Proof of sea time

[geezer09]

Arghh!

I am trying to upgrade to my 2nd class engineer ticket. Im at the last stretch and have to do the motor & general engineering exam plus orals. I have more than enough sea time and have only ever worked within the country. I submitted my EXN-2 (or is it EXN-3, cant remember right now) with over 50 filled out engineer department sea
time testimonials signed my the master plus another form filled by management at my company stating how long I have been working there plus how many hours on the boats and my position. Now the examiner ( the vancouver office one) is asking me to send him copies of the ship’s log for every single day i am claiming sea time for. That means taking over 500 photos of pages scattered in dozens of books i don’t even know that I have access to.

I have never heard of this before and I am getting the impression he is deliberately putting sticks in my wheels, perhaps because of the new MPRs fast approaching?

Anyways, has anybody every heard of this requirement for proving sea time? What are my options here if I can’t get access to those logs?

[The Dieselduck]

In my experience, the standard practice around the world, is to have a company, on their letter head, confirm your seatime - that EXN sheet is a joke to begin with. Discharge book should be the law, but they dont recognize that anymore either. Seems the best way to document seatime in Canada is with the sea time testimonial, which is fine, except if your working on ferries and or changing ships allot - so I do one for annually and have the company check and sign.

Obviously, this feels like petty tyranny, especially while they don't bat an eye at issuing CoR for states like Panama. Makes me shake my head.

On the bright side, most logbooks are still on the vessel, as they usually required to be - and well, the MPR's "have been coming" for the last ten years - and still not here - just a bunch of contortionist exercises to please the few politically connected shipowners in the great lakes area.