Marine Technician 2 Positions Employed with FHL Marine Operations:
Policy regarding Work on non-UW Vessels

May 27, 2026

Background

Historically, a number of hourly Marine Technician 2 (MT2) positions were created in the FHL Marine Operations Sup Org to fill the need for tenders on FHL motorboats being hired out by researchers. The tenders are paid from the Small Boats service center, their work hours billed to the researcher (or their grant) together with small boat rental hours. These hourly MT2s have come to take on other tasks (e.g. diving and collecting), with FHL admin tracking and billing work hours unrelated to vessel hours. In some cases, MT2s have even logged hours on non-FHL vessels, which is problematic in that 1) FHL is hiring out its Marine Ops staff to facilitate use of vessels that take business away from the FHL Small Boats center; and 2) FHL employees are conducting work on vessels that may not operate in compliance with UW and FHL boating safety and insurance requirements.  

Policy 

Positions in the FHL Marine Operations Sup Org may work on vessels only if those vessels are owned by the University of Washington. An exception is made for non-tending work (e.g. diving) on vessels owned by organizational partners and permitted by FHL to operate under University auspices; in this case, the employee must obtain written permission from the FHL Director before working on the vessel.