Chief Officer Jobs

Role overview

Open recruitment for crewing agencies and shipowners we work with. This is not a single vacancy with a fixed joining date: apply to be considered for upcoming Chief Officer vacancies.

What a Chief Officer does

The chief officer is the head of the deck department and second in command after the master. The job covers cargo planning, loading and discharging, stability and ballast, deck maintenance, mooring and anchoring stations, and the life-saving and fire-fighting equipment. On most ships the chief officer keeps the 4 to 8 navigational watch and supervises the bosun and deck ratings. He or she must be ready to take over command if the master cannot act.

Certificates required

Certificate of Competency as Chief Mate (STCW Reg. II/2), for ships of 3,000 GT or more or 500 to 3,000 GT
GMDSS General Operator’s Certificate (STCW Reg. IV/2)
ECDIS training and type-specific familiarisation
Medical care on board (STCW Reg. VI/4)
Advanced fire fighting (STCW Reg. VI/3)
Proficiency in survival craft and rescue boats (STCW Reg. VI/2)
Basic Training (STCW Reg. VI/1): personal survival techniques, fire prevention and fire fighting, elementary first aid, personal safety and social responsibilities
Proficiency in designated security duties (STCW Reg. VI/6)
Seafarer medical certificate (STCW Reg. I/9 and MLC 2006 Reg. 1.2), valid for a maximum of 2 years
Flag endorsement (STCW Reg. I/10) if the ship flies a different flag from the country that issued your certificate
On tankers and gas carriers: advanced tanker endorsement (STCW Reg. V/1-1 or V/1-2)

Sea service and promotion

To obtain the chief mate certificate, STCW Reg. II/2 requires at least 12 months of approved seagoing service as officer in charge of a navigational watch, plus the management-level training and examination of the flag state. The next step is Master: 36 months of service as watchkeeping officer, or 24 months if 12 of them were as chief mate.

Typical ships

Contract length

Commonly 4 to 6 months, set by the employer for each vacancy. MLC 2006 limits continuous service on board to less than 12 months before the seafarer is entitled to repatriation.