A licensed mariner is a

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

who holds a license from a maritime authority to hold senior officer-level positions aboard ships, boats, and similar vessels. Qualification standards for licensed mariners are universally set by the STCW Convention adopted and promulgated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), while the licenses of individual sailors are issued by the delegated maritime authorities of the member states of the IMO; these may vary in the details of the implementation, including the government agency responsible for licensing and the local names of the grades and qualifications in each particular country. Mariners that do not have a license are referred to as unlicensed mariners or ratings.

Licensing by country

In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

grants licenses to members of the

United States Merchant Marine United States Merchant Marines are United States civilian mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of the government and private sectors, an ...

in five categories: deck officers, engineers, staff officers, radio officers, and pilots. The United States Coast Guard has replaced paper licenses with the Merchant Mariners Credential which is a combination of the former Merchant Marine Officers license and Merchant Mariners Document in a small book that looks similar to a passport. Several States within the United States issue a state mariners license for use upon non-federal inland waters. Most of these states honor USCG Merchant Marine licenses as an alternative to state licensing. State licensing programs closely follow the federal guidelines for issuance of these licenses, including the requirements concerning professional maritime training and experience. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency issue licenses, known as Certificates of Competency, in a similar fashion under the amended STCW convention.

Types

Deck officers

There are a wide variety of licenses for deck officers, with restrictions of geography and tonnage. Licenses without such restrictions are called ''unlimited'' as in ''Third Mate'' or ''Officer of the Watch, Unlimited''. The grades of unlimited licenses are: * Master's License for masters and lower grades. * Chief Mate's License for

chief mate A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the s ...

s and lower grades. * Second Mate's License qualifies the holder as second mate or third mate. * Third Mate's License qualifies the holder as third mate. Mariner licenses range from large to small vessels. Smaller charter boat operators may have a charter boat license or a certificate under the Large Yacht Code.

Engineers

Licenses are issued in the grades of: *

Chief Engineer A chief engineer, commonly referred to as "ChEng" or "Chief", is the most senior engine officer of an engine department on a ship, typically a merchant ship, and holds overall leadership and the responsibility of that department..Chief engineer ...

First Assistant Engineer A second engineer or first assistant engineer is a licensed member of the engineering department on a merchant vessel. This title is used for the person on a ship responsible for supervising the daily maintenance and operation of the engine depa ...

* Second Assistant Engineer *

Third Assistant Engineer A fourth engineer or third assistant engineer is a rank of engine officer who is part of the engine department on a merchant vessel. Summary A third assistant engineer’s license is earned through the U.S.C.G or other regulatory body (such as ...

(limited) * Assistant Engineer (limited) * Designated duty engineer *

(uninspected fishing industry vessels) * Assistant Engineer (uninspected fishing industry vessels)

Staff officers

Staff officers are issued a

Certificate of Registry Certificate may refer to: * Birth certificate * Marriage certificate * Death certificate * Gift certificate * Certificate of authenticity, a document or seal certifying the authenticity of something * Certificate of deposit, or CD, a financial pro ...

in the following grades: * Chief

purser A purser is the person on a ship principally responsible for the handling of money on board. On modern merchant ships, the purser is the officer responsible for all administration (including the ship's cargo and passenger manifests) and supply. ...

* Purser * Senior assistant purser * Junior assistant purser * Medical doctor * Professional

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

* Marine physician assistant *

Hospital corpsman A hospital corpsman (HM r corpsman is an enlisted medical specialist of the United States Navy, who may also serve in a U.S. Marine Corps unit. The corresponding rating within the United States Coast Guard is health services technician (HS ...

Radio officers

* Radio officer

Pilots

Pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

licenses vary with tonnage and geography. Types of pilot's licenses are: * General routes (routes not restricted to rivers, canals and small lakes) * River routes * Canal and small lakes routes

References

*https://web.archive.org/web/20160201080824/http://cfr.regstoday.com/46cfr11.aspx#46_CFR_11p807