ple stripes to the outside of the gold). But uniforms are not necessary, they are merely a status symbol, a method used to implement authority and structure but with or without the uniform the structure remains in place. Uniforms might be necessary on ships were large crews operate, where faces are often unrecognizable amongst the crowd and so the wearing of a badge identifies one immediately in the position that they hold. On smaller vessels though were perhaps only ten or so officers and crew live in confined quarters the emphasis these days is on integration not segregation, to produce a more family orientated atmosphere so that life onboard is not wrought with ill-will.

The wearing of a uniform is not an integral part of the management structure. The structure is

It has oft been asked by those ashore how a ship operates, who is in-charge and ignorance shines forth when an engineer is asked "and when will you become Captain"! It is therefore time to lay-to-rest some of these myths and to give explanation as to what foundation a ships management structure is based upon.

Every business whether it is a high-flying banking firm or the local plumbers outfit a management structure in place. In a smaller ad-hoc company down the road the management structure may consist of one man sitting in an office, who barks out order like a sniffer dog struck lucky, to a down trodden son who has no choice in the matter or a large wall street firm that has hundreds of workers, many VP's, directors and a chairman who nobody ever sees.

Whatever company looked at there is a structure in place, whether it is the ideal structure and whether it works or is practical in real life is not important except to say that like all businesses, cruise ships, gas tankers, ferries, rowing boats and offshore supply vessels all have a management structure in place.

A vessels management structure is extremely defined! It is built on decades of culture and formulation and has adapted and changed with time to produce a system that is at first glance ideal, it covers all aspects of shipboard operations and lifestyles and is tightly regulated through strict control from ashore. A seafarer cannot rise up the ranks of structure to a higher position unless he has sat and passed the requisite number of exams, he cannot become a self-imposed boss through financial wangling, bribery or luck or through the showing of family wealth to impose authority. The only way that any seafarer can climb the management structures ladder is to have the right qualification and the only way to get the right qualification is to study at college, pass a written exam or two and be interrogated by an experienced surveyor who should know what he is talking about. Even this might not be the last step to increased authority; the company primarily must approve the promotion subject to availability, suitability and requirement. It is only recently that officers are able to sail in a higher position upon receipt of their new qualification due to the shortage of seafarers worldwide. Ten, even twenty years ago, many officers of junior rank would hold the highest available ticket yet be unable to sail in that position. They might hold that ticket for five or more years before a position came available and they were promoted.

Many people assume from having watched weird films(set on a ship that is mysteriously plummeting to the sea-bed with a pack of rabid dogs onboard or sea snakes overtaking a vessel as steams along) that authority is defined by the number of stripes one wears on their shoulders. Certainly, this noted fact is distinct on many vessels, the higher up on the ladder one is the more stripes they have to weigh them down; after the Titanic disaster Engineers were eventually acknowledged as being integral to the operation of a vessel and were given officer status (represented by purple stripes to the outside of the gold). But uniforms are not necessary, they are merely a status symbol, a method used to implement authority and structure but with or without the uniform the structure remains in place. Uniforms might be necessary on ships were large crews operate, where faces are often unrecognizable amongst the crowd and so the wearing of a badge identifies one immediately in the position that they hold. On smaller vessels though were perhaps only ten or so officers and crew live in confined quarters the emphasis these days is on integration not segregation, to produce a more family orientated atmosphere so that life onboard is not wrought with ill-will.

The wearing of a uniform is not an integral part of the management structure. The structure is

r company looked at there is a structure in place, whether it is the ideal structure and whether it works or is practical in real life is not important except to say that like all businesses, cruise ships, gas tankers, ferries, rowing boats and offshore supply vessels all have a management structure in place.

A vessels management structure is extremely defined! It is built on decades of culture and formulation and has adapted and changed with time to produce a system that is at first glance ideal, it covers all aspects of shipboard operations and lifestyles and is tightly regulated through strict control from ashore. A seafarer cannot rise up the ranks of structure to a higher position unless he has sat and passed the requisite number of exams, he cannot become a self-imposed boss through financial wangling, bribery or luck or through the showing of family wealth to impose authority. The only way that any seafarer can climb the management structures ladder is to have the right qualification and the only way to get the right qualification is to study at college, pass a written exam or two and be interrogated by an experienced surveyor who should know what he is talking about. Even this might not be the last step to increased authority; the company primarily must approve the promotion subject to availability, suitability and requirement. It is only recently that officers are able to sail in a higher position upon receipt of their new qualification due to the shortage of seafarers worldwide. Ten, even twenty years ago, many officers of junior rank would hold the highest available ticket yet be unable to sail in that position. They might hold that ticket for five or more years before a position came available and they were promoted.

Many people assume from having watched weird films(set on a ship that is mysteriously plummeting to the sea-bed with a pack of rabid dogs onboard or sea snakes overtaking a vessel as steams along) that authority is defined by the number of stripes one wears on their shoulders. Certainly, this noted fact is distinct on many vessels, the higher up on the ladder one is the more stripes they have to weigh them down; after the Titanic disaster Engineers were eventually acknowledged as being integral to the operation of a vessel and were given officer status (represented by purple stripes to the outside of the gold). But uniforms are not necessary, they are merely a status symbol, a method used to implement authority and structure but with or without the uniform the structure remains in place. Uniforms might be necessary on ships were large crews operate, where faces are often unrecognizable amongst the crowd and so the wearing of a badge identifies one immediately in the position that they hold. On smaller vessels though were perhaps only ten or so officers and crew live in confined quarters the emphasis these days is on integration not segregation, to produce a more family orientated atmosphere so that life onboard is not wrought with ill-will.

The wearing of a uniform is not an integral part of the management structure. The structure is

f-imposed boss through financial wangling, bribery or luck or through the showing of family wealth to impose authority. The only way that any seafarer can climb the management structures ladder is to have the right qualification and the only way to get the right qualification is to study at college, pass a written exam or two and be interrogated by an experienced surveyor who should know what he is talking about. Even this might not be the last step to increased authority; the company primarily must approve the promotion subject to availability, suitability and requirement. It is only recently that officers are able to sail in a higher position upon receipt of their new qualification due to the shortage of seafarers worldwide. Ten, even twenty years ago, many officers of junior rank would hold the highest available ticket yet be unable to sail in that position. They might hold that ticket for five or more years before a position came available and they were promoted.

Many people assume from having watched weird films(set on a ship that is mysteriously plummeting to the sea-bed with a pack of rabid dogs onboard or sea snakes overtaking a vessel as steams along) that authority is defined by the number of stripes one wears on their shoulders. Certainly, this noted fact is distinct on many vessels, the higher up on the ladder one is the more stripes they have to weigh them down; after the Titanic disaster Engineers were eventually acknowledged as being integral to the operation of a vessel and were given officer status (represented by purple stripes to the outside of the gold). But uniforms are not necessary, they are merely a status symbol, a method used to implement authority and structure but with or without the uniform the structure remains in place. Uniforms might be necessary on ships were large crews operate, where faces are often unrecognizable amongst the crowd and so the wearing of a badge identifies one immediately in the position that they hold. On smaller vessels though were perhaps only ten or so officers and crew live in confined quarters the emphasis these days is on integration not segregation, to produce a more family orientated atmosphere so that life onboard is not wrought with ill-will.

The wearing of a uniform is not an integral part of the management structure. The structure is

unior rank would hold the highest available ticket yet be unable to sail in that position. They might hold that ticket for five or more years before a position came available and they were promoted.

Many people assume from having watched weird films(set on a ship that is mysteriously plummeting to the sea-bed with a pack of rabid dogs onboard or sea snakes overtaking a vessel as steams along) that authority is defined by the number of stripes one wears on their shoulders. Certainly, this noted fact is distinct on many vessels, the higher up on the ladder one is the more stripes they have to weigh them down; after the Titanic disaster Engineers were eventually acknowledged as being integral to the operation of a vessel and were given officer status (represented by purple stripes to the outside of the gold). But uniforms are not necessary, they are merely a status symbol, a method used to implement authority and structure but with or without the uniform the structure remains in place. Uniforms might be necessary on ships were large crews operate, where faces are often unrecognizable amongst the crowd and so the wearing of a badge identifies one immediately in the position that they hold. On smaller vessels though were perhaps only ten or so officers and crew live in confined quarters the emphasis these days is on integration not segregation, to produce a more family orientated atmosphere so that life onboard is not wrought with ill-will.

The wearing of a uniform is not an integral part of the management structure. The structure is

ple stripes to the outside of the gold). But uniforms are not necessary, they are merely a status symbol, a method used to implement authority and structure but with or without the uniform the structure remains in place. Uniforms might be necessary on ships were large crews operate, where faces are often unrecognizable amongst the crowd and so the wearing of a badge identifies one immediately in the position that they hold. On smaller vessels though were perhaps only ten or so officers and crew live in confined quarters the emphasis these days is on integration not segregation, to produce a more family orientated atmosphere so that life onboard is not wrought with ill-will.

The wearing of a uniform is not an integral part of the management structure. The structure is defined through the rank that one holds and this is clear to all concerned, there is no wavering of this structure, there is no option to change and like it or lump it if a person comes onboard with a certain rank then that is the position that he or she will assume. In a similar situation ashore, if a finance-orientated guy with all the appropriate qualifications is offered a job as Chief Financial Officer then he will expect and be expected to fulfill that role when he sits in the chair. He would certainly not like to find himself relegated to the basement as mail boy on his first day and nor would the company like to find out ten weeks down the line that he couldn't add 2 + 2 never mind run accounts!

The management structure is divided into paths! The Captain has the ultimate authority on a vessel! The Captain is after all responsible for safe operations, the safety and well-being of his crew and will answer any questions asked regarding improper actions, unsafe work practices, oil pollution and accidents that may occur whether or not he was involved or even out of his bunk at the time. For example; if an Able Seaman gets drunk and beats up the cook during an argument then the Captain will be called to account. If the Chief Engineer overfills his bunker tanks and floods the Humber River with prime gas oil then the Captain will be looking for a lawyer from inside of the local nick! The position comes at a heavy price!

Under the Captain is the Chief Officer who will one day hope to become Captain or who will remain as a Chief Officer for the rest of his career if he does not feel that the responsibility that tags along is worth the price.

The Captain, the Chief Officer and in descending order the Second Officer and Third Officer (sometimes referred to as Deck Officers or Navigation Officers or by Engineers as Deck Tarts) are all trained as navigators! They are responsible for the safe navigation of the vessel, they are responsible for the stability and integrity of the vessel, for cargo operations (unless it gets too difficult for them and the engineers have to take over) and for ensuring that the correct paperwork is completed and filed for ships business relating to the above and as that defined by the office.

There is though another path or two to follow at sea, not everything is about navigation and form filling. The path of engineering and before anybody asks again, "no, a Chief Engineer cannot become a Captain"! Or to re-phrase that, he can become a Captain if he goes back to school and studies for three years, goes to sea in a junior rank for one year, then studies some more and then hopes that he gets promoted to a not so junior rank and then sails some in this rank and then studies some more at college and hopes that he passes and gets promoted ………to cut a long story short; should an engineer wish to become a navigating officer he would have to study and sail as a deck officer for a number of years and it might be ten or more years before he would sit in the Captains chair. The same works the other way around, a deck officer cannot wake up o