All shipboard machinery are usually maintained by the marine engineer except for radio equipment/Navigational Aids. Although, different companies have different policies. Most modern day vessels require the addition of Electrical engineers but if such provisions are not made, the electrical equipment will be maintained by the marine engineer.
Marine Engineering is a branch of Engineering that deals with the design, repair, building and maintenance of vessels.
A Marine Engineer is a trained personnel who is in charge of the design, building, repair and maintenance of different types of vessels. According to Wikipedia, Archimedes is traditionally regarded as the first marine engineer.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_engineering
CAREER PATHS IN MARINE ENGINEERING
Marine engineering is a broad aspect of engineering that branches into various cadres. The need for mechanized forms for sustainable energy and transportation of cargoes gave birth to one of the most renowned engineering discipline. The various marine engineering disciplines include but is not limited to;
- OFFSHORE ENGINEERING: It involves the design and construction of marine structures like oil platforms, rigs and so on. These platforms may be fixed or floating, self-propelled or towed. The offshore engineer is like the civil engineer of the sea.
- NAVAL ARCHITECT: Naval architecture is focused on the design and construction of the ship. A naval architect would likely not repair or maintain the structures. The naval architecture specializes on the design of structures taking into consideration, the stability, and integrity and sea worthiness of a marine structure.
- MECHANICAL ENGINEERING: The mechanical engineer designs the machines, plants and main propulsion systems used in the marine structures.
- Oceanographic Engineering: As the name implies, the oceanographic engineer deals with mechanical, electronic/electrical technologies needed to support oceanography.
- SUBSEA ENGINEERING: Subsea engineering is a field that is responsible for the direct flow and control of oil and gas from deep marine wells.
- MARINE ESTIMATORS: These are responsible for analyzing projects and preparing its planned work layout. Furthermore, the cost and expenditure is brought to bear by the estimators.
- MARINE SURVEYORS: The marine surveyors work hand in hand with Classification Societies and organizations to advice and check the integrity of ships in order to determine its seaworthiness.