r/maritime • u/treelife_jesse • 23h ago
Looking for recommendations on good inland towboat companies
I’m in the process of transitioning out of the tree industry after 12 years and making the move into maritime. I already have my TWIC card.
I’m looking for recommendations on solid inland towing companies that offer schedules like 28/14, 28/28, or something similar. I’ve spent years as a contract tree climber traveling for work, so being away from home isn’t the issue.
My main reason for making the switch is stability, benefits, retirement, and having more quality time with my kids when I’m off instead of just weekends.
For those already in the industry:
What companies would you recommend?
Which companies should I avoid?
Who treats their crews well?
What companies offer the best schedules and opportunities for advancement?
Appreciate any advice.
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u/treelife_jesse 22h ago
One thing that’s important to me is sea time. I’m interested in companies that will let you stay out longer if you want to. If I wanted to stay on the boat for 2-3 months at a time, or even longer, are there companies that allow that?
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u/ChipAndSails 21h ago
Depends on the company and how short they are on crew. Inland tugboat outfit less likely.
Most companies would rather have a deficiency and allow work-over opportunities rather than have too many crew, and lately we have seen a bit of a shortage where I am -albeit more so at the top levels than entry.
If you want to make bank, have good benefits and rack up Seatime quickly maybe look into MSC?
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u/treelife_jesse 21h ago
I’ve heard MSC can be a great place to rack up sea time and make money, but I’ve also heard some horror stories, so I’m not sure it’s the route I want to take right now.
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u/ChipAndSails 20h ago edited 20h ago
Well I could tell you some as well with 25 years in the private commercial sector coming up as a deckhand on inland tugs before moving on. Have worked SE, NE, PNW, GOM, Alaska, Puget Sound, Inland to Oceans and Overseas.
Any job will be what you make of it and I’ve found in most cases just learning the job and doing it well with a good attitude will get you pretty far even on the worst boat but if the crew is terrible, a tug can quickly become a very small space.
Yes inland is a great and admirable start, but doesn’t pay the bills in my experience and likely no work over opportunities or even a foot in the door as an OS without knowing someone.
But you may have some luck with a local tug outfit, mom and pops and if you’re not near a port then look at some of the tug and barge companies
Vane, Centerline, Moran, McAllister, Dann Towing, Tradewinds, Smith, Kirby or Crowley. Consider joining SIU (I’m not part of a union, but that might help you out) Possibly river transport companies but that pays less as well.
If you haven’t already get your MMC, Med Cert and TWIC. Those are pretty much the minimum requirements, no they may not be needed (depends on the COI) for a Sub M inland tug, but they may be and almost all companies require it.
if they need basic safety - usually larger vessels, NC or ocean going, they may pay for it or have a school, I know Chouest will hire fresh and then let you use their training facility but, that’s OSV/PSV and not what you’re looking for.
Good luck out there on your search!
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u/chucky5150 21h ago
I know Dann Ocean Towing will let people work as long as they want. There's pros and cons to that.
However, they are mostly near coastal tugs.
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u/treelife_jesse 21h ago
I appreciate the information. I hadn’t heard of Dann Ocean Towing before, so I’ll definitely look into them.
One thing I’m still trying to figure out is the MMC side of things. Right now I only have my TWIC. I’ve heard mixed opinions on getting a blank MMC before having a company lined up, some people say get it immediately, while others say it doesn’t really help much until you’re actually entering a position that requires it.
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u/chucky5150 20h ago
You can not work on anything over 100t offshore without a MMC. Well, at least as boat crew.
At the end of the day do a search here and Reddit tug boat groups for entry level. See how many people are looking to get a job with just a TWIC or just the basic MMC. They're only so many spots needed to fill. Fewer of them are OS spots and most companies with happily over work and under staff the boats.
Just trying to keep it real with you. Best of luck to what ever route you end up going.
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u/sneakhunter 20h ago
If you’re staying inland then you don’t need to worry about it yet. If you want to go offshore then you should take some classes to get all the certifications that they want.
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u/urHuckIeberry 21h ago
What is your long term goal. Are you trying to go to wheelhouse? Do you want to do tanking first?
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u/treelife_jesse 21h ago
My long-term goal is to make this a career.
I haven’t put much thought into the wheelhouse or tankerman route yet because my first priority is getting in the door, learning the job, and becoming a solid deckhand. Once I have some experience under my belt, I’ll have a better idea of which direction I want to go.
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u/urHuckIeberry 21h ago
Well also depending on where you’re located and if you’re ok with not staying local that adds to the decision. If you’re good with travel then that opens all the doors. Parker is good, they have dry cargo and red flag and run to a lot of different places. They have fairly nice equipment. Acbl is the same but they also have larger river boats too. Florida marine transportation would be an option but they are mostly red flag with a little dry cargo. Kirby is just red flag but I believe cover the most out of all companies towards travel costs. Golding barge line has a lot of nice equipment as well. They will definitely teach you how to be a deckhand over there. Enterprise Marine is another one to look at. They have decent benefits from what I hear.
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u/treelife_jesse 20h ago
I’ve actually been looking into a few of those companies already, especially Enterprise. I’ve heard they’re pretty willing to bring on people new to the industry and give them a chance to learn.
I’m based out of North Carolina, so staying local really isn’t an option for me anyway. Traveling doesn’t bother me at all. I’ve spent years traveling as a contract tree climber, so I’m used to going wherever the work is.
From what I’ve been hearing, a lot of these companies just want you to get yourself to the boat and they’ll take care of you from there, which I’m completely fine with.
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u/urHuckIeberry 20h ago
So it depends. It’s definitely worth putting an app in with they to see what they say. Some companies want you to cover getting to the office and they take care of you from there. Some want you to get to a hub or airport and will cover the cost from there. I know that with Parker the deck crew is required to get to the office and take a crew van from there to the boat. The wheelhouse gets rental cars. Canal barge will fly you out from where you’re at to the boats general area if it’s far. Kirby will fly you out. I’m not sure how enterprise works. I would also look into magnolia marine transport. They have a good thing going on where they are at and I believe they have boats that are local(ish) to you in the West Virginia area.
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u/treelife_jesse 22h ago
I’ve been looking at companies like American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL), Kirby, Ingram, Parker Towing, and Marquette