Cruise Ship Captains

[nycmode]

Hi, I was thinking about something and wanted to see if anybody here had any idea about it. The recent Costa Concordia tragedy had me thinking about the process about being a Cruise Ship captain. Forgive my naivety but I was wondering, where do most of these captains come from? Are there academies that specialize in ship captains? Are many of these folks former commercial shipping or military captains? Or are they mostly from specialized schools? I was just wondering how cruise companies select the people who are responsible for so many lives and where they come from. :confused:

[sail7seas]

Yes, there are maritime colleges and extensive educational requirements. They come through the ranks and earn each promotion. Their training and education never ends as there are many courses and continuing education meetings they must attend. These are very bright, very trained, highly educated people.

 

As to the Captain of Concordia....... in time the investigation will reveal the true facts about him.

 

Keep in mind... there are great doctors and some not so good, some great nurses and some not so great, some great teachers.........etc etc etc

 

You can have 100 terrific Captains and then one bad apple.

Because we have sailed the same cruise line so many times, we have been fortunate to get to know a number of Captains relatively well and have the highest respect and admiration for them.

[nycmode]

It seems like even though many come from the merchant marine or other naval academies, the norm seems that they take a position as a third mate or some other spot low on the food chain and work their way up. It seems to be quite a tough process ...

[CruiserBruce]

Well, right outside your home town is Kings Point, which is the US Merchant Marine Academy, where you study to, amongst other things, become a ships Captain. A family friend's daughter has been a Merchant Ship Captain for about 6 or 8 years, and she graduated from Kings Point.

 

Every country with a maritime tradition (Italy, Greece, Netherlands, for example) has at least one similar school. The US also has one in California.

[cruiseco]

Unfortunately, there's no 100% certain to test for how someone will perform in a stressful situation. Or the decisions he/she will make that can lead to disaster. If this accident hadn't occurred the Captain probably would have retired as a respected Senior Captain training younger ones. No one would ever suspect that he was a coward at heart. And he probably wouldn't know that either.

 

The scariest account of trained professionals creating a disaster I have read is this one about the Air France crash:

 

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/aviation/crashes/what-really-happened-aboard-air-france-447-6611877

[nycmode]

I'm fascinated by the whole schooling of captains thing. I wonder if there has been a tv show or a book that's documented the training that these future captains have taken ...

[kitty9]

This is from eHow.com

 

Study hard and get good grades in high school. Most students at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy are in the top fifth of their graduating class in high school. You'll need to take as many courses as you can in math, science, English and computers.

 

Apply to, attend and graduate from one of the seven colleges that offer a degree-granting maritime program. The most popular is the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, but several state universities offer programs well. See "Resources" below for links to these programs.

 

Earn your certification for Basic Safety Training (BST).

 

Sit for and pass the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers Exam to get your STCW-95 license.

 

Get a job as a third mate officer on a cruise ship.

 

Work your way up the job ladder, promoting through second mate officer, first mate officer, staff captain or chief mate, and finally master captain of a cruise ship. Make sure you keep your licenses and certificates up to date as you progress through your career.

 

Read more: How to Become a Cruise Ship Captain | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2070172_become-cruise-ship-captain.html#ixzz1loT8MYBB

 

Try googling How to become a ship's captain. There's a ton of information about that.

[sail7seas]

Well, right outside your home town is Kings Point, which is the US Merchant Marine Academy, where you study to, amongst other things, become a ships Captain. A family friend's daughter has been a Merchant Ship Captain for about 6 or 8 years, and she graduated from Kings Point.

 

Every country with a maritime tradition (Italy, Greece, Netherlands, for example) has at least one similar school. The US also has one in California.

 

 

Massachusetts Maritime Academy is also widely regarded.

 

[nybumpkin]

My oldest son is a second class (junior year) midshipman at the US Merchant Marine Academy. He's majoring in marine engineering; when he graduates in 2013, he will receive a Coast Guard license as a third assistant engineer for a ship of any tonnage, in addition to his Bachelor's degree. After graduation, he is required to maintain his Coast Guard license for a specified number of years as well as serve in the US Navy Reserve (he would be commissioned as an Ensign in the USNR) - or he can opt for a commission as active duty military, any branch. If he stays with merchant marine ships, he could advance to chief engineer.

 

Merchant marine captains generally come from the "deck" majors; at USMMA, that major is marine transportation. While both deck and engine majors study elements of both navigation and engineering, it's the deck officers that generally advance to the captain rank. At USMMA, deck major graudates are licensed as third mates for ships of any tonnage.

 

The education is rigorous; USMMA essentially fits four years of a Bachelor's degree program into three years, with the other year being devoted to working at sea as a cadet on a merchant ship. Because of the condensed schedule, USMMA operates on a trimester basis with very limited vacations. Students do not get summers off; at best, they get 4 weeks from the end of June to the end of July, with a couple of weeks off at Thanksgiving and Christmas and a week at Spring Break. (Son's summer breaks generally have been occupied with studies; we hoped he could sail with us this coming summer, but he doesn't think he can fit it in his schedule.)

 

Son has finished his "sea year"; he served four months on a Military Sealift Command oiler in the South China Sea in 2010, then four months on a commercial cargo ship (car carrier) sailing through the Middle East -right at the height of Arab Spring last year:eek: - then four months on a cargo ship that literally sailed around the world. Before he started sailing in 2010 he had to pass a required firefighting course as well as the Coast Guard's Lifeboatman exam. During his time at sea they drilled frequently - man overboard drills, muster drills, fire drills, and pirate drills (a must when sailing through the Arabian Sea:eek:).

 

As sail7seas said, there are other maritime academies; son's other choice was SUNY Maritime in New York City (actually the Bronx). There are also schools in Maine and Texas.

 

I can tell you that son's reaction to Concordia was, "What in the world was the captain thinking?" My own thought was, "he wasn't."

[smeyer418]

This question was also asked for the NCL Gem Captain from Norway. Norway's Merchant marine academy is a six year program. Two years of classroom followed by two years at sea and then two more years of class work.

Its pretty similar world wide. No one gives a 500 million dollar or more ship to someone who isn't properly trained.

[sail7seas]

This question was also asked for the NCL Gem Captain from Norway. Norway's Merchant marine academy is a six year program. Two years of classroom followed by two years at sea and then two more years of class work.

Its pretty similar world wide. No one gives a 500 million dollar or more ship to someone who isn't properly trained.

 

 

 

........... not to mention some 3,000 + human lives.

[sail7seas]

My oldest son is a second class (junior year) midshipman at the US Merchant Marine Academy. He's majoring in marine engineering; when he graduates in 2013, he will receive a Coast Guard license as a third assistant engineer for a ship of any tonnage, in addition to his Bachelor's degree. After graduation, he is required to maintain his Coast Guard license for a specified number of years as well as serve in the US Navy Reserve (he would be commissioned as an Ensign in the USNR) - or he can opt for a commission as active duty military, any branch. If he stays with merchant marine ships, he could advance to chief engineer.

 

Merchant marine captains generally come from the "deck" majors; at USMMA, that major is marine transportation. While both deck and engine majors study elements of both navigation and engineering, it's the deck officers that generally advance to the captain rank. At USMMA, deck major graudates are licensed as third mates for ships of any tonnage.

 

The education is rigorous; USMMA essentially fits four years of a Bachelor's degree program into three years, with the other year being devoted to working at sea as a cadet on a merchant ship. Because of the condensed schedule, USMMA operates on a trimester basis with very limited vacations. Students do not get summers off; at best, they get 4 weeks from the end of June to the end of July, with a couple of weeks off at Thanksgiving and Christmas and a week at Spring Break. (Son's summer breaks generally have been occupied with studies; we hoped he could sail with us this coming summer, but he doesn't think he can fit it in his schedule.)

 

Son has finished his "sea year"; he served four months on a Military Sealift Command oiler in the South China Sea in 2010, then four months on a commercial cargo ship (car carrier) sailing through the Middle East -right at the height of Arab Spring last year:eek: - then four months on a cargo ship that literally sailed around the world. Before he started sailing in 2010 he had to pass a required firefighting course as well as the Coast Guard's Lifeboatman exam. During his time at sea they drilled frequently - man overboard drills, muster drills, fire drills, and pirate drills (a must when sailing through the Arabian Sea:eek:).

 

As sail7seas said, there are other maritime academies; son's other choice was SUNY Maritime in New York City (actually the Bronx). There are also schools in Maine and Texas.

 

I can tell you that son's reaction to Concordia was, "What in the world was the captain thinking?" My own thought was, "he wasn't."

 

 

Thanks so much for sharing. This is such an interesting post.

 

Congratulations to you and your son. He sounds like a very fine young man.

 

All best wishes to your family. :)

 

[nybumpkin]

Thanks so much for sharing. This is such an interesting post.

 

Congratulations to you and your son. He sounds like a very fine young man.

 

All best wishes to your family. :)

 

Thanks so much! We're very proud of him.