Passport Initiative

The Departments of Homeland Security and State announced the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative to secure and expedite travel. The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative will require all U.S. citizens, Canadians, citizens of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda, and citizens of Mexico to have a passport or other accepted secure document to enter or re-enter United States as of January 1, 2008.

Currently, U.S. citizens, and some citizens of other countries in the Western Hemisphere are not required to present a passport to enter or re-enter the U. S. when traveling within the Western Hemisphere. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA, also known as the 9/11 Intelligence Bill), signed into law on December 17, 2004, mandated that the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, develop and implement a plan to require U.S. citizens and foreign nationals to present a passport, or other secure document when entering the United States.

Read the final ruling from the national registry (.PDF)
Download FAQ's (MS Word) on the topic
Download the Press release (MS Word) , or APIS Press release (MS Word)

Travel Policy

Did you know that you are officially in travel status if your destination is more than 50 miles one way from either your home or the ship when it is at the school's pier in Seattle, whichever is closer?

The School of Oceanography has a four-page document that describes the Travel Policy in full. Click here to download it.

Welcome Aboard to the R/V Thomas G Thompson!

As a new crewmember, it is your duty to familiarize yourself with the Safety and Security Briefing of University and Ship Policies. You will also be asked to sign the form to acknowledge your agreement with those policies, including those dealing with:

Sexual Harassment
Smoking
Drugs and Alcohol aboard research vessels
Personal and Environmental Safety

After familiarizing yourself with the policies, you will be assigned tasks related to security, vessel familiarization, ballast water management, drug and alcohol policy and employee assistance. Your supervisor will initial your form to acknowledge your proficiency.

Download the New Crew Familiarization Agreement document.

Watch the required 22-minute RVOC Safety Video.

Read the required Chapter 1 from the UNOLS RVOC Safety Training Manual.

Rental Vehicle Policy

Any car rented for official business is to be charged on the official UW car rental credit card. Even if you request the Agent to secure us a car, let him or her know that we will be paying for it separately on a special credit card that covers all our insurance needs including the loss-damage-waiver.
Only the vessel's Master rents a car for the ship for official use. He/She is responsible for keeping custody of the keys and reminding other crew members to whom the keys are given that it is for official ship use only. Unless there is some extraordinary need for vehicular transportation for official business, we recommend that only one car is rented by the ship. The Marine Technicians frequently have need of an additional car for their needs and they follow a similar set of instructions.
The car must be inspected both by the person on the ship accepting the vehicle and the person dropping it off -- whether a car rental company employee or an employee of the ship agent's office -- and any dings, dents, broken lights, scratches, etc. noted in writing and initialed by both parties. This must be done even if the car rental company doesn't specifically require it. The inspection is to be repeated when the car is turned in.
If an off-duty crewmember decides to rent a vehicle for his/her own use while in port, then that individual must make his/her own arrangements, use his/her own credit card, and the vehicle may not be used for any official ship's business.

Overtime Authorization Procedures

Following is a summary review of the UW Marine Operations Procedure for overtime authorization for permanent and temporary crewmembers who are serving aboard the R/V Thomas G. Thompson in either professional or classified staff positions.

Professional Staff (Masters and Chief Engineers): Professional Staff compensation is tied to the position description. Hence, when one of these positions is being filled on a temporary basis, these rules apply just as they do for the full-time personnel who normally occupy these positions.

With the exception of weekends and holidays, when the ship is at sea, UW Professional Staff compensation does not include overtime. Should an exceptional circumstance lead to a request for overtime for either of the two Professional Staff positions on board, then the Master must first request and obtain overtime authorization from either the Port Engineer, or the Port Captain, or the Manager of Marine Operations. This request must be accompanied by an explanation for the overtime request.
When the ship is at home port, at the School of Oceanography pier, except under exceptional circumstances, there is no provision for overtime for Professional Staff.
When the ship is at sea or at our pier, and the Master and/or Chief Engineer is actively involved in an ongoing emergency or other extraordinary circumstance, overtime (other than the standard sea-weekend/holiday overtime) can be authorized. An explanation of the circumstances must be sent in with their timesheets. An "emergency" is, for this purpose, defined as a situation that, unless continuously attended and supervised by the Master and/or Chief Engineer, would place the ship's personnel, the environment, and/or the ship itself at risk.

Classified Staff (all licensed and unlicensed crewmembers):

When the ship is at sea and a Classified Staff crewmember's weekly overtime is anticipated to exceed 12 hours per week (over and above the first eight hours on Saturday, on Sunday, and on holidays) the crewmember's department head must first request the overtime authorization from the vessel's Master, who will then either deny or approve and forward the request to either the Port Engineer, or the Port Captain, or the Manager of Marine Operations, for authorization. This request must come via the Master with an explanation for the overtime request.
When the ship is at home port, at the Oceanography pier, all weekday work in excess of eight hours and all weekend hours must first be requested by the Department Head to the Master who will then either deny or approve and forward the request to either the Port Engineer or, the Port Captain, or the Manager of Marine Operations for authorization.
When the ship is at sea or at our pier, in the event of an emergency or other circumstance that, unless promptly attended by the crew, would place the ship's personnel, the environment, and/or the ship itself at risk, overtime is authorized at the discretion of the Master. An explanation of the circumstances must be sent in with the timesheets.

Procedures for Relief Personnel

The following procedures for the turnover of responsibilities between deployed personnel and their reliefs are being established: a) to ensure the timely presence of relief crewpersons and our ability to provide for delays and emergencies; b) to allow sufficient time for the disembarking crewperson to fully brief his or her relieving counterpart, and c) to guarantee fairness to disembarking personnel who, after weeks or months at sea, are entitled to a prompt relief by a replacement who is returning to work after time ashore.

Relief personnel will join the ship, whether at home port or deployed, on the first day that the vessel arrives in port. Flights will be arranged whenever possible to ensure that the relief crewperson can appear at the wharf either before or within 4 hours of the ship's arrival. If the ETA is scheduled for a local time after 21:00, relief personnel will be expected to join before noon the next day.
Unless waived by the Master (or, for engine room personnel, the Chief Engineer), the crewperson being relieved still has the responsibility to brief or otherwise provide for an orderly and thorough turn-over of his or her duties to the relief--before departing the ship.
Unless otherwise requested by the disembarking crewperson, return flights will be scheduled for the same day that his or her relief arrives. Ship ETAs in the afternoon or evening may require booking flights on the next day. If the Master or Chief Engineer requires an overlap day for the turnover, either for themselves or other crewmembers, flights will be arranged accordingly.
Any disembarking crewperson who desires to remain at the discharge port beyond his or her relief from duty should inform the Marine Operations Office as soon as practicable before return flights are booked. Upon being relieved, he or she may have to vacate their assigned cabin. On a space-available basis, the disembarking crewperson may occupy an unused scientist cabin for the duration or the port call, at the discretion of the Master. If no space is available and the relieved crewperson desires to remain at the port of discharge beyond the day for which return flights could have been booked, he or she will have to provide for accommodations at his or her own expense. If their return is delayed either because of travel difficulties (airline strikes, booking delays, weather, etc.), or because his or her presence is required by the Master during the port call, appropriate hotel costs will be covered by the ship.

Useful Links

United States Coast Guard - Licensing and Documentation

United States Coast Guard - National Maritime Center Approved Courses

Transportation Security Administration - Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)

Federal Communications Commission - Commercial Radio Operator Licensing

United States Department of State - Passport Applications

Mobile Geographics LLC - Live Tracking: Oceanographic Research Ships

R/V Thomas G Thompson Crew Members