Captain - Towing Jobs in the U.S. Maritime Industry

The captain of a towing vessel runs the boat and answers for everything on it. That means the navigation and the tow, but it also means the crew, the logs, the Subchapter M compliance, the company's schedule, and whatever the dispatcher wants done that the river conditions will not allow.

Day to day the job is watchstanding in the wheelhouse, usually six on and six off with the mate. On the rivers it is reading current and the effect of a loaded tow through bridges and bends, locking through, and making and breaking tow at fleets. On coastwise and harbor work it is ship assists, wire and hawser towing, and close-quarters maneuvering with pilots and dockmasters.

The credential is a Master of Towing Vessels endorsement matched to the route, plus a completed TOAR. Almost nobody arrives here sideways. The path runs deckhand, Steersman, mate, master, and companies watch you through all of it.

Pay is a day rate that scales with route, horsepower and cargo type. Blue water and coastwise work generally pays above inland, and chemical and black oil units above dry cargo.

Openings cluster on the Gulf Coast, the Western Rivers, and in harbor fleets from Seattle to Boston.