Naturalist

Safety Sensitive Vessel Crew Position

The primary responsibility of this position is to support the safe operation of the vessel and the safety of its passengers and crew under the Captain’s direction. This is a safety-sensitive vessel crew role with assigned operational and emergency-response duties. These responsibilities take precedence over all other duties, including tour narration, education, hospitality, retail, and guest service. This precedence is operational, not merely nominal. The employee is expected to interrupt or end a narration, a sale, or a guest interaction at any time in order to stand lookout, respond to a safety concern, take up an assigned emergency station, or carry out the Captain’s instructions.

The employee serves under the Captain’s operational authority and must perform the safety duties assigned for the vessel. Applicable USCG requirements include 46 CFR Part 16, 46 CFR Part 4, Subpart 4.06, and 33 CFR Part 95. Random drug-testing coverage is based on assigned duties under 46 CFR 16.230, including required crew functions and emergency passenger assistance or control.

Where the assigned vessel’s Certificate of Inspection requires this position as part of the vessel’s minimum crew complement, the vessel may not lawfully carry passengers unless the position is filled and the employee is aboard. Human Resources and Port Operations will confirm the manning requirement and the emergency station assignment for the assigned vessel before the employee serves in the position.

This is a vessel-based crew position whose duties contribute to the vessel’s operation and mission and involve regular exposure to marine hazards. For employees with a substantial employment connection, in both duration and nature, to a vessel in navigation or an identifiable fleet, the Jones Act (46 U.S.C. 30104) and applicable general maritime law govern seaman injury rights and remedies. Seaman status under any statute is determined by the duties an employee actually performs. This position is designed, assigned, and supervised so that the duties described in this document are in fact performed, and the employee is expected to perform them. Status under the Jones Act and the general maritime law is determined separately from classification under wage and hour law; the two tests are not the same. Nothing in this description waives applicable rights, including maintenance and cure where legally available.

Summary

The primary responsibility of this position is to support the safe operation of the vessel and the safety of its passengers and crew under the Captain’s direction. The Naturalist performs assigned passenger safety and emergency-response duties, delivers safety briefings, assists with safe boarding and disembarking, and handles lines within training and authorization. When safety and operational needs are met, the Naturalist provides engaging education on Southeast Alaska’s human and natural history, flora, fauna, glaciology, and climate, and supports vessel cleanliness, retail, and food service.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Safety and emergency assignments: Perform assigned passenger warning, mustering, assembly, assistance, evacuation, and movement control during emergencies. Learn the vessel’s emergency station assignments and participate in required drills before serving in the assigned capacity.
• Safety readiness: Complete vessel-specific orientation and required drills; know the location and use of lifesaving, firefighting, communication, and emergency equipment within training and authorization. Follow the vessel’s Certificate of Inspection, where applicable, and the Captain’s safety instructions.
• Fitness for duty: Report fit, alert, and unimpaired. Promptly report fatigue, impairment, unsafe conditions, injuries, and incidents to the Captain or supervisor; stop the affected task when unsafe. Report any medication-related restriction affecting safe work through HR or the designated medical process without disclosing unnecessary medical details to supervisors.

Vessel Operations & Safety

• Passenger Safety and Emergency Control: Direct safe boarding and disembarking and perform assigned passenger warning, mustering, assembly, assistance, evacuation, and movement control during emergencies under the Captain’s direction.
• Safety Briefings: Deliver required passenger safety orientations at the time required for the vessel and operation, using the Captain-approved procedures. Explain lifesaving equipment, emergency signals, and passenger actions; confirm understanding and promptly report concerns.
• Seamanship & Line Handling: Execute line handling, assist with the docking and undocking of the vessel, and manage mooring protocols with cruise ships as requested by the Captain. Perform these tasks only after vessel-specific training and within the Captain’s instructions and authorization.
• Lookout and Watch: Stand lookout on the weather decks while the vessel is underway. Maintain a proper visual and audible watch and promptly report wildlife sightings, vessel traffic, ice, debris, navigational hazards, weather changes, and any unsafe condition to the Captain.
• Passenger Accountability: Conduct and reconcile passenger head counts against the manifest for vessel stability and Certificate of Inspection compliance, and report the count to the Captain.

Tour Narrative & Education

• Narrative Planning: Develop a dynamic, customized tour narrative plan with the Captain for each voyage, factoring in time constraints, weather, recent wildlife sightings, tides, and seasons.
• Public Speaking & Commentary: Deliver creative and educational commentary using the vessel’s PA system, speaking authoritatively on Southeast Alaska's ecology, history, and climate.
• Guest Engagement: Actively interact with up to 150 passengers on tour, answering questions, providing world-class customer service, and creating an inclusive learning environment.

Galley Support & Facilities Maintenance

• Galley & Hospitality Assistance: When safety and operational duties are met, and as directed by the Captain, assist Guest Services crew with the service and sale of snacks, food, beverages, and retail items. This assistance is secondary to the duties described above and is performed under the Captain’s direction.
• Vessel Upkeep: Work collaboratively with the crew to maintain premium vessel appearance, cleanliness, safety, and sanitation across the cabins, galley, heads, decks, and voids.
• Till Reconciliation: On vessels without assigned Guest Services crew, count and reconcile the point-of-sale till at the close of the day and present it to the Captain, who performs the final count. This is an incidental task performed at the Captain’s direction.
• Other Vessel-Related Duties: Perform other vessel-related duties as assigned by the Captain.

Drug and Alcohol Compliance and Fitness for Duty

Complete the company-required pre-employment drug test and receive a verified negative result before performing covered vessel duties; HR may accept a documented regulatory exception under 46 CFR 16.210(b) only if authorized by company policy. Participate in unannounced random drug testing, reasonable-cause drug testing, and required drug and alcohol testing following a serious marine incident, as applicable under 46 CFR Part 16 and Part 4, Subpart 4.06. Federal drug testing follows 49 CFR Part 40. Any additional company testing is administered separately under company policy and applicable law.

Do not use alcohol or intoxicants while on duty or work while impaired. On inspected vessels, do not perform scheduled duties within four hours after consuming alcohol, as required by 33 CFR 95.045; stricter company rules also apply. A verified positive drug test or refusal requires removal from covered duties as applicable; return requires all applicable USCG/DOT and company conditions. Regulatory eligibility to return does not guarantee reinstatement.

Promptly notify HR of any expiration, suspension, restriction, or loss of a credential required for the assignment, and comply with reporting obligations in applicable company policies. Maintain required credentials and vessel-specific qualifications; do not perform duties outside their scope.

Overtime Classification and Time Allocation

This position is classified as exempt from the overtime requirements of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and the Alaska Wage and Hour Act because the employee is “employed as a seaman.” 29 U.S.C. § 213(b)(6); AS 23.10.060(d)(8). The exemption applies to overtime only. It does not affect minimum wage, recordkeeping, or any other requirement of either Act.

The classification is applied workweek by workweek. In any workweek in which the employee spends more than 20 percent of hours worked on duties that do not aid the operation of the vessel as a means of transportation — including any pre-season or post-season workweek devoted primarily to shoreside training, office work, vessel maintenance, or lay-up — the employee will be treated as non-exempt for that workweek and paid overtime accordingly.

In an ordinary operating-season workweek, the employee is expected to devote not less than 80 percent of hours worked to vessel operation, passenger safety, and emergency readiness duties. Narration, education, retail, and food service are secondary and are expected to occupy not more than 20 percent of hours worked.