A third mate (3/M) or third officer is a licensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. The third mate is a watchstander and customarily the ship's safety officer and fourth-in-command (fifth on some ocean liners). The position is junior to a second mate. Other duties vary depending on the type of ship, its crewing, and other factors.

Duties related to the role of safety officer focus on responsibility for items such as firefighting equipment, lifeboats, and various other emergency systems.

Watchstanding

International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations require the officer be fluent in the English language. This is required for a number of reasons. Examples include the ability to read charts and nautical publications, understand weather and safety messages, communicate with other ships and coast stations, and to successfully interact with a multi-lingual crew. monitoring communications, and monitoring the anchor or mooring lines.

Cargo handling

The ship's officer must be able to oversee the loading, stowage, securing and unloading of cargoes. This includes a responsibility for some or all of the ship's boats,

Large passenger vessels such as cruise ships usually carry a separate safety officer, who commonly ranks with the first officers.

Working conditions

Merchant mariners spend extended periods at sea. Most deep-sea mariners are hired for one or more voyages that last for several months. The length of time between voyages varies depending on job availability and personal preference.

Training institutions that can lead to a third mate's license include the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (deck curriculum),

A master of 1,600-ton vessels can, under certain circumstances, begin the application process for an unlimited third mate's license. The term derives from the ship’s hawsepipe: the pipe passing through the bow section of a ship that the anchor chain passes through. "Coming up through the hawsepipe" is a nautical metaphor for climbing up the ship's rank structure.

  • Jack Lord, American television, film, and Broadway actor.
  • Gregory Cousins, on watch during Exxon Valdez grounding.
  • Charles William Pearson, a pioneer Anglican missionary in Uganda.
  • Harry Lundeberg was sailing as third mate during the 1934 West Coast waterfront strike.
  • Herbert J. Pitman, third officer on the RMS Titanic
  • John Paul Jones, the Scottish 'Father' of the American Navy was the third mate aboard the King George in 1764

See also

  • Third officer (aviation)
  • Seafarer's professions and ranks
  • Merchant Navy
  • Ship transport
  • United States Merchant Marine
  • Nautical chart
  • Nautical publications

Notes

References

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es:Tercer Oficial de cubierta

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