Of course, maritime professions are not suitable for everyone. After all, on the one hand, this is an interesting and exciting profession that will allow you not only to make good money, but also to see distant lands. But don’t forget about the other side of the coin: this is incredibly hard and responsible work. Not all people are able to stay away from home, family, relatives, and friends for long periods of time. There are a lot of nuances that need to be taken into account when choosing a profession. However, if you have chosen a maritime career, you probably want to understand what career advancement may be available to you.
Do not forget that not everyone on the ship can rise to the rank of captain. There are those who can choose the profession of a shipping mechanic. Moreover, the highest position on the ship in this case is the chief engineer. Essentially, this is the deputy captain for technical matters. He is in charge of the electromechanical department. The chief engineer is in charge of the ship's power plant, as well as all the ship's mechanisms, devices and systems. He is responsible for providing fuel and oil, logistics. Supervises the maintenance and repair of the ship.
Responsibilities of the chief engineer on a ship
There is quite a lot of stuff in the chief mechanic's department. Among the responsibilities it is worth highlighting:
Maintaining regulatory documentation for all departments.
Maintaining a machine log (the senior mechanic is required to sign it every evening).
Ensuring continuous and productive operation of the ship's power plant. It is also important to monitor whether any repair work is needed. This installation must always be in perfect working order and fully ready for action.
Providing fuel and oil to the ship's mechanical systems, as well as the ship's logistics.
Vessel maintenance planning.
Planning and checking calibrations of all measuring instruments on board (both standard and portable).
Control over how the machine team behaves during alarms.
Ensuring safe working conditions for technical personnel, etc.
In addition, the responsibilities of the chief engineer include preparing the vessel for departure. At the same time, he has functions that he must certainly perform. First of all, you need to make sure that not only the ship's power shutdown, but also the watch personnel is in working order and ready for action. Also the readiness of backup and emergency systems. You need to be sure that you have enough fuel and oil for the entire flight. In addition, you need to know their location on the ship. And immediately when the ship leaves the port, the chief engineer must be in the engine room with the crew and personally supervise all processes.
The chief engineer has many responsibilities on a ship. And if you decide to rise to this position and you are not afraid of any difficulties, go for it! Of course, you need to start from the very bottom - working as a sailor. You can gradually move higher up the career ladder while studying at higher educational institutions. This way you can achieve excellent performance in the service and reach the level that you want to achieve.
All crewing agencies offer vacancies for chief engineers from various shipping companies, for example, Crewplanet, Jobs At Sea, Maritime Zone and many others. If you want to get a job on gas carriers, you will find a lot of vacancies.
