Watch duties, terminology, and instrumentation

USCG Boatswain Manual Ch. 9 §9.1

USCG Boatswain Manual Ch. 9 §9.1 — Engineering Watchkeeping On small commercial vessels without a separate engineer, the captain or designated crewmember inspects the engine room hourly: oil level, coolant level, gauge readings, leaks, unusual noises or smells, exhaust appearance.

USCG Boatswain Manual Ch. 9 §9.2

USCG Boatswain Manual Ch. 9 §9.2 — Engineering Watchkeeping Common pre-departure engine checks: fuel level, oil dipstick reading at expected level, raw-water sea-strainer clear, battery isolator on, charge gauge reading 13.5–14 V at idle, no exhaust smoke beyond initial start-up.

46 CFR §11.329

§ 11.329 § 11.329 Requirements to qualify for an STCW endorsement as Officer in Charge of an Engineering Watch (OICEW) in a manned engineroom or designated duty engineer in a periodically unmanned engineroom on vessels powered by main propulsion machinery of 750 kW/1,000 HP propulsion power or more (operational level). Link to an amendment published at 89 FR 93076, Nov. 25, 2024.(a) To qualify for an STCW endorsement as OICEW, an applicant must— (1) Provide evidence of seagoing service as follows: (i) Thirty-six months of seagoing service in the engine department; or (ii) Successful completion of an approved training program, which includes a combination of workshop skill training and seagoing service of not less than 12 months, and that meets the requirements of Section A-III/1 of the…

NAVEDTRA 14067 §1-1

NAVEDTRA 14067 §1-1 — Types of watches and the lookout A watch is a period of duty during which a crew member is responsible for a specific task. Underway, the deck watches most relevant to a deck rating are the helmsman (steering), the lookout, and the messenger/ standby. The lookout's duty is to keep a proper watch by sight and hearing and to report everything seen or heard that may affect the safety of the ship — other vessels, lights, buoys and other aids to navigation, floating objects, land, discolored water, and any distress signal. Reports are made by relative bearing using the clock system or points: dead ahead is "dead ahead," and objects are reported as, for example, "ship, two points on the starboard bow" or "buoy, broad on the port beam." The lookout also reports the object's…

NAVEDTRA 14067 §2-2

NAVEDTRA 14067 §2-2 — Engine order telegraph and lee helm Engine speed and direction are ordered through the engine order telegraph (EOT), a signaling device that repeats the bridge's order to the engine room and lets the engine room acknowledge it. The person who operates the telegraph on the bridge is the lee helmsman. Engine orders are given in standard terms — "all ahead one-third," "ahead two-thirds," "ahead standard," "ahead full," "ahead flank," "stop," "back one-third," "back full," "back emergency" — and the lee helmsman moves the telegraph handle to the ordered position, whereupon the engine room matches its pointer to answer the bell, showing the order is understood and being carried out. The lee helmsman repeats each engine order aloud when received and reports when the engine…

NAVEDTRA 14104 §1-1

NAVEDTRA 14104 §1-1 — Engine-room watch organization and duties The engineering watch is the continuously manned organization that operates and monitors the propulsion plant and auxiliaries so the ship has power, and it is built around clear stations and a clear chain of responsibility. On a manned-machinery-space watch, the engineer officer of the watch (or, on merchant ships, the watch engineer) has overall charge and answers to the bridge for propulsion; under him, watchstanders are assigned to the throttle/maneuvering station, the boilers or main engines, the generators and switchboard, and the roving patrol of the spaces. Each watchstander is responsible for a defined set of machinery: keeping it within normal operating limits, logging readings, responding to alarms, and reporting ab…