Wendy Karnes, Dispatcher MM&P hall, LA Port. Brittany Pinzon, applicant and 3rd Mate
In the two MM&P halls that I have spent time walls not needed for the job listings have pictures and photos of ships.
One day after job-call in the L.A. hall I casually asked Wendy Karnes, Dispatcher MM&P hall, LA Port, and Brittany Pinzon, applicant and 3rd Mate, the two people still there why that was.
My edited conversation with Wendy Karnes, Dispatcher at the L.A. Port MM&P hall, and Brittany Pinon, MM&P applicant follows.
L-R: Wendy Karnes, LA Port MM&P hall Dispatcher and Brittany Pinzon, MM&P applicant and 3rd Mate
MM&P Los Angeles Port Hiring Hall. 12 March 2026
“We have ships on our wall, kind of like you would have pictures of your family on your walls at home.”
Robert Gumpert: All the halls are covered with photos of ships. Why pictures of ships?
Wendy: I think that mariners over the years become very attached to their ship. It becomes their home. Especially if they're on a ship and they've had good camaraderie, and they've had a good experience. It's almost like driving by an old house and you look and go, “Oh, I remember we used to play in that front yard.” We feel the same way - I remember being on that particular ship. Being in that house (the structure housing the crew quarters and topped by the bridge) and being with those people. So it brings back a lot of memories. And we have ships on our wall, kind of like you would have pictures of your family on your walls at home. So, I would say that that's why, it brings back fond memories for most people.
Brittany: Yeah, and these ships aren't even in service anymore, so I feel like that kind of adds to it. It's not going to be around forever so you take pictures.
I was on a reflag* for the President Kennedy - so it re-flagged into, I don't know, a foreign flag? - We took a bunch of drone footage pictures from that ship. It was the crew being like, we have time, we're floating (here). We’re just drifting, waiting for our time to be in port, and the Chief Mate had a drone, and we just flew it. We were taking all these really cool pictures because it was the ship's last voyage as a U.S. flagship.
I think that people take a lot of pride in the fact that it was a U.S. flagship. And we wanted to document the moment. I actually just told Wendy that I should have that picture framed and put up in the hall because it's no longer in service. It does add to it that there's some ships that are no longer in service, that people have been on.
I will also say sometimes you get on ships and you have a terrible time, but the terrible time makes it more memorable. You feel some kind of feeling towards that ship. My old ships that I was on, a lot of times they broke down. We were dragged to anchor by tugs. Obviously in the moment, not that great a time. But even though it wasn't that great of a time, it was also like the best time afterwards. You have that memory of when that engine crapped out and we had to get dragged somewhere. And whether it was stressful at the time or not, we remember it pretty fondly. You attach that to the ship, and you get attached to everything about that ship specifically.
Wendy: You said something interesting. You said even though it was a terrible and difficult time, it's an experience of growth. So you get to grow from that experience, especially being a young person. You grow as an individual. You look back and think that was a terrible time, and man, did I grow, did I learn from that!
(And speaking of memories), one other thing, mariners especially are very big on ship memorabilia. I am telling you everybody who comes in here is wearing a t-shirt that says the “MV Mokihana”, the “President Wilson” … And we gift each other shirts, t-shirts, sweatshirts, beanies, cups. Old ships - we did ashtrays. We did everything. And if a ship goes out of service, mariners take everything. They keep it at home, and cherish it for years and years to come. So we're very big on that, especially this t-shirt thing. It's big.
Brittany: I have so many stories, and I have so much ship stuff. I've only been on four ships and I have so much stuff. And the flag-out that I was talking about, it was not a ship anymore. We took everything. All the shirts that we had, even if they were triple XL, I have them at home. I still wear them. I don't care.
I have ship t-shirts and sweatshirts that I'll show people and be like this is a new one. Or different designs and everything. One ship I was on, we had the Stanley mugs. Every single one of the officers bought one. We had them lined up on the shelf for our coffee in the morning, Second Mate, Third Mate, the other Third Mate - we all had our own mug, and had it under our own plaques. I don't know why it was such a big thing to me, but I have pictures of it in my phone. I was like, “look we all got the ship coffee mug that we used.”
I think I've gotten a shirt from every ship that I've been on except for the one that I was only on for ten days.
Wendy: Do you gift t-shirts to other people? ‘Cos it's a thing. My son, who's 13, wears a ship shirt every day to school. His friends think it's hilarious because he's been gifted all of these from different members.
Brittany: That's funny. Even when I was a cadet, I gave my parents stuff from the ship. And now my dad still wears the shirt from the Kennedy. My sister got one, my mom got one, my dad got one. And my friends, even if they're not on the ship, want me to get the shirt from the ship to give to them. They need that ship shirt.
I also feel it's an opening to talk about the experiences that you had on there. So, if you had a harrowing experience, or something that was super, or memorable, or something weird… Any story you have, there you go. Did you see my shirt? It's proof. I was on this ship, and this thing happened. You get to tell your story all over again. So that might be part of it too. We just like to talk. We like the stories.
Wendy: Yes, and we like to showboat a little bit. So they're like, oh you're wearing that President Wilson shirt. You ever been on there? And someone would say, oh no, it was a gift from so-and-so. (And then), “Oh, I remember I was on there”, and then there goes the sea story.
Brittany: And then that kind of connects to what we were saying that everybody knows everybody. It's true because you either know them, or you know them from a story that somebody had told you. We just say these stories all the time.
It's like I might not have been on that ship, but this person was. “You know that person? I know that person. I sailed with that person.” That goes towards the interconnectedness of it all, with the members and the stories, and the ships, and the shirts, and the mugs - all of it.
I think coming back to the MM&P hall, I think that's part of it too. You come back to the hall, you know somebody's gonna be there that's been on that ship.
Wendy: Yeah, it's prideful. We're proud of it.
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Wendy Karnes, Dispatcher MM&P hall, LA Port
Brittany Pinzon, applicant and 3rd Mate
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Photos: Robert Gumpert
Transcription: Michele Colyer
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*Reflagged ship has changed its registration from one nation to another. Reasons can very, but include: to evade sanctions, reduce taxes, or circumvent labor regulations.