CAREER PROGRESSION OF A MARINE ENGINEER ONBOARD A SHIP

Between a Chief Engineer’s rank and that of cadet or Engine room Rating lies a lot of challenges, courses, professional examinations, experiences and profile structuring. It would take a cadet between Six (6) – Ten (10) years to reach the rank of a Chief Engineer. This is because of the numerous examinations, certificates and the required experiences needed.

The various stages too be passed before becoming a Chief Engineer includes(ascending order):

1. Engine Room Ratings:Engine room ratings also known as Marine engineering Assistants (MEA) includes welders, motorman, oilers, fitters and so on. They assist the officers in the daily activities like chipping, painting, lifting, cleaning jobs and so on. The MEA after 36 Months (3years) of seas time experience may be deemed eligible by the Shipping Master to undergo the Class III OOW Certificate of competency. The rating now becomes a competent watch keeping officer after he/she may have passed, and can so be referred to as a Third Engineer.
2. Engine Cadet: The engine cadet stage is a trainee officer role. This is the first stage after the College phase and it serves as the beginning of the sea phase. The engine cadet is under the direct supervision of the second engineer who ensures the cadet is given the required shipboard training as required for his/her Class III Certificate of Competency Examination. The duration of the training exercise is Twelve months (12) sea time experience for B.Sc./HND holders and Eighteen (18) months for ND holders. He/she becomes a qualified watch keeping Engineer after passing the COC examination.
3. Fourth (4th) Engineer: The fourth engineer is the stage immediately after the COC examination where the seafarer becomes a competent watch keeping engineer. The fourth engineer role is mostly practiced on tanker vessels. The duration of this stage varies and depends on the company in which the sailor is employed. It usually last between Six (6) – Twelve (12) months.
4. Third (3rd) Engineer: The third engineer is a competent watch keeper whose duties ranges from executing planned maintenance to updating records. The third engineer stage usually last for a minimum of Twelve (12) months. Although, it’s the sole decision of the seafarer. After this stage, the seafarer must undergo and pass the Class II Certificate of Competency Examination in order to advance to the next stage.
5. Second (2nd) Engineer: The second engineer is directly responsible to the chief engineer and carries out duties ranging from maintenance of the emergency plants and equipment to supervision of machinery in the engine room. The second engineer is responsible for all other watch keepers in the engine room and must ensure they carry out their duties diligently and effectively. This stage last for a minimum period of Twelve (12) months but can be extended by the seafarer to his/her own convenience. Experience is essential to master the sea trade. The second engineer can then proceed to get his/her Class I COC Examinations after which if passed, he/she becomes a chief engineer.

Chief Engineer: The chief engineer is in charge of the engineering department in a ship. He or she is responsible for all machinery and plants onboard. Hence, he directs his subordinates in accordance to the ship’s planned maintenance in order to ensure effective and smooth running of the ship’s machinery space. The chief engineer after further certification may decide to become a Technical Superintendent for a company’s fleet or a marine surveyor for a Classification Society.https://www.facebook.com/Echo-Sailor-106341827731508/

As earlier stated, the journey to being a Chief Engineer is not free from huddles. Free your mind from all distractions and set your eyes on the prize, this will make the journey a lot less stressful and would make it a worthwhile one.http://Instagram.com/echosailor1