
Departments on OSC ships are broadly classified into three main areas; namely the deck department, the engine department and the service department. Thus many career options are available for youngsters aspiring to join OSC fleet.
The deck department includes the captain, chief officer, second officer, third officer and deck cadets. The engine department consists of the chief engineer, second Engineer, third engineer, electrical officer and engine cadets. The service department manages the kitchen, laundry, medical and other services.
Ratings perform physical activities on board. The ratings are divided into three categories, namely deck rating, engine room rating and catering rating
Deck ratings: Simple manual jobs like chipping, painting, greasing, repairs to the ship’s hull, superstructure and routine maintenance is done by deck ratings, known as a seaman who operates deck machinery like cranes, derricks and also perform steering of the vessel at sea.
Engine room ratings: All jobs of maintaining various machines like boilers, pumps, etc. and routine maintenance is done by engine room ratings. At sea they keep a record and monitor the running of machinery and assist the engineer officer on duty.
Catering ratings: For housekeeping duties like upkeep and maintenance of accommodation and living spaces (including officers’ catering) catering ratings are engaged. Their duties including attending to the officers mess and arrange to serve food, clean and issue linen to officer/crew. In addition, the upkeep of the kitchen, the responsibility of preparing, and properly storing food to those on the ship is that of the chief cook.
A career in this field is full of adventure and long voyages to exotic places. Major positions in OSC fleet are; deck officers and marine engineers. They are usually employed by OSC after obtaining their Certificate of Competence from the Administration. Once they are employed they generally do tenures of three to four months duration. Earlier a career in this field was considered purely for men, women were not generally known to take up jobs in the merchant navy but the past few years have seen a positive change with many women taking up jobs in various departments. Location: Worldwide
Job added by Oman Shipping Company S.A.O.C.