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Join Merchant Navy (Duties of Deck Officers in Merchant Navy)
The Deck Department in merchant navy is a white collared job. we start our carrier as a cadet and can become the master(captain) of the ship. the deck officers are responsible for the navigation of the ship, the loading/discharging of cargo, radio communication and the control/safety of the crew and the passengers.
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Career Path as a Deck Officer
To become the captain of a ship, you should have a degree in Nautical Science (B Sc Nautical Science) or diploma in Nautical Science (DNS) from any institute recognized by the Director General of shipping (DG Shipping), India. To know about the institutes offering this course you can search in the official site of DG Shipping (www.dgshipping.com). On successful completion of this 3 year pre-sea training (B Sc Nautical Science) in the college, the candidates are eligible to become nautical deck cadets on board a ship. They will have to obtain a 12 months sea experience as a trainee cadet officer. On completion of the 12 months sea experience and passing the orals and exams conducted by MMD India, they will be promoted as Second Officer. The Second Officer on board earns a starting monthly salary of 3000 USD. With further sea service and examination, they will be promoted to the post of Chief Officer who earns a monthly salary of 5000 USD. Again after further sea going experience, completing required standard courses and passing the orals and examination, they will be promoted to the post as the Captain of a ship. He is also referred as the Master of the ship and incharge of all the activities taking place in a ship.
As a Deck Officer on Board the Ship
A Deck Officer onboard a ship needs to function in the self-contained environment of a ship at sea and must also demonstrate additional skills such as fire fighting and damage control, boat handling and the ability to carry out rescue operations in an emergency. Further, ships are required to remain in operation 24 hour a day, 365 days a year. All this make the deck officer's job extremely challenging and demanding. They are responsible for the navigation of the ship, the loading/discharging of cargo, radio communication and the control/safety of the crew and the passengers. Due to the global nature of the shipping industry, to be eligible for employment on board ships, deck officers must be trained in conformity with the requirements of the International Maritime Organization and certified by a recognized authority with respect to competency level. In India, the Directorate General of Shipping approves maritime training institutions and their curricula. The same authority also administers examinations to evaluate competency and issues appropriate Certificates of Competency. The general level of training imparted to Indian officer candidates and the standards maintained in evaluation are globally recognized and this ensures the worldwide acceptability of the Indian officers.
Ship Board Organization in Deck Department (Officers)
Master
The Master is in overall command of a Merchant navy ship and is responsible for the safety, efficiency and commercial feasibility of his ship. His duties are navigational at sea. While in ports he is responsible for cargo operations. He maintains orderliness and discipline in the ship. He ensures safety of passengers, crew and the cargo and assigns organizational duties for ship's operation, navigation and maintenance of the ship. He acts as the ship owner's representative with all outside parties. He implements the company's policies for operations and safety and the commercial instructions that may be given by the owners time to time. He is also the legal head of the ship.
Chief Officer
The Chief Officer comes after the Master in deck department; that is he is the second in command on the ship and the head of the deck department. He is the executive officer of the deck department. He assists in navigation and is in charge of all maintenance, cargo loading and discharge. He keeps watch at sea from 0400 to 0800 hours and from 1600 to 2000 hours. The chief officer has three important functions. Firstly he is responsible for maintenance of hull, machinery and equipment coming under deck department. The chief officer may seek the assistance of the engine department if required. He is responsible to check whether the safe working practices are followed on board and fostering the safety culture trough drills, exercises, training etc. and he is responsible for planning, loading, securing and discharging cargo carried by the ship. He is also given the duty as ship security officer in most of the ships.
Second officer
The Second Officer comes after the Chief Officer. He keeps watch from 1200 to 1600 hours and from 0200 to 0400 hours. He also keeps a deck watch in ports. He is in charge of navigation and medical care and works under the order of Master and Chief Officer. He plane the voyage, ensures all navigational publications are in order, charts are corrected, navigational equipments such as Radars, Gyro compass, echo sounding devices are well maintained and are operational. He also acts as the radio communication officer as required by the Master.
Third Officer
The Third Officer comes after the Second Officer. He keeps watch from 0800 to 1200 and from 2000 to 0000 hours. He is responsible for cargo supervision in ports. He acts as a signal officer in charge of all signaling equipment. He looks after the maintenance of the life saving appliances and fire fighting equipments under the instructions of Chief Officer. He may also acts as the radio communication officer if required by the master.
Cadets
Trainees are referred as cadets in deck department. They are given the duty of watch keeping under the supervision of an officer and perform any work on deck or elsewhere connected with maintenance, record keeping, checking and maintenance of deck stores and all work connected with cargo, ballasting/deballasting and also includes daily sounding of all tanks and reporting the result to Chief Officer.
Institutes offering B. Sc Nautical Studies
You can see the names of all the institutes providing B.Sc Nautical Science approved by the DG Shipping of India from the official web site of DG Shipping, India.
www.dgshipping.com
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