How do I acquire a license for crewing on Great Lakes freighter.

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Request for Question Clarification by denco-ga on 26 Apr 2006 11:53 PDT

Howdy 1sailaway-ga,

It would help researchers to know if the freighters will be operating in U.S.
waters not more than 200 miles offshore and not making a foreign port call.

Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher

1sailaway-ga:

Working as a crewmember on board one of the Great Lakes freighters
('Lakers') is a hard but character-building career. While lakers spend
their entire lives plying only the freshwaters of the Great Lakes,
many of them end up sailing distances that would equal
circum-navigating the planet many times over.

The first step you need to take, is to obtain the necessary
certifications for the country you reside in (and whose flag the ship
you want to work on carries):

US:
American ships and crews are administered by the US Coast Guard, you
can read all about the merchant mariner document process here:

http://www.uscg.mil/stcw/new-begin.htm


Canada:
Canadian ships and crews are administered by Transport Canada; their
website for certification processes can be found here:

http://www.tc.gc.ca/marinesafety/training-examination-certification/menu.htm


Good luck!

Regards,

aht-ga
Google Answers Researcher