# What do container ship crews do? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 12, 2020, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-container-ship-crews-do/925450 "2020-11-12T19:14:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-container-ship-crews-do/925450/41 "2020-11-18T04:56:16Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Not a horror movie but I have seen a few movies where the hero wakes up, thinks they are finally out of trouble, only to walk out a door/container to find themselves on a cargo ship in the middle of the ocean. That’s how [an episode of Silicon Valley](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-trd_f6j3eI) ended. ---
**Author:** ![Snipe70e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/51bf81/32.png) [@Snipe70e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snipe70e)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-container-ship-crews-do/925450/42 "2020-11-18T06:00:00Z")
Any women on board may also b crew members. I think it ws 1972 That women were admitted to the Maaritime Academies in the USA. ---
**Author:** ![Snipe70e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/51bf81/32.png) [@Snipe70e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snipe70e)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-container-ship-crews-do/925450/43 "2020-11-18T06:02:15Z")
While I was doing my reserve duty the officers could not believe that we had only 3 men on a watch in the engine and boiler room. A watch officere, a fireman, and an oiler that was all. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-container-ship-crews-do/925450/44 "2020-11-18T07:07:29Z")
> [@Snipe70e](#): > > a fireman, and an oiler that was all. I know what a fireman and an oiler did 100 years ago, but what do those job titles mean now? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-container-ship-crews-do/925450/45 "2020-11-18T13:49:46Z")
In the US Navy a Fireman is the generic term for non-Petty Officers, enlisted personnel in the Engineering rates. E3 and below. So that includes a lot of Rates from the Boiler Techs & Machinist Mates to Hull Techs (welders) to Electricians and Internal Communications. ---
**Author:** ![Snipe70e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/51bf81/32.png) [@Snipe70e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snipe70e)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-container-ship-crews-do/925450/46 "2020-11-18T17:05:43Z")
I would not expect an fireman on a diesel ship (wich most are now) But a fireman rund the boilers. An oiler would have the same responsibilities. Checking equipment and letting the watch officer know of any problems. I did not work on any diesels but I would also guess he would keep an eye also on the evaporators, pump buildges. But on some of the modern diesel ships they have a “No man engine room.” Meaning the only time someone is in the engine room would be during the day foing day work, comming in and out of port, or in an emergency. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-container-ship-crews-do/925450/47 "2020-11-18T18:43:46Z")
As for sexy funtimes, in _Looking For A Ship_ McPhee talks about a crewman who always put to sea with a huge collection of porn VHS tapes, who would spend his off hours watching them in the crew lounge. McPhee’s informant didn’t say whether the crewman actually fapped while sitting in the open public lounge, but, well, no one watches porn for the character development and plot arcs. ---
**Author:** ![mtnmatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@mtnmatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mtnmatt)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-container-ship-crews-do/925450/48 "2020-11-18T19:03:44Z")
Another good book on the topic is Christopher Buckley’s “Steaming to Bamboola.” > **[Steaming to Bamboola - The World of a Tramp Freighter](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/516250.Steaming_to_Bamboola_The_World_of_a_Tramp_Freighter)** > > STEAMING TO BAMBOOLA is a story of the author's time at… My cousin is Chief Engineer on a container ship, and we visited him when he was in port at Long Beach, His quarters suite was surprisingly spacious - with a living area, and a bedroom. This is shared (alternate 6-week shifts) with the other Chief Engineer, and they mostly leave (stow) their personal stuff while on land - guitars, etc. for downtime. He met his fiancee when she was assigned to his ship, and they have cruised together a few times that I know of. Not sure how that works out but there is plenty of private space and time. His ship has BBQs on the foredeck, and seems to have a lot of free time. I was surprised at the amount of rust, thinking that was a constant source of work for the crew, but they didn’t seem to focus on it. One interesting thing he told me is that the water they drink onboard is all distilled, and it started causing issues when they are sweating in the engine room in the tropics - cramping, etc. due to lack of electrolytes. The ship owner was reluctant to spend $$ on gatorade or equivalent. ---
**Author:** ![Snipe70e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/51bf81/32.png) [@Snipe70e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snipe70e)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-container-ship-crews-do/925450/49 "2020-12-03T06:20:33Z")
I use to take salt tablets. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-container-ship-crews-do/925450/50 "2020-12-03T14:06:54Z")
We had a strange problem with the flash evaporator style water plants making effectively distilled water. We got new ice machines for the mess decks and they didn’t work right. They kept overflowing the cube molds. It took a lot of trouble-shooting and contacts with the company before going through the wiring diagram we noticed the water cut-off circuit was closed by the water itself. Tap water conducts electricity well, distilled water not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-container-ship-crews-do/925450/51 "2020-12-03T14:31:07Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > It took a lot of trouble-shooting and contacts with the company before going through the wiring diagram we noticed the water cut-off circuit was closed by the water itself. Tap water conducts electricity well, distilled water not so much. Related: one of **[the tests for laboratory-grade water purity](https://www.emdmillipore.com/US/en/water-purification/learning-centers/tutorial/monitoring/I16b.qB.W2gAAAFA.yZkiQz8,nav)** is a resistivity measurement. ---
**Author:** ![Snipe70e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/51bf81/32.png) [@Snipe70e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snipe70e)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-container-ship-crews-do/925450/52 "2020-12-03T18:02:24Z")
Oh that is funny. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-container-ship-crews-do/925450/53 "2020-12-03T19:35:31Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Tap water conducts electricity well, distilled water not so much. Just add some salt. No … wait … oops! You just went to a lot of trouble to _remove_ the salt. Catch-22! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-container-ship-crews-do/925450/54 "2020-12-03T21:17:28Z")
We were sent float switches like the older ice machines had. So our brand new state of the art ice machines stood useless for about 3 weeks I think waiting for these switches to arrive. Then we had to install them and I quote, “Yesterday Damn it”. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2020, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-container-ship-crews-do/925450/55 "2020-12-05T03:47:49Z")
No their employer would not. And I doubt the crews would either. The employer wants the crew to be doing maintenance, checking cargo etc doing drills and completing planning and paperwork during the voyage. There is little enough time for all that as it is. And though their mileage no doubt varies, many seafarers value long voyages as a time of relative peace when they can get their “me” time, to make up for the frantic time in port. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2020, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-container-ship-crews-do/925450/56 "2020-12-05T04:00:13Z")
About rust. Everything on a steel ship at sea rusts. After you’ve been in the industry for a time, your attitude towards it changes. Ships are built on the assumption there will be corrosion. I’ve been involved in many incidents where someone who doesn’t know what they are talking about will point to a component that has corroded severely and get in a flap. Then the real experts (naval architects, marine engineers) will point out that the component was designed on the assumption that it needed to be strong enough even after it was, say, 20% corroded away because _that was what would occur_ over the life of the vessel. I’ve seen ships that looked bright and shiny and well painted but up close - and when you know what to look for - could be seen to be suffering from severe wastage (corrosion). And other ships that people (media in particular) are very ready to describe as dangerous rustbuckets - on the basis of visually ugly but actually trivial surface rust and minor staining that wouldn’t bother an expert one little bit. ---
**Author:** ![mtnmatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@mtnmatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mtnmatt)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2020, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-container-ship-crews-do/925450/57 "2020-12-05T04:50:39Z")
That makes sense. My cousin didn’t seem very concerned but also didn’t see it as his responsibility as Chief Engineer. IIRC He said it was another team (deck hands?) problem to deal with and not their main priority. I’m sure I noticed it mostly because of my uninformed expectations from movies and such, and where I saw it was not likely a structural risk. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2020, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-container-ship-crews-do/925450/58 "2020-12-05T05:01:48Z")
C/E’s are Above such trivialities as a rusty deck. They would see it as totally beneath them. ---
**Author:** ![Snipe70e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/51bf81/32.png) [@Snipe70e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snipe70e)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2020, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-container-ship-crews-do/925450/59 "2020-12-05T06:45:06Z")
If it is not in the engine room it is not the CE responsibility. He has enough work for his wippers with out worring about doing someone elses job. Not a matter of being beneath them, just wron department. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2020, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-container-ship-crews-do/925450/60 "2020-12-05T14:47:34Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > The best container ship thriller is _Alien_. I suspect if it was available, most sea-going container crews and their employers would opt for spending most of their time in suspended animation. and > [@Princhester](#): > > No their employer would not. And I doubt the crews would either. The employer wants the crew to be doing maintenance, checking cargo etc doing drills and completing planning and paperwork during the voyage. There is little enough time for all that as it is. Said another way, if the crewman was so unnecessary when at sea as to be allowed to sleep the voyage away, why bother having them aboard and paying them a wage? If they’re only needed in port, it’s probably far cheaper to hire in-port workers for those brief stops. For something like the movie _Alien_, where voyages take a vast amount of time and where the ship is automated enough to mostly take care of itself the logic is different. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-container-ship-crews-do/925450.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-container-ship-crews-do/925450.md?page=4)