The crew is a group of people who carry out professional duties on board a ship, in which they also live together, sharing a few hours of food and rest, isolated for days or weeks (as long as a voyage lasts) from the land world and separated for weeks and sometimes months from home.
These people have embarked freely and are legally attached to the ship or, rather, to the shipowner or owner, through an employment contract. However, the circumstance of spending long periods of time at sea or outside the jurisdiction of their country, makes commanding personnel acquire prerogatives that can go beyond what is commonly employed.
A hierarchical structure
These people fit into a hierarchical structure, in which commanding personnel have significant ascendancy, not only in terms of carrying out professional work, but also in certain aspects of the private life of the crew.
A crew is not, therefore, just a work team, but rather a human group in which each member must be able to satisfy their human needs at a private level and simple human relations at a community level. This human group is subjected to the very peculiar reciprocal actions that are manifested with absolute normality when the ship goes to sea and not in other circumstances that can be considered exceptional (ship in port; under repair; in long-moored anchorages; ship awaiting orders; etc.)
An important factor in the life and work of ships is routine, to which reference has already been made above. This routine, which is often presented as one of the inconveniences of the sailor’s life, is at the same time a highly appreciated treasure.
The best atmosphere on board a ship is lived on long trips. People place themselves in their circumstances and adopt a rhythm of life that allows them to feel their best.
The crew organization works. The arrival in port is logically highly anticipated, especially by those who come home. However, the life of the crew, the human group, suffers. People are more nervous. Those who are close to home, to run there, those who are not, to take advantage of the time and break the monotony.
There is something in the organization of life on board that deteriorates. This does not logically take away all the positive aspects of arriving at the port, something long awaited by the sailor. It is simply a matter of clarifying that everything that alters the routine for which the ship is made has an influence on the internal relationship of the crew and the organization of life on board.
The Captain
The captain who gives an order to maneuver is executing something that is proper to him: giving orders. Whoever sees him give orders from the bridge from the pier, he will interpret that he is the captain. This action is called “giving orders” and with this expression it is known.
The captain, at the time of giving the order, is performing some functions, is “acting” according to the role that corresponds to him and identifies with that action, as proper to his position and responsibility. This identification, however, is not complete, it does not cover the whole “I” of the captain, but only a part of it.
The captain can see himself as a captain, in the same way that he can see himself as a husband, as a father, as a partner, etc. In each case, he will develop a function that is socially typified. As a captain, there are a series of rules on how a captain should act, what is expected of him and the same as a husband or father.
The Chief Engineer
He is the head of the machine department. Professionally, in his specialty, he is comparable to the captain. The difference is that the chief engineer has his responsibility limited to his department, while the captain has it over the entire ship.
Professionally, the chief engineer also has ongoing responsibility for the engine department at all times.
Although he personally does not keep watch (in small boats he usually does), he must be attentive to the machine 24 hours a day.
His high rank aboard her, similar to that of captain, also places him in a command habit, which can sometimes make it difficult for him to rejoin the ground world.
Because of that same position of power that he has on board, he will be subjected to pressure from people who will seek to obtain his favor in exchange for services or personal advantages. For this reason, he will need, like the captain, a good professional and deontological sense so that his actions are governed solely by professional reasons and not by his personal interest.
1st. Officer
He stands out from the other officers, because he is entrusted with the loading and stowage of the ship and the head of the deck department, organizing the work of the crew and also assuming the role of chief of staff on board.
The 1st. officer, apart from the responsibility that corresponds to him during his watch and in the fulfillment of the aforementioned functions, he also assumes those of the captain if he is not on board (in port) or if he is sick.
Outside of his own functions, during his rest hours, he is initially relieved of responsibility. However, any special situation that arises, at any time, will fully place him in his professional duties.
Other officers
They have a responsibility in the performance of their professional tasks: guards, maintenance, security, first-aid kit, etc.
The 1st. engineer officer, has a resemblance to the 1st. deck officer, with a difference similar to that mentioned between captain and chief engineer, that is, that the powers of the 1st engineer officer are limited to those of the department itself, although within it, he will be a 2nd boss and will have general responsibilities, beyond those of fulfilling a guard, or an additional task, having to direct the work of the machinery personnel.
For the rest, the officers have a more attenuated responsibility and, consequently, an authority that differs considerably from that of the aforementioned. Their role is therefore more comfortable, although they can also find themselves in uncomfortable situations, when being aware of some deficiency in the ship and the possible negligence of their superiors in this regard, they choose to remain silent and not complicate their lives.
Boatswain
It’s like a seaman. At the orders of the 1st. officer, he directs the work of the sailors. He is usually a veteran of the sea, well versed in his trade.
Normally, the most experienced sailors access this position, without any other academic requirement.
His status as a sea veteran will sometimes put young officers in trouble, to whom he will try to show that years teach more than books. He usually has a natural authority over the sailors. He is a position of trust and whoever exercises it knows it. This often separates him from the other subordinates on deck, seeking more a personal relationship with other members of the maestranza.
Deck subordinates
This group is made up of sailors and deckhands. It has its graduations. Thus, the most veteran are preferred sailors, who are the ones who usually act as helmsman during maneuvers. However, for our purposes, they are not differentiated for liability purposes, but only for the purposes of the work they perform.
In deck jobs they usually have a day shift, with breaks for meal times and end of shift from mid-afternoon. They are under the direct orders of the boatswain.
Subordinates of machines
Currently they are usually called greasers and their job is to attend to the maintenance of the machine, as well as some repairs that are made on board.They are usually on guard duty (four hours on duty and eight hours off), although some may be on daytime for some specific jobs.
Waiters
The waiters on a cargo ship are there to attend to the officialdom (make the beds, clean the cabins and the chamber, serve the table, etc.). They are under the orders of the officers they serve and the steward.
On a passenger ship it is a very large group, since they have to attend to the hundreds of passengers that the ship has to carry. In such a case they are normally under the orders of the purser.
Knobs are kitchen helpers. In many boats they serve the table to the master. His day is similar to that of the cook. When the bread is made on board, they usually get up earlier to make the bread. They are under the orders of the butler and the cook.
The catering staff itself is the staff that has the least impact on navigation, but plays an important role in daily life on board.
The purser
He will belong to the official rank if he is a nautical superior and otherwise, he should be equated to a master class, although in fact he occupies an intermediate position. The purser is like the manager of a hotel on a passenger ship.
On him falls the organization of all services for passengers. In principle, a higher graduate should occupy this position, according to what has been said. However, on many passenger ships this is not the case. The figure of the purser resembles that of the butler in that both control supplies, videos, and in his hands is the direct administration of a lot of money.