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The Team

Chief Mate – John Souza
Chief Mate – John Souza

Weekly Wildlife

Week 1
6 July 2006

Chief Mate – John Souza

John is from San Diego, California and comes from a family that has traditionally worked the seas. He comes from a Portuguese family that was involved in the tuna fishing industry; his father was a captain.

By the time that John was ready to enter the job market, the tuna fishing had collapsed (around the early 1990’s). He knew that he wanted to work on the ocean so he signed on a research ship at the entry level – ordinary seaman. The ordinary seaman does jobs such as painting and other maintenance as well as swabbing the deck. The next step up was to become an AB seaman, which required passing a Coast Guard exam.

From there, John continued to study and qualify for positions of higher responsibility. After 1.5 years of being an AB seaman, he became a 3rd mate bridge officer. This officer does chart corrections and also handles the bridge watch some of the time.

As a 2nd mate he was qualified to be captain of a 1600 ton vessel which he did for a time in the Gulf of Mexico.

Currently as chief mate, in addition to bridge watch, he is the “point person” to make sure that whatever needs to get done on the ship is handled properly by the correct personnel.

John works 8 months of the year on research vessels. The areas he enjoys sailing in include Antarctica, especially in the summer, and also the tropics.

 

http://photolibrary.usap.gov/Portscripts/PortWeb.dll?query&field1=Filename&op1=matches&value=ADELIE9.JPG&catalog=Antarctica&template=USAPgovMidThumbs
The research vessel NATHANIEL B. PALMER makes it way through the Ross Sea's annual sea ice.
Photograph by: Patrick Rowe
National Science Foundation
Adelie penguin.
Link Link
 Photograph by: Patrick Rowe
National Science Foundation
The research vessel NATHANIEL B. PALMER makes it way through the Ross Sea's annual sea ice.
Link Link
NSF program manager and team for Antarctic Earth Sciences Expedition (April 2006) meets with Chief Mate John Souza.
NSF program manager and team for Antarctic Earth Sciences Expedition (April 2006) meets with Chief Mate John Souza.
Link Link

 

Extension exercise: If you are interested in jobs at sea, look for resources that will give you information on what qualifications are needed, how you can become trained, and what the pay ranges are. If you have always enjoyed being on the ocean, perhaps you should consider a job at sea.



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NSF Office of Polar Programs, Antarctic Sciences Section
This special report was made possible by the NSF Office of Polar Programs, Antarctic Sciences Section, Award Nos. ANT04-44134 University of California-San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography (B. Gregory Mitchell, Farooq Azam, Katherine Barbeau, Sarah T. Gille, Osmund Holm-Hansen); ANT04-43403 University of Hawaii (Christopher I. Measures, Karen E. Selph); ANT04-44040 University of Massachusetts Boston (Meng Zhou); ANT04-43869 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (Matthew A. Charette),  for the study entitled "Collaborative Research: Plankton Community Structure and Iron Distribution in the Southern Drake Passage".