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Main articles: Seafarer's professions and ranks

'Captain' is the traditional customary title given to the person in charge of a ship at sea.
On most legal documents in the merchant shipping industry, the captain is correctly referred to as the ship's Master. A nautical "captain" may be a civilian with a master's license or a naval commissioned officer of any rank.
On shore, a Harbourmaster, as the equivalent chief of a port, is sometimes titled "captain" if he had merchant marine or naval rank and professional service in command at sea. Many shipping companies also hire experienced captains to run their operations department.

Contents

Master

Rights and responsibilities

Uniform

Subordinates

Related terms

Sailing master

Master's mates

Master and Commander

See also

Notes

References

External links

Master Mariner Associations

Master

A person holding an unrestricted master's license (or certificate) is called a 'Master Mariner,' and may use the acronym MM after their name. The term ''unrestricted'' indicates that there is no restriction of size, power or geographic locale on the license. It is the highest level of professional qualification amongst mariners.
Among professional mariners, the title "Captain" is generally reserved for someone who has served in command of a merchant vessel, and not for someone who may hold a command license but has never been appointed to a command position. Captains retain the title while working in a maritime related field ashore.
The term ''Master Mariner'' was in use in England from at least the 13th century and was introduced in America in the mid-19th century.
An unrestricted master's license is colloquially called a "Master's Ticket", "Master's Unlimited" or just a "Master's." In the UK the official name a Master Mariner’s qualification has varied over the years. The conventions or acts governing the license have evolved alongside the shipping industry. The master's license is sometimes still referred to as a ''Class 1'' or ''Master Foreign-Going'' certificate as it was named during the latter part of the 20th century. The UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency, inline with the amended STCW convention, currently title the license as ''Master Unlimited.''

Rights and responsibilities

The captain has enormous legal powers and is responsible in all aspects for a ship underway. Powers include the right to use deadly force to suppress piracy and mutiny. It was a myth that the captain can conduct a marriage. However this can now be done on Bermudan flag ships in international waters. The Master must hold a Marriage Officers Licence, valid on a designated ship, in order to do this, which is issued by the Minister of Labour, Home affairs and Public Safety in Bermuda. But at sea, the captain enjoys absolute command. This authority holds true even if higher-ranking persons are aboard. If a higher-ranking person gives the captain an order, care is taken to specify what is desired rather than how to do it. Rank does not give the right to interfere in the captain's running of the ship.

Uniform

The traditional sleeve emblem for captains is four gold stripes (often called "rings") on the lower sleeve or shoulderboard. Many navies follow the precedent of the Royal Navy and have an "executive loop" on the top or inner ring. In the Royal Navy, the stripes and rings are called Nelsons if the ring sits above the stripe, and Half Nelson if only half above the stripe. Often harbormasters have a fouled anchor or other local symbol on the gold rings.
Merchant ship captains usually wear the four stripes and rings with the traditional emblem or design of their particular shipping company or vessel’s nationality. Some companies and countries do have an "executive loop" similar to that of the Royal Navy. The Captain and Officers on British ships often wear the traditional diamond shape within the stripes. This loop represents the wake of a ship's propeller. It should be worn on the correct direction. The over lapping loop should always be facing forward. Most captains in the United States do not wear a uniform unless they are in the Merchant Marine Reserve.

Subordinates

The officer who is ranked immediately below the captain of a ship is designated the chief mate, chief officer, or first officer (also executive officer on naval vessels or staff captain on large passenger vessels). The chief mate is responsible for implementing the orders of the captain as well as conferring with the captain on matters concerning the ship. The "second in command" is typically responsible (along with the senior enlisted petty officer) for maintaining minor discipline on the ship as well as the vessel's cargo, stability and maintenance. The second mate (navigational officer), the third mate (safety officer), and the boatswain (crew foreman) are ranked below the chief mate.

Related terms

In older times, a captain was a nobleman given responsibility over a ship, but was not likely to have any nautical experience. The next officer of the ship would be the ship's master. The master carried out the executive functions of a captain, while the titular captain filled a ceremonial and legal role.

Sailing master

In the Royal Navy in the days of sail, "master" was often used as an abbreviation for the 'Sailing Master', the warrant officer responsible for the navigation and steering of the vessel. The position of sailing master was later commissioned and renamed the Navigating Officer. The Navigating Officer on a flagship, however, continued to be known as the 'Master of the Fleet' until after the Second World War. The sailing master would call out to the men working the sails to move them a certain direction. This moved the sails at such an angle that the vessel moved towards the sailing master's request.
A ship's master was a ''wardroom officer''. A ship's most senior warrant officers, those who headed the ship's technical departments, received their warrants from various Boards and Commissions. Their appointment and promotion did not lay within the Captain's discretion. The rate of the more junior crew members did lay within the captain's discretion—even midshipmen.

Master's mates

The 'Master's Mates' were the assistants to the Sailing Master, also warrant officers. These were usually young men with family connections not quite good enough to become midshipmen who either aspired to become sailing masters themselves or to be commissioned as lieutenants, as often happened. Fletcher Christian was Master's Mate on HMS ''Bounty''.

Master and Commander

'Master and Commander' was the full title of the rank held by Commanders when they were first introduced into the Royal Navy, then equivalent to a major in the British Army. This title formed the basis for the historical novel ''Master and Commander''. The title was shortened to commander in 1814 . The corresponding title in the U.S. Navy was "Master Commandant".

See also

★ Bar pilot

★ Bottomry

★

★ Harbour pilot

★ List of sea captains

Notes

References

★ International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, International Maritime Organization, , , , 1995,

★ Water Transportation Occupations Bureau of Labor Statistics (U.S.A.)

★ American Merchant Seaman's Manual, , William B., Hayler, Cornell Maritime Press, 2003, .

★ Merchant Marine Officers' Handbook, , Edward A., Turpin, Cornell Maritime Press, 1980,

External links

★ A glossary of sailing terms

Master Mariner Associations

★ The Council of American Master Mariners

★ The Honourable Company of Master Mariners

★ The Company of Master Mariners of Australia

★ The Irish Institute of Master Mariners

★ The Company of Master Mariners of Canada