Does anybody knows hows life of a marine engineer on ship?

Question

My bf is a marine engineer working on ship, he gets contracts for few months and he has to be away from me and his family,sometimes he tels me he doesnt get time to mail r cal me,does anybody knows hows really life for sailors on ship?what keep them so busy?doesnt anybody is married with a sailor and hows life without him/her?

Answer 1

Life aboard a large seagoing vessel is a lot of work.  As a licensed mariner I'm sure he is working 4 hours on watch and 8 hours off, plus whatever overtime he has to work everyday.  Life at sea becomes very routine, you stand your watch, you work your ot, you nap, shower, eat, stand watch, and repeat.  Depending on the type of vessel he sails aboard will dictate how busy he is when the ship pulls into a port. With the invention of the shipping container, ships are rarely in port for more than 24 hours.  Shipping has become extremely efficient, and  usually it's offload, onload, gas up, restock the galley and good bye.  If his vessel is not equipped with the internet then it will be very pricey to make telephone calls via satellite telephone.  When the ship is inport he may not have the time to find a phone, or a stamp.  

Just as sailing isn't for everyone, having a relationship with a sailor isn't for everyone.  You need to trust each other implicitly. Ultimately, you need to trust him, and he needs to trust you; bottomline.  Additionally, you have to be strong and independent while he is gone and enjoy the time you get to spend with him while he is home.  From a woman's perspective... life at sea is not the romantic lifestyle you see watching old movies... it's hard work, and it is very difficult on relationships, friendships, and on the person who is gone.  He may not call or write you often but I can almost guarantee he is thinking of you more than you are of him.  It's a h**l of a lot lonelier out there for him, than it is for you... you have friends and family around you, he has shipmates. Some of his shipmates can be his best friends and some may be  his worst enemy.  

All I can say is, if you love him and want to be with him then offer the best support you can to him, appreciate that he is working his butt off, and don't let some other s*****k tempt you away from him just because he is gone a few months at a time.  Trust me it's not all that glamorous at sea... He is working aboard a vessel that is moving a commodity from A to B, making sure all systems are working and fixing things when they break, he's not out there catering to supermodels... chances are there are less than 3 females on his ship, if that many.

Answer 2

Well I am a Marine Engineer working out of the MEBA. I am married and though it is tough being away, I have the benefit of being home for months at a time. I also earn more money in 6 months than a lot of people do in a year. As far as what keeps him busy on the ship? Work...plain and simple. I dont know what kind of ship he is on but most of us work 12+ hours everyday. The rest of the time is used to eat shower and maybe watch a movie. A lot of ships nowadays have an email system, but the quality and if its available is usually up to the company. It can be a tough life, but my wife and I deal with it very well. In fact after a couple of months at home, she usually puts my bag near the door hinting its time to go back to work..lol

Answer 3

As an engineer he has a better life than the unlicensed he lords over; better room, better salad bar, more money.    Going into and out of port he would be kept buisy.   In between, while at dock, is usually a good time to catch some sleep.   Calling can be pretty expensive; one ship I was on it cost $10/minute with a $30 minimum, and even then no guarantee of a good connection.   Being out to sea for long periods and no way to do anything about what is happening at home, its sometimes easier to not know what is happening there.     Mail usually needs the local countries stamp to be sent.    The ships agent in port should take care of the mail, but often "forgets" it or just doesn't bother with it at all.   Other than a couple hundred movies aboard, there isn't really anything to do but eat, sleep and work.   I often worked over 100 hours a week since there is nothing better to do.

Answer 4

I was working for a  Luxury Ship. Life in ship is horrible.   Yes sometime it will be busy we wont have time to think about ourself also, but the sometime we will be free and we wont have any entertainment also.  No TV, Internet and Telephone connection is restricted we can use it for few hours only and it is allowed only for office rank people.

Family members will be missing that person always.

Answer 5

I'm a marine engineer on a tugboat and although i don't work on ships i feel your pain. Being away from my wife is one the hardest things about this job, This is a new modern boat so we have Internet connections in every room, flat screen TVs with satellite, cell phones out the yin yang etc, and still there are times when i can't talk to my wife for a few days. Mostly because i am on the 12 to 6 am watch and the 12 to 6 pm watch, when i get off watch i go to sleep to get ready for the next watch and when i am awake she is either at school or work. This job can be hard on a relationship, know what your getting into before you commit to anything permanent. Hope this helps and good luck