So what is the normal pecking order for pay (with and without overtime) on unlimited ships?
The master gets the highest base rate, the C/E next then guy with the most brains and greatest responsibility - the 1st Assistant Engineer - gets the fattest paycheck.
When the 1st gets a chiefâs job his brain cells begin to atrophy and he has to rely more and more on the 1st.
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I stand corrected Capt Phoenix. Both Chiefs head of their dept but in practice the day to day tasking of the CM appears more in line with the 1/AE and are frequently paired in other matters as well, perhaps just appearances. Disturbing in another later comment is that some SMSs apparently leave it open that the company may direct a different successor than the CM. However having said that, if the CM and Master both are down, I would think that the Cheng though not in command accession by statute, but being still management level would âadministrativelyâ be acting as the company rep onboard and direct if not already obviously assumed that the 2M take the Conn and proceed in all haste to insure navigational safety and arrival as directed by the firm or USCG. CHENG has a special relationship to/with the master besides usually residing on the same deck. CM appears not to have that dotted line relationship until that time the old man/lady is down for the count. Just my observation. Another issue that always bothered me that the Merchant marine is the unlicensed Steward being a department head and many times at odds with the CM. The CM is powerless usually to overrule and the C/Stwd (there is only one true chief on ship, CHENG) frequently plays the master like a violin.
Yes, my thoughts exactly.
Sure is a lot of talk & contingency plans for when the captain is dead. I think somethingâs a brewingâŚ
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I know Iâm locking my door tonight
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Careful. . .the cook has an odd look in his eye and is saying that he cooked up something âspecialâ for everybody. . . .
In my experience by SMS the C/E is responsible for and already reports directly to the port engineer with regards to the status of the shipâs machinery.
If the voyage has already been planned itâs more or less trivial to complete it. Just need to get to a pilot station.
Traffic might be the biggest concern but expertise there is still going to be in the deck department.
What would a company rep do administratively? Maintain order? Keep the shipâs routine? Is the chief going to do the eNOAD? Or payroll?
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This whole conversation is very Navy/Old USMM, now a days we have satalite communication directly with the office. Youâre not gonna have some power struggle between the CHENG and the Deck department, whether itâs the CM or the 2M, on whether you should proceed in haste to the nearest port or if you should continue on to your destination. Iâm not worried about a torpedo taking out the master and CM, and then me as a deck officer having to confer/argue with the CENG on what we should do.
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Do some of these different opinions come from the older Navies and their strict hierarchies by grade?
Often, gunners and aviators, or even kamikazes, aimed at the bridges.
It arrived that the whole bridge team was killed (in combat situations, the bridges were well populatedâŚ).
Then, the highest-ranking surviving officer on board, from whatever specialty, took over the command. Most often, he had just to keep contact with the fleet and supervise damage control, evacuation or waiting for outside help.
An example is the Japanese carrier âKagaâ at Midway. An exploding Avgas cart killed everybody on the bridge. The air wing commander took command of the ship - in this case onto evacuation and sinking.
I find the âargumentsâ with regards to the CE taking over if something happened to the captain to be nonsensical. No matter how it is presented it will not happen, and only a very foolish CE would ever consider it. Several years ago when the captain aboard the Horizon Reliance was found dead at his desk (heart attack) the CM took over and got the ship to port. That is how it works. I have not doubt the CE gave whatever assistance and/or advise that was asked of him but that is the way it should be.
With regards to the navy; most if not all officers aboard are officers of the line. They are therefore eligible for command positions. If something happened the bridge team, yes the next highest survivor would take overâŚif they were line officers.
From the WW2 history I have read, the senior officers on the bridge of the IJN carrier Kaga were killed from a direct hit by a bomb dropped by a SBD Dauntless dive-bomber. This is not to say many, many others werenât killed when the burning avgas set off the bombs and torpedoes that were on the hanger deck.
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I agree here 100%. If something happened to the captain I would expect the chief to assist how and when he could. I also expect that heâd do the same thing for me on a routine voyage. Itâs in both of our interests that things run smoothly.
Iâm also going to support the chief as required. If we have technical problems I am not going to have a good trip. For one nothing gets the attention of shoreside like going off-hire, itâs going to be endless emails.
There is sometimes not much space between a command and advice. For example âdonât run that pumpâ is a command. âIf you run that pump itâs going to destroy itselfâ is advice, but likely the same outcome in each case.
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