Deckhand Jobs in the U.S. Maritime Industry

Deckhand is the way most people get onto a boat without a license. On inland towboats the job is building and breaking tow: running wires and ratchets, making barges up, handling lines at locks and fleets, standing watch, and keeping the boat painted and clean between all of it. On offshore supply vessels it leans toward cargo work, rigging, crane signaling and mooring. On harbor tugs it is line handling under time pressure, often at odd hours.

The credential bar is low on purpose. A TWIC, a Merchant Mariner Credential with an entry-level rating, a physical and a clean drug screen will get you hired by most inland companies. Several of the big towing outfits run their own deckhand training academies and pay you through them.

Pay is almost always a day rate, paid only for days worked, so the rotation drives the annual number as much as the rate does. Most inland companies run 28 on and 14 off; some run 20/10. Offshore is commonly 28/28.

The volume is on the Gulf Coast and the Western Rivers. Louisiana, the Houston Ship Channel, Paducah and the Ohio and Mississippi systems carry most of the openings, with steady demand on harbor tugs in every major port.

Time on deck is the currency. Log it, and it converts into an AB endorsement, a Tankerman ticket, or a seat in the wheelhouse as a Steersman.