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A chief mate ( C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and 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. Chief Mate Requirements The actual title used will vary by ship's employment, by type of ship, by nationality, and by trade: for instance, chief mate is not usually used in the Commonwealth, although chief officer and first mate are; on passenger ships, the first officer may be a separate position from that of the chief officer that is junior to the latter.
The chief mate answers to the Sea captain for the safety and security of the ship. Responsibilities include the crew's welfare and training in areas such as safety, firefighting, search and rescue.
The mate on a fishing vessel may be called the second hand.
Even under the best of conditions, a ship is balanced precariously upon the water and is subject to a number of forces, such as wind, swells, and storms, which could capsize it. The cargo officer uses tools like Sailing ballast and load balancing to optimize the ship's performance for the expected type of environment.
IMO regulations require the officer be fluent in English. This is required for a number of reasons, such as ability to use and nautical publications, to understand weather and safety messages, communicate with other ships and coast stations, and to be able to work with a multi-lingual crew.
The officer must also be able to transmit and receive signals by Morse code light and to use the International Code of Signals.
Safety demands the mate be able to quickly solve steering control problems and to calibrate the system for optimum performance. Since Compass and show the course to steer, the officer must be able to determine and correct for compass errors.
meteorology's profound effect on ships requires the officer be able to interpret and apply meteorological information from all available sources. This requires expertise in weather systems, reporting procedures and recording systems.
The main purpose for Radar and Automatic Radar Plotting Aids (ARPA) on a ship's bridge is to move safely among other vessels. These instruments help to accurately judge information about prominent objects in the vicinity, such as:
These factors help the officer apply the COLREGS to safely maneuver in the vicinity of obstructions and other ships.
Unfortunately, radar has a number of limitations, and ARPA inherits those limitations and adds a number of its own. Factors such as rain, high seas, and dense clouds can prevent radar from detecting other vessels. Further, dense traffic and course and speed changes can confuse ARPA units. Finally, human errors such as inaccurate speed inputs and confusion between true and relative vectors add to the limitations of the radar/ARPA suite.
Under the best conditions, the radar operator must be able to optimize system settings and detect divergences between an ARPA system and actual conditions. Information obtained from radar and ARPA must be treated with scrutiny: over reliance on these systems has sunk ships. The officer must understand system performance, limitations and accuracy, tracking capabilities and limitations, and processing delays, and the use of operational warnings and system tests.
The Chief Mate is in charge of the firefighting and damage control teams. He is scene leader and reports via radio to the Captain who is in command and coordinates the larger response from the bridge.
The officer must understand and know the IMO Merchant Ship Search and Rescue Manual.
An officer must be expert in the use of survival craft and Rescue craft. Expertise includes the vessels' launching appliances and arrangements, and their equipment including radio life-saving appliances, satellite EPIRBs, SARTs, and thermal protective aids. It's important to be expert in the techniques for survival at sea techniques in case it's necessary to abandon ship.
Officers are trained to perform medical tasks, and follow instructions given by radio or obtained from guides. This training includes what to do in case of common shipboard accidents and illnesses.
There are two methods to attain an unlimited third mate's license in the United States: to attend a specialized training institution, or to accumulate "sea time" and take a series of training classes and examinations.
Training institutions that can lead to a third mate's license include the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (deck curriculum), the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and U.S. Naval Academy with qualification as an underway officer in charge of a navigational watch, any of the state maritime colleges, the Great Lakes Maritime Academy, or a three-year apprentice mate training program approved by the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.
A seaman may start the process of attaining a license after three years of service in the deck department on ocean steam or motor vessels, at least six months of which as able seaman, boatswain, or quartermaster. Then the seaman takes required training courses, and completes on-board assessments. Finally, the mariner can apply to the United States Coast Guard for a Third Mate's license.
A master of 1,600 ton vessels can, under certain circumstances, begin the application process for an unlimited third mate's license.
If approved the applicant must then successfully pass a comprehensive license examination before being issued the license. Hawsepiper is an informal maritime industry term used to refer to an officer who began his or her career as an unlicensed merchant seaman and did not attend a traditional maritime college/academy to earn the officer license.
A ship's hawsepipe is the pipe passing through the bow section of a ship that the anchor chain passes through. Hawsepiper refers to climbing up the hawsepipe, a nautical metaphor for climbing up the ship's rank structure. Hawsepiper is considered a positive term when said respectfully. Many hawsepipers are proud of their background and use the term to describe themselves.
Several merchant seamen's unions offer their membership the required training for career advancement. Similarly, some employers offer financial assistance to pay for the training for their employees. Otherwise, the mariner is responsible for the cost of the required training.
Since the requirements of STCW '95 have been enacted, there have been complaints that the hawsepiper progression path has been made too difficult because of the cost in time and money to meet formal classroom training requirements. These critics assert that the newer requirements will eventually lead to a shortage of qualified mariners, especially in places like the United States.
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