IS WHATS IS MAKING IT SO DAM HARD 4 U 2 THINK ABOUT WORK & WORKING YOUR ASS OFF ON THAT SHIP IS WHAT GOT U THAT HOME THAT MFing PIMP RIDE & ALSO BE ABLE 2 SEE THE MFing WORLD SOMETHING MAJORITY OF OTHER PEOPLE WILL NEVER SEE IN PERSON OR IN REAL LIFE

AS OF YET I AM NOT W/ MSC BUT WHEN A PERSON OR PERSONS TALK ABOUT IT SUCKS WELL FIRST OF ALL U CANT PLEASE EVERY 1 & ANOTHER THING BY ME BEING RETIRED MILITARY U WILL HAVE PEOPLE SAY THE SAME THING ABOUT THE MILITARY SUCKS WHEN U HAVE SOME 1 OR SOME BODIES ALWAYS THINKING ABOUT HOME ECT & OTHER THINGS THAT R GOING ON THEY FEEL THAT THEY R MISSING OUT ON WHATS GOING ON OUT THEIR IN THOSE DAM STREETS SO THATS WHEN THEY SOMETIMES WALK AWAY THINKING THE GRASS IS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE & THEY SOME TIMES SEE THEY MADE A BIG MFing MISTAKE NEXT THING U KNOW THEY R TRYING 2 GET THEIR OLD JOB BACK SOME R ABLE 2 & SOME R NOT AS LUCKY

What about reason 11? It would suck if you don't like sucking cock as being surround by only men for months on end means some guys would not care who services their tackle.

thanks to all the sailors (Truly Admirable) that commented here and to the author. I'm looking to travel to brazil and i think i can handle all the cons of ship life but how can I find contracts for going to a specific port?

Is it really about skills rather than leadership stuff?

Imagine the boredom and the lack of social interaction when bieng in jail sailing would be a cake walk

Imagine the boredom and the lack of social interaction when bieng in jail sailing would be a cake walk

My uncle was in the merchant marine for 50yrs. He died alone.

Amazing video. Very informative and eloquently put. Thank you.

Wow, hey kid. I watched a couple of your other videos you posted, and I was your perspective was narrow because of your youth and short time in the industry. However, you “nailed-it” on this particular video. And I am impressed. You are articulate, your editing is well done and the points you made here are accurate and well founded. Anyone that has been going to sea for years will agree with virtually everything you said here. Me? I has been going to sea professionally since 1990, 1986 if you count my time as a cadet. I will continue to view some of your other posts. Take care brother, stay safe, and stay optimistic.
Old Salty

Where put you body, if died

Strike.

Sounds better than the army. Im going for it

With people like you on board I see no serious problem !! I think I'm were ok with that job , but Internet out there were a great thing to stay connected with the globe ! Dont understand why no www via satellite or something, thats really a lack .... But not a main issue thing !!! 😘

IN THE U S M M , SHOULD ONE CONSIDER A M M CAREER WITH AN EVENTUAL OFFICER POSITION , THE ONLY WAY ONE MAY EARN A GOOD SALARY , IS TO BE A. M M ACADEMY GRADUATE , THUS ENTERING THE " GOOD OLE BOY " NETWORK ... IF ONE JOINS THE UNION AS AN " OUTSIDER " THE CHANCES OF ATAINING A S U C C E S S F U L CAREER , ARE SLIM ... TO NONE X

What are the best platforms for applying to this kind of jobs? Thanks for the video.

I've seen some of these on your channel and find myself physically and mentally suited for this type of work.

These are not cons, each one of these makes me excited!!

Some of the points mentioned are not necessarily negative. For example time spent at sea depends on the shipping company you are working for, since the length of onboard tenure is different depending on type of ship, trade or other factors. Limited internet is not the case anymore since now it is available onboard in many companies. But of course maritime job is not for everyone and it is for sure tough. Either you stay and grow in rank or you leave and find something else to do in life. For me this job is great. 9 years maritime experience as Deck Officer on LNG tankers, 3 months at sea, 3 months at home, payed round the year, already have my own apartment in the most beautiful city in the world)

I just want to go to sea, no matter the cost.

I really want to pursue Maritime but im going to Automotive school first, rn i work as a para/bartender on the side and when i have enough money put away ill start looking into actual maritime training. I love my jobs and family but i always feel like im missing something and that something always fills when im on a ship. I really want a life where i learnconstantly not just from reading but from living. I love learning new cultures and different people- thats why i work at a bar and with special needs kids- i love the differences in people, Just getting this out cause i got no one else to tell lol

Work for the rich

with new regulations most of the ships gonna have internet

Sounds like a great job if you're single well-rounded versatile person like a good storyteller get along with people positive attitude hard-working intelligent maybe even a good cook and a master at repairing and fixing things you'd have to be single and to be able to handle the solitude peace and quiet kind of like a meditative Master at ohm.
Unfortunately my career is over I'm retired married enjoying the cabin in the mountains everything's paid for I have a great retirement in life I help out others volunteer on the local fire department for years and there's always something interesting exciting but yet peaceful well until the weekenders come but it is what it is they do go home so it quiets down I would say being out at Sea would be pretty interesting in a way especially the good night skies if you were an observer with a telescope and had some free time what about starlink $500 module and a hundred bucks a month that probably be worth its weight and gold out there satellite internet hook up hell a guy can make a fortune just blogging is merchant Marine experience anyway take care have fun and don't drink too much whiskey and fall overboard.

So after a minimum of 2 years in the Navy you spend 4 years at the academy and they send you to the environment you just described. Somehow I don't see the equity in that arraignment. Look what hard times will make a person do! Still, we are the ones who accept it and that makes it acceptable. The only way to fight it is to remain destitute.

You couldn't tell if it was his liver or his pancreas that was failing? Look at the whites of his eyes. If they ain't white it's the liver. If his blood sugar is high it's his pancreas. Doesn't somebody on board have a rudimentary medical knowledge? This is simple stuff. Wait till something harder to figure out comes along. Look here it comes now!

No internet, that would be heaven to me 👍

Strangely, I started watching maritime merchant marine container videos after watching the SS EL FARO documentary. Hopefully, STARLINK can help with internet nowadays on big ships.

Hey 👋🏻 Great vidéo and content. It’s my first vid to watch on your channel. My dad is a Marine Engineer, and I remember him saying when I was way younger why he decided not to pursue working as a seafarer. It is all you have mentioned except the internet part at his time 😉 He said if I want to have a family I want to be close to them, know my kids and see them grow up.

I believe more light must be shed on Seafarers, and spread the awareness about their lives and how they are not getting the acceptable basics. I think most think you must be making tons of money, but the truth is not all are and still this is a job that needs to be well compensated and taken care of to help ease a little bit of all the cons you have mentioned . Mental health especially is a factor that needs to be on top of the list.


I respect you and all seafarers for all we have and take for granted without thinking about the journey the commodity or product has taken to reach me, and the crew who made it possible.

Prayers and blessings to all of you out there.

It’s so much easy peasy lemon squeezy!!! All of that something i can do it for a year not 6 months!!!

Can we get a updated video?

I've been watching videos about ship life and found it interesting and adventurous, up until I found out there is limited Internet. I'm shocked to find out it's hard to get the ships to connect. I had visions of families chatting with each other and people watching movies on Netflix, and online college courses.

I think a good compromise would be working on the great lakes on one of the Bulk freighters. You are closer to home (if you live in America, Canada or Mexico) and generally speaking you may make more money because of American and Canadian labor and maritime laws. The great lakes vessels have satelite wifi on them, so entertainment isn't as big of a worry.

I watched both your pros and cons videos vis a vis the merchant marine and must give you credit for thinking of everything including factors not the most obvious to those who haven’t shipped out in the merchants. I was also an enlisted submariner in the US Navy in addition to being an unlimited AB in the US merchant marine including serving in the Gulf War sealift of 1989-90 plus hauling all the crap back for a total of four voyages at that time and being awarded the Merchant Marine Expeditionary Medal. To me the real pros are these: you can ship for as long as you can tolerate it while basically saving all of your money then pay cash on a beat up old cottage in a played out mining town in for instance, either the UP of Michigan or northern Ontario, Canada, where you are from and where I once worked as a paid canoe tripping guide on Lake Temagami. Or, if you’re considering university you can get a marine engineering degree from a maritime academy and then if you dislike the merchant marine you can switch to being a stationary engineer running a giant building somewhere. Although the merchant marine aboard a naval pre-positioning ship with a civilian mariner crew was the best job I ever had, that was an unusual assignment with lots of shore liberty. Subsequent jobs on commercial ships where no shore leave was on offer basically sucked the big one, so I became a self employed barber, rather than wasting the money on cram school for a mate’s license, which wouldn’t have done me any good considering all the ABs I knew who had their 3rd mate’s ticket but weren’t using it since they were reluctant to switch to Liberian or Panamanian flagged ships. As a barber I would tell people don’t bother with either the navy or the merchant marine unless [1] you got on the waiting list for the navy Seabees or [2] went into the merchant marine as a cook, perhaps after doing three years in the naval reserves as a cook to qualify. I eventually came to detest being in the deck gang; it seemed like all ABs were either underemployed geniuses or else Neanderthalic troglydites, not a good combination. But anything beats teaching school! I wasted 8 years teaching school and that job truly sucks to high heaven.

Hey Jeff thanks for info ! Two comments
1st study and keep moving up thru mgmt and captaincy , and pilot training.
2nd the US economy and world economy is into a bad bad recession ! Seriously. My friend don't just quit, be secure in your moves.

Well done with your videos, they will help many make the right decision!
As a veteran of the industry, I thought I should pitch in my 5c. The short message is: I concur with you, the golden years of working at sea are long gone. Is not a career I would recommend to anyone unless you come from the most underdeveloped part of the world where alternatives are very hard to find.
I enjoyed most of my career, but I would not do it again in the current conditions. I started as Marine Engineer in the eighties and was lucky enough to quickly transition from cargo ships to Cruise ships, Unionized Ferries in an advanced nation, Ultra Deepwater Drilling, Cruise ships again and Superyachts for preretirement. I was privileged to work for the best of the best in the different sectors, were for the most part, I was valued and treated very well. Those good employers have become extremely rare and for the majority of the people in the shipping industry it extremely unlikely to ever land any decent job with a good employer.
The difference in working conditions I witnessed in the same cruise ship company 30 years apart is shocking despite the fact that it was and still is the number one company in the world in their sector. Things went from heaven to hell on most fronts. Pretty sad and the result of corporate greed, mismanagement and a general race to the bottom thanks to globalization of the workforce and profiteering. As mentioned in the video, manpower was greatly reduced while workload is greatly increased with no end in sight. A terrible combination for the life of seafarers.
Another point often misunderstood.
Unless you are mister fix it / naturally born Engineer and driven in nature, if you still want to become a seafarer, become a Deck Officer. Engineering requires more brain, talent and a constant self-development drive to become good at it. Doing your normal working hours is not enough to get an edge in the field. In addition, you will work mostly in very difficult and dangerous conditions and by the time you retire you will have work related irreversible health issues (hearing loss, back pain, hernia, various scars, the odd missing nail or finger). The chances of becoming permanently disabled or die are far greater too. There is no glory and less money in Engineering and even if you decide to go shore based, the career and income prospects are better as a Deck Officer. I met many people that became Engineers for the wrong reasons and ended up quitting, hated their job or never became good at it. Although I had great satisfaction from my job covering prestigious positions for very serious wages, if I were to start again, I would become a Decky. A 30% salary premium for Engineers would change that but I doubt it will ever materialize.