The Structure of A Ship's Crew

Crew Size and Day to Day Operations

Despite some ships having a length of over 1000 ft, the typical crew for a Cargo Ship or an Oil Tanker is less than 50 people. Therefore, long hours are required and every position serves a critical role in keeping the ship safe and on schedule. We will go through a general description of each position below.

The terms ‘Captain’ or ‘Ship’s Master’ are terms that most people have come across at some point in their life. However, you may be wondering who else works on the ship besides the Captain? Surely the Captain can't do all the work. Nope! that is certainly not the case. When it comes to running a ship, some may say it 'it takes a village'. A modern large merchant ship structure typically has three different departments, known as Deck, Engineering, and Supply.

The Deck and Engineering (aka 'Engine') departments are also subdivided into licensed and unlicensed personnel. For a brief description (a separate article on the credentialing and licensing process for Merchant Mariners will be written), ‘Licensed’ personnel are people who have passed a series of extensive tests issued by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and have been granted a Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC) with an endorsement by the Coast Guard of at least a 3rd Mate or 3rd Assistant Engineer’s license.

A specified amount of days at sea and demonstrated knowledge are both required to be approved to take the tests, and this level of experience is typically arrived at in two different ways:

1. As a ‘Hawespiper’ – a Hawespiper is someone who typically starts from the lowest ranking unlicensed position on a ship, typically an Oiler/Wiper, Ordinary Seaman (OS), or Steward Utility (SU), and gains sufficient knowledge and experience over time to sit and test for the Coast Guard exams described above. Typically, a minimum of 1080 days (yes, around 3 years!) at sea is required to sit for the exam as well as demonstrated knowledge and letters of recommendation from licensed coworkers endorsing the person’s abilities.

2. Through a Maritime Academy – There are 7 primary Maritime Academies in the United States, which are small 4-year universities, usually part of the state university system for whatever state they are located in. These academies are specialized universities whose purpose is to produce Licensed Mariners to operate U.S. Merchant ships Therefore, students who attend these universities are required to sit for and pass the USCG License test for their respective discipline (3rd Mate or 3rd Assistant Engineer) before they are also given their Bachelor’s Degree from their university. The knowledge and experience gained while at the school is accepted by the USCG to satisfy the requirements to sit for the licensing exams discussed above.

Deck Department personnel, starting with the highest ranking, are as follows:

Licensed:

1. Captain (Ship's Master) – The position of Captain carries with it the most responsibility of anybody onboard. The Captain is ultimately responsible for the safety of both the ship and everybody on board. The Captain provides oversight for all departments on the ship and has final authority when it comes to shipboard operations. With that being said, the Captain relies heavily on the Chief Engineer to oversee Engine Department operations an the Captain works together with the Chief Engineer to maintain the ship in good working order.

2. Chief Mate (1st Officer) – The Chief Mate is responsible for day-to-day operations of the Deck Department and is responsible for delegating tasks to both the people standing watch as well as those that aren’t currently on a watch-standing rotation. They are often also the disciplinarian responsible for handling Deck department crew issues and also serve as the Medical officer that treats minor injuries and makes determinations if a crew member is no longer fit-for-duty onboard.

3. 2nd Mate (2nd Officer/Navigator) – The 2nd Mate is responsible for planning ship routes and navigating the ship. Often times the Navigator will also stand one of the Deck department watches as the Licensed Watch Officer and will rotate with two other 3rd Mates to cover the three watch rotations (0000 hrs – 0400 hrs, 0400 hrs – 0800 hrs, 0800 hrs – 1200 hrs). This schedule repeats every 12 hours, so a watch-stander will, for example, work from Midnight-4 AM, then come back again for the Noon-4 PM watch along with the rest of their watch-team.

4. 3rd Mate (3rd Officer) – 3rd Mates, as discussed before, most likely are going to be standing watch on the Bridge. Outside of that, 3rd Mates often are in charge of maintaining various Deck department safety equipment.

Unlicensed:

5. Ship's Boatswain (pronounced 'Bosun' or simply referred to as 'Boats') – The Bosun is the senior unlicensed position in the Deck Department, who is often been around for a long time and has extensive experience. The Bosun typically oversees and works alongside the rest of the unlicensed Deck crew that are not on watch and works closely with the Chief Mate to delegate daily tasks such as maintenance on some deck-side equipment or deck preservation projects, for example. The Bosun is usually someone who has worked his/her way up from an OS or AB position.

6. Able Body Seaman – Also known as an ‘AB’ – AB’s vary in experience and can work in watch-standing or day-working roles. AB’s comprise the majority of the Deck department workers and are used in many different roles.

7. Ordinary Seaman – Also known as an ‘OS’ – OS’s are usually people that do not have much experience on ships and are working their way into the industry. OS’s are there to help out the AB’s and the Bosun with whatever they ask and will gain experience and learn skills over time.

8. Cadet – “Deck Cadets” are students from one of the Maritime Academies discussed above. As part of the curriculum at a maritime academy, students are required to be sent out to ships at certain points during their time at school to gain practical work experience. Therefore, most ships will have Deck Cadets cycle on and off throughout the year. It is tradition to give both Deck and Engineering Cadets the worst, most menial tasks to complete while they’re on board. If they do good at these tasks, crew members are generally more willing to help them out with their studies and pass on skills to them.

Engine Department personnel, starting with the highest ranking, are as follow:

Licensed:

1. Chief Engineer – The Chief Engineer is responsible for all Engineering department personnel, equipment, and safe operation of the vessel with respect to Engineering Equipment. The Chief Engineer works closely with the Captain to ensure the ship maintains it’s schedule and works in coordination with shore-side personnel to schedule maintenance periods and ensure the ship has the fuel, oil, tools, and equipment it needs to stay up and running.

2. 1st Assistant Engineer – In a nutshell, the 1 A/E focuses on stuff internal to the Engine Department so the Chief Engineer can focus on coordinating tasks with the Captain and shore-side entities. The 1 A/E is responsible for day-to-day operation of Engineering equipment and ensuring proper preventative and corrective maintenance tasks get completed. The 1st Assistant Engineer also typically is delegated the responsibility of making sure the ship is ready to move when needed. The process of getting a ship ready to go somewhere can take days depending on the type of ship and requires a lot of preparation.As far as equipment preventative and corrective maintenance, the 1 A/E is also usually responsible for the Main Propulsion, Steering Gear Systems, and whatever other system they may deem necessary to devote their personal attention to.

3. 2nd Assistant Engineer – The 2 A/E’s main responsibilities include maintenance and operation of the Ship’s Fuel Systems , the Boiler (if there is one), and all the associated systems and tasks that go along with those two systems. The 2 A/E also works with the Chief Engineer during Bunkering operations (transferring fuel onto the ship) and fuel transfer operations.

4. 3rd Assistant Engineer – 3 A/E’s are typically in charge of the sewage system (hence the name Turd Third), Compressed Air Systems, Water Generation systems, Lube Oil systems, Oily Waste Systems, Electrical Generators, and maintaining clean bilges (the bottom of the engine room where oil and water can accumulate). Often times, if there is no designated person to be the Ship’s Electrician, a 3rd Assistant Engineer will fill this role as well.

Unlicensed:

5. Skilled Unlicensed -(In many instances, one of the 3rd Engineers will fill these positions) – The Engine Department may have additional personnel skilled in a particular discipline such as an Electrician, a Refrigeration Technician…etc. If this is the case, this person will take care of most of the maintenance or repair that pertains to their discipline.

6. Engine Utility – The EU is a person who typically has some prior experience on ships as a member of the engine department. EU’s typically help out the Licensed Engineers around the engine room or are given specific tasks of their own to complete. Some EU’s have a ton of experience and could very well be Licensed Engineers, but choose not to for their own reasons.

7. Wiper/Oiler – Wipers’ and Oilers’ daily responsibilities are to maintain a clean engine room first and foremost. They often also assist other members of the engine department when completing tasks as there are many tasks onboard a ship that require more than 1 person.

8. Cadet – Engineering Cadets are the same as Deck Cadets in that they come from one of the academies to get hands-on experience onboard a ship while they’re in school as a requirement for their graduation.

Supply Department personnel, starting with the highest ranking, are as follow:

1. Supply Officer (If there is one) – The Supply Officer (usually known as ‘Suppo’) is responsible for maintaining inventory of food stores, parts, and equipment the ship needs to stay running. The Suppo works closely with the Captain and Chief Engineer to order and keep track of required items, and plan for the future regarding the ship’s needs.

2. Chief Steward/Cook – The ‘Chief Stew’ is responsible for taking care of meal planning, preparation, and meal service onboard the ship. These people and the cooks work long and difficult hours to make sure that there is food prepared for all personnel at every meal.

3. Cook/Steward Utility – The Cooks are responsible for, you guessed it, cooking the food. There are usually 1-3 cooks on board depending on how big the crew is. The Steward Utilities are helping hands for the Chief Steward and help both with meal preparation as well as ship’s laundry and turning over rooms for new crew members that come onboard.

Recap

Above is a basic overview of how a ship’s crew is structured. A few other important items to note is that crew members are generally onboard anywhere from 2 weeks to 4 months at a time, and sometimes longer! There is constant rotation between crew members coming and going as a result. Take note also that all members of every department help each other out with the different responsibilities whenever possible, because there is a LOT of work that must be done on a daily basis. Crew members typically are given the ability to transfer between disciplines if they go through the process to get the training they need and obtain the correct ‘endorsements’ on their Merchant Mariner Credential. There are many different types of ships, that are under the control of many different organizations. Crew sizes and schedules vary accordingly, but the description above is generally what will be found on any ship!