

I was called out on a survey. Waiting for the vessel to come alongside some snow started to fall and it provided an interesting atmosphere for some nice moody maritime pictures.
Some people like 9 to 5 and others cannot deal with the same schedule every day. I like the mix of the two and getting called out in bad weather or at some ungodly hours allows me to keep perspective.
There is no one way to make a living and there is no one way to understand the world. To regard the world from multiple points of view is a blessing, since it provides nuance.

I am sure just about anybody has seen the expression on this sticker.

Whether stuck on the back of a car, posted in the kitchen ashore, or on a cocktail napkin, it provides an excuse to live it up a little outside of the regular schedule.
However, this sticker was posted on the condiments box of a vessel I attended at.
On a US vessel it provides a different meaning. It is not an expression of a certain joyful level of recklessness; it is an expression of wistfulness.
There is no drinking by crews on US flag vessels and therefore in this case the sticker does not say: “Hey, live it up, have a drink now.” It says: “All over the world people are having cocktails, but we can’t, no matter what time it is.”
Alcohol and recreational drugs are difficult subjects on ships.
Nobody should be drunk aboard ships (Drunk passengers are nothing but a dangerous nuisance too), but a cocktail during quiet days in the mess bar has massive benefits. I am not saying it is achievable in practice, but learning is storytelling, and storytelling is most active and effective with a drink.
I will posit that today crews suffer from a lack of storytelling and no alternative has been provided.
It makes it more difficult to recruit and retain crew, while we are facing a serious crew shortage.
While the alcohol policy is not optimal, it is basically stable and does not prevent crew members from enjoying a cocktail when they are ashore.
However, while marijuana is now legal in many states similarly to alcohol, shore based recreational marijuana users are functionally prevented from working as crew members, since there are no tests that can determine whether a crew member is under the influence of marijuana while aboard.
The issue with marijuana is actually two fold. First marijuana is still Federally illegal so any evidence of marijuana on a ship is a violation. Secondly, the tests that exist for marijuana can show evidence of marijuana in a person’s system, but cannot determine the level of intoxication. Worse, a person can test positive for marijuana even if the person has not used it for weeks or may test positive after having been in proximity of a marijuana user.
What is even more confusing is that at present tests indicate there is no strong evidence that marijuana impairs driving ability. I am not aware of any studies that have investigated the effect of marijuana on ship’s crews, but I suspect it would be similar to driving effects.
Meanwhile, this drug testing issue makes it impossible for a shore based recreational marijuana user to work in maritime. That in turn puts a major damper on attracting new people to the industry. It is frustrating to think that a major issue in maritime cannot be solved until there is improved drug testing technology, while ashore the problem does not really exist. Maritime is different, and it requires unique solutions.
