Chief Officer

The chief officer, or chief mate, is the master’s deputy and head of the deck department. The rank requires the STCW Regulation II/2 chief mate Certificate of Competency on ships of 3,000 GT or more, the same management-level table that underpins the master endorsement. Day to day the chief mate runs cargo work, ballast and stability, deck maintenance, and the planned maintenance of life-saving and firefighting gear, and typically keeps the 0400 to 0800 and 1600 to 2000 navigational watch. Promotion to master follows the required command-time and a clean record.