Stevedore Resume Examples & Writing Guide

A fictional resume for a longshoreman with twelve years on a container and break bulk terminal. Use it for stevedoring company jobs, terminal operator positions, private port contractors and supervisor applications. Swap the cargo types and the equipment you are actually qualified on.

Stevedore and longshoreman are used almost interchangeably in the US. Strictly, a stevedoring company is the contractor that loads and discharges the ship, and longshoremen are the workers who do it. On a resume, use whichever word the posting uses and describe the work in specifics.

• Loading and discharging vessels: containers, break bulk, bulk, project cargo, vehicles on roll-on and roll-off ships.
• Lashing and unlashing containers on deck with twist locks, rods and turnbuckles, and securing cargo below deck.
• Rigging and signaling for ship-to-shore cranes and mobile harbor cranes.
• Operating yard equipment: hostlers, top handlers, empty handlers, reach stackers, forklifts, and gantry cranes where you are qualified.
• Working to a stow plan and confirming moves in the terminal operating system.
• Checking containers and cargo for damage, seals, reefer temperatures and hazardous placarding.
• Working hatch, deck, yard and gate assignments on rotating day, night and weekend shifts, often at short notice.

A word about how the work is actually assigned. At many US ports, longshore work is dispatched through a union hiring hall or a casual list rather than by applying with a resume. A resume still matters, and often decides the job, for stevedoring contractors, terminal operators, non-union and smaller ports, equipment operator positions, and any supervisor, superintendent or checker role. Write it as if a superintendent is reading, because one will be.

Vessels are billed by the hour and moves per hour is the number the whole terminal lives on. The superintendent reading your resume is asking whether you add moves or slow the gang down.

• TWIC status and expiration. Without it you cannot enter the terminal, so nothing else on the page matters.
• Equipment qualifications, named. Top handler, empty handler, hostler, reach stacker, RTG, ship-to-shore crane. Each one you hold makes you assignable to more gangs.
• Cargo types. Container, break bulk, bulk, ro-ro and project cargo need different skills, and break bulk experience is scarce at container-heavy ports.
• Volume. Moves per shift, containers lashed, tons handled, vessel calls a month. This is how a superintendent sizes you up.
• Safety and reliability. Recordable injuries, equipment damage claims, hours worked and attendance. Docks are dangerous and short-handed gangs cost money.

“List the equipment you are certified on and the cargo you have worked. That is what tells me which gang I can put you in tomorrow. A resume that says "performed general dock duties" is worth nothing to me, because I cannot assign it to anything.”

Three lines. Years and cargo types, equipment qualifications, one volume figure, then TWIC and safety record. Use an objective only if you are new to the docks.

Dock work reads as generic labor unless you name the cargo, the equipment and the volume. Keep the duty and add all three.

If you cannot get exact numbers, use the vessel size, the gang size and the shift pattern. A superintendent can price "deck gang on 8,000 TEU vessels, 12-hour shifts" without any other figure.

This section is an assignment list. Every line should be something a superintendent could send you to do tomorrow.

• Lashing and securing: twist locks, lashing rods, turnbuckles, chain and binder, dunnage and shoring
• Rigging: slings, chokers, shackles, spreader bars, lift plans, hand and radio signals
• Container equipment: top handler, empty handler, reach stacker, yard hostler and bomb cart
• Cranes: RTG or rail-mounted gantry, ship-to-shore, mobile harbor crane, where you hold the qualification
• Forklifts by capacity, and specialized attachments such as coil rams and paper roll clamps
• Cargo types: container, break bulk, bulk, ro-ro, project and heavy lift, refrigerated

• Reading stow plans, bay plans and lift plans
• Terminal operating system entry and move confirmation
• Container damage, seal, reefer and hazardous placard checks
• Longshoring safety rules under 29 CFR Part 1918 and marine terminal rules under Part 1917
• Working at height, confined space awareness and fall protection on deck
• Rotating day, night and weekend shifts, and short-notice call-outs

Say something about weather and hours as a fact, not a boast. "Worked 12-hour deck shifts through a Gulf hurricane season, including night lashing in rain" tells a superintendent exactly what you can take.

Getting on the docks is different from most trades. These are the things that actually decide it.

• TWIC. The Transportation Worker Identification Credential is required for unescorted access to secure port areas. Apply through the Transportation Security Administration and expect a background check. Nothing else matters until you have it.
• Age and physical requirements. Terminals set their own, and most require the ability to lift heavy weights, climb ladders and work at height and at night.
• Union hiring halls. At many US ports, longshore work is dispatched by a union local, often starting on a casual list where you build hours before gaining seniority. Contact the local directly to ask how their registration process works, because it differs port by port.
• Direct employers who do hire on resumes: stevedoring contractors, terminal operating companies, private and non-union ports, cruise terminals, and any checker, clerk, mechanic or superintendent role.
• OSHA training. Longshoring is covered by its own standard, 29 CFR Part 1918, and marine terminals by Part 1917. OSHA 10-Hour Maritime training is worth holding and worth listing.
• Equipment qualifications, which are usually issued by the terminal or employer rather than by a national body. Name the equipment and the year you were signed off.
• Hazardous materials awareness for placarded cargo, plus first aid and CPR.
• A clean driver record if you will move equipment on public roads, and a commercial license where the job requires it.

• One page. Superintendents read fast and usually on a phone.
• Order: name with TWIC and cards, summary, experience, skills and equipment, certifications, education.
• Put your equipment qualifications where they cannot be missed, either in the summary or in a short list high on the page.
• PDF unless the employer asks otherwise. No photo, no date of birth on a US resume.
• Add an availability line: shifts you can take, how quickly you can respond to a call-out, and whether you can work holidays.
• Keep dates honest. Longshore hours are seasonal and vessel-driven, so gaps are normal and easily explained.

Mirror the posting's own words in your bullets:

• Title variants: stevedore, longshoreman, dockworker, cargo handler, port worker, terminal operator, checker.
• Cargo words: container, TEU, break bulk, bulk, ro-ro, project cargo, reefer, heavy lift.
• Equipment words: top handler, empty handler, reach stacker, hostler, bomb cart, RTG, ship-to-shore crane.
• Operations words: stow plan, hatch, lashing, moves per hour, vessel call, gang, gate.
• Compliance words: TWIC, 1918, 1917, IMDG, placard, seal, lift plan.