There are considerable differences between the organisation of naval and merchant ships and yet there are also basic similarities. In this module we will be looking at the merchant navy structure.

The master of a ship is usually referred to as the captain which is usually the rank of the officer appointed in that post on a large vessel. On a warship he is referred to as the officer commanding and the rank of the incumbent could vary from sub lieutenant to captain depending on the size of the vessel, ie a frigate’s OC would be a Commander (three stripes), a corvette’s OC would be a Lieutenant Commander (two and a half stripes), a minesweeper/hunter would have a Lieutenant (two stripes) as OC. A full (four stripe) Captain would be the OC of a major war vessel, ie an aircraft carrier. The squadron leader of a squadron of frigates could be a Captain.

The master is tasked with the overall command of the vessel and, unlike politicians, he is held solely responsible and accountable for the functioning and safety of his command. To assist him in exercising his responsibilities the vessel is divided up into a number of departments each with an officer in charge who is directly responsible to him for the functioning of their departments. They are:

• Deck/navigation department.
• Engineering department.
• The catering department.

Deck/navigation. The deck department is headed by the chief officer who is also the second-in- command of the ship. It should be noted that the line of command runs through the deck department. All the deck officers are responsible to the master through the chief officer. In effect, the chief officer runs the day to day operation of the vessel. He is also responsible for the discipline aboard the ship. Reporting to him is the bosun who is the senior rating onboard. The bosun is in charge of the ratings serving onboard and is their link with the officers. The deck department is responsible for the navigation of the vessel as well as the loading and discharging of cargo, the maintenance of the equipment and fittings used by the deck department and the safety of the vessel in general.

Engineering. The engineering department is headed by the chief engineer who is responsible for the maintenance and operation of all mechanical and electrical machinery and systems carried onboard. He has a number of junior engineers and engineering ratings to assist him with his responsibilities. Basically his department is split into two sub-departments namely mechanical and electrical.

Catering department. Depending on the size of the vessel this department would normally be headed by the “purser” or chief catering officer. This department is responsible for all catering onboard the vessel.