A second mate (2/M) or second officer is a licensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. The second mate is the third in command (or on some ocean liners fourth) and a watchkeeping officer, customarily the ship's navigator. Other duties vary, but the second mate is often the medical officer[1] and in charge of maintaining distress signaling equipment. On oil tankers, the second mate usually assists the chief mate with the tank-cleaning operations.
The navigator role focuses on creating the ship's passage plans. A passage plan is a comprehensive, step by step description of how the voyage is to proceed from berth to berth. The plan includes undocking, departure, the en route portion of a voyage, approach, and mooring at the destination.
The GMDSS officer role consists of performing tests and maintenance, and ensuring the proper log-keeping on the ship's Global Maritime Distress Safety System equipment. Safety equipment includes Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacons, a NAVTEXunit, INMARSAT consoles, various radios, Search and Rescue Transponders, and Digital Selective Calling systems.
Watchstanding
A second mate is almost always a watchstander. In port and at sea, the second mate is responsible to the captain for keeping the ship, its crew, and its cargo safe for eight hours each day. Traditionally, the second mate stands a "12-4" watch: from midnight until 4am and noon until 4pm. On watch, he must enforce all applicable regulations, such as safety of life at sea and pollution regulations. In port, the watch focuses on duties such as cargo operations, fire and security watches, monitoring communications, and the anchor or mooring lines.
IMO regulations require the officer be fluent in English. This is required for a number of reasons, such as to use charts and nautical publications, understand weather and safety messages, communicate with other ships and coast stations, and to be able to work with a multi-lingual crew.
Sea watch
At sea, the mate on watch has three fundamental duties: to navigate the ship, to safely avoid traffic, and to respond to emergencies. Mates generally stand watch with able seamen who act as helmsman and lookout. The helmsman executes turns and the lookout reports dangers such as approaching ships. These roles are often combined to a single helmsman/lookout and, under some circumstances, can be eliminated completely.[2] The ability to smartly handle a ship is key to safe watchstanding. A ship's draught, trim, speed and under-keel clearance all affect its turning radius and stopping distance. Other factors include the effects of wind and current, squat, shallow water, and similar effects. Shiphandling is key when the need arises to rescue a man overboard, to anchor, or to moor the ship.
The officer must also be able to transmit and receive signals by Morse light and to use the International Code of Signals.
For more details on this topic, see Navigation.
Celestial, terrestrial, electronic, and coastal navigation techniques are used to fix a ship's position on a navigational chart. Accounting for effects of winds, tides, currents and estimated speed, the officer directs the helmsman to keep to track. The officer uses supplemental information fromnautical publications, such as Sailing Directions, tide tables, Notices to Mariners, and radio navigational warnings to keep the ship clear of danger in transit.
Safety demands the mate be able to quickly solve steering control problems and to calibrate the system for optimum performance. Since magnetic and gyrocompasses show the course to steer, the officer must be able to determine and correct for compass errors.
Weather's profound effect on ships requires the officer be able to interpret and apply meteorological information from all available sources. This requires expertise in weather systems, reporting procedures, and recording systems.
Traffic management
The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea are a cornerstone of safe watchkeeping. Safety requires that one live these rules and follow the principles of safe watchkeeping. Maximizing bridge teamwork, including Bridge Resource Management is an emerging focus in watchkeeping.
The main purpose for Radar and Automatic Radar Plotting Aids (ARPA) on a ship's bridge are to move safely among other vessels. These tools help to accurately judge information about prominent objects in the vicinity, such as:
- range, bearing, course and speed
- time and distance of closest point of approach
- course and speed changes
These factors help the officer apply the COLREGS to safely maneuver in the vicinity of obstructions and other ships.
Unfortunately, radar has a number of limitations, and ARPA inherits those limitations and adds a number of its own. Factors such as rain, high seas, and dense clouds can prevent radar from detecting other vessels. Conditions such as dense traffic and course and speed changes can confuse ARPA units. Finally, human errors such as inaccurate speed inputs and confusion between true and relative vectors add to the limitations of the radar/ARPA suite.
The radar operator must be able to optimize system settings and detect divergences between an ARPA system and reality. Information obtained from radar and ARPA has to be treated with scrutiny: over reliance on these systems has sunk ships. The officer must understand system performance. Examples include limitations and accuracy, tracking capabilities and limitations, and processing delays, and the use of operational warnings and system tests.
[edit]Emergencies
Emergencies can happen at any time, and the officer must be equipped to safeguard passengers and crew. After a collision or a grounding, the officer must be able to take initial action, perform damage assessment and control, and understand the procedures for rescuing persons from the sea, assisting ships in distress, and responding to any emergency which may arise in port.
The officer must understand distress signals and know the IMO Merchant Ship Search and Rescue Manual.
[edit]Cargo handling
The ship's officer must be able to oversee the loading, stowage, securing and unloading of cargoes. Requirements include understanding the care of cargo during the voyage.
Of particular importance is knowledge of the effect of cargo including heavy lifts on the seaworthiness and stability of the ship. The officer must also understand safe handling, stowage and securing of cargoes, including cargoes that are dangerous, hazardous or harmful.
[edit]Controlling ship operations
The officer has special responsibilities to keep the ship, the people on board and the environment safe. This includes keeping the ship seaworthy during fire and loss of stability, and providing aid and maintaining safety during man overboard, abandoning ship, and medical emergencies.
Understanding ship's stability, trim, stress, and the basics of ship's construction is a key to keeping a ship seaworthy. Competencies include knowing what to do in cases of flooding and loss of buoyancy. Fire is also a constant concern. Knowing the classes and chemistry of fire, fire-fighting appliances, and systems prepares the officer to act fast in case of fire.
An officer must be expert in the use of survival craft and rescue boats, their launching appliances and arrangements, and their equipment including radio life-saving appliances, satellite EPIRBs, SARTs, immersion suits and thermal protective aids. It's important to be expert in the techniques for survival at sea techniques in case it's necessary to abandon ship.
Officers are trained to perform medical tasks and to follow instructions given by radio or obtained from guides. This training includes what to do in case of common shipboard
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