Duties of Seamen

The members of the Deck Department

 Chief Officer/Chief Mate

 Second Officer /Second Mate

 Third officer / Third Mate

 Boatswain

 Able Seaman

 Ordinary Seamen
The members of the Engine Department
 Chief Engineer
 First Assistant Engineer
 Second Assistant Engineer
 Third Assistant Engineer
 Junior Engineer
 Oiler
 Greaser
 Entry-level rating
Deck Engineer, Watertender, Fireman, Wiper , Machinist ,Refrigerating
Engineer, Electrician, Pumpman, Storekeeper
 Master

Chief Officer Chief Engineer

Chief Cook

2nd Officer Radio 1st Engineer

Officer

2nd Cook 3rd Officer 2nd Engineer

The ratings 3rd Engineer

Captain or Master of a merchant vessel is a licensed mariner
in ultimate command of the vessel. He is in charge of
everything and everyone aboard ship. He must know the
reason for every job performed aboard his vessel. The
Master is the agent of the company which owns the ship and
is not a member of the crew. He represents the company in
every operation of the ship under his command. His is the full
responsibility of the ship.
 Chief Mate or Chief Officer is a head of the deck
department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily
a watchstander and is in charge of the ship's cargo and deck
crew. Responsibilities include safety and security of the ship
the crew's welfare and training in areas such as safety,
firefighting, search and rescue.
 Second Mate or Second Officer is the third in command
and a watchkeeping officer, customarily the ship's navigator.
Other duties vary, but the second mate is often the medical
officer and in charge of maintaining distress signaling
equipment. On oil tankers, the Second Mate usually assists the
Chief Mate with the tank-cleaning operations.
 Third Mate or Third Officer is a watchstander and
customarily the ship's safety officer. Duties: responsible for
items such as firefighting equipment, lifeboats, and various
other emergency systems.
Boatswain, bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun is an unlicensed
member of the deck department of a merchant ship.
The boatswain supervises the other unlicensed
members of the ship's deck department, and typically
is not a watchstander.
Able Seaman is an unlicensed member of the deck
department of a merchant ship. An AB may work
as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination
of these roles.
 Ordinary Seaman is generally not required to stand watch,
but must pass examinations on watchstanding skills. His duties
are to clean, to perform maintenance, to work with deck
equipment, and to undergo on-the-job-training under the
supervision of senior deck department members.
Chief Engineer is in charge of the engineering department
on a merchant vessel. Commercially, a Chief Engineer is the
individual with overall responsibility for the engineering
projects undertaken for or by a company.
 First Assistant Engineer is responsible for supervising the
daily maintenance and operation of the engine department:
for the refrigeration systems, main engines (steam/gas turbine,
diesel), and any other equipment not assigned to the Second
Assistant Engineer or the Third Assistant Engineer, he is
typically the busiest engineer aboard the ship.
 Second Assistant Engineer is usually in charge of boilers,
fuel, auxiliary engines, condensate and feed systems, and is the
third most senior marine engineer on board. The exact duties
of this position will often depend upon the type of ship and
arrangement of the engine department.
The Third Assistant Engineer is generally the most junior
marine engineer of the ship, this person is usually responsible
for electrical, sewage treatment, lube oil, bilge, and oily water
separation systems. Depending on usage, he may stand a
watch and assist the Third Mate in maintaining proper
operation of the lifeboats.