Officer of the Watch (OOW)

The officer of the watch is the deck officer in independent charge of the navigational watch, holding the STCW Regulation II/1 Certificate of Competency for ships of 500 GT or more. The OOW is the master’s representative on the bridge, responsible for safe navigation, collision avoidance under the COLREGs, and the watchkeeping principles of STCW Chapter VIII. The competence standard in Code Table A-II/1 spans navigation, cargo handling, and controlling ship operation at the operational level. The same concept on liquefied gas and chemical carriers attracts the tanker endorsements of Chapter V.