Boatswain (Bosun)

The boatswain, or bosun, is the senior deck rating and the working foreman of the deck crew, ranking above able and ordinary seamen but below the officers. The bosun takes the daily work list from the chief officer and directs the ratings on mooring, cargo and hatch operations, painting, rigging, and deck maintenance. The role demands an able seaman certificate plus years of practical experience rather than an officer Certificate of Competency, and it is the senior unlicensed deck post on most merchant ships.