Merchant Navy deck officers

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narikis
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Merchant Navy deck officers

#1

Post by narikis » 01 Oct 2020, 20:11

Hello. I have some questions about the qualifications required for deck officers on British-flagged merchant ships during the period 1919-45. What sort of training were they required to have for at least third officer rank, where was this training/education offered in Britain, and were all deck officers required to be British or Commonwealth nationals? Also, how (if at all) did the war change these criteria and training for deck officers?

ValiantBee
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Re: Merchant Navy deck officers

#2

Post by ValiantBee » 02 Oct 2020, 08:16

After completing a four year apprenticeship as a merchant navy cadet, the young officer would sit a Board of Trade examination for Mate. He would then be issued with a certificate of competence which would allow him to serve as a third officer. The regulations were unchanged during the war and are governed by the Merchant Shipping Act. Many British flagged merchant ships employed seamen belonging to other nationalities, particularly British dominions in India, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Malta. All seamen employed on British ships were registered with the Register-General of Shipping and Seamen.


narikis
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Re: Merchant Navy deck officers

#3

Post by narikis » 02 Oct 2020, 11:06

Thank you ValiantBee, that was the sort of information I was looking for. Do you know where in Britain these examinations were usually held? Or could it have been in any major port?
So were there any significant changes to training during the war? Extra lessons in identifying hostile ships/aircraft, or sailing in convoy, for instance?
Regarding nationality, I certainly knew that ratings could come from a variety of countries, I had just been unsure whether officers had to be British subjects or not.

ValiantBee
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Re: Merchant Navy deck officers

#4

Post by ValiantBee » 02 Oct 2020, 13:18

Yes, there were BOT test centres in most major ports, but even with a mate’s ticket, a newly qualified junior officer (on a large foreign-going merchant ship) could find himself servIng as 4th or 5th mate!
I’m pretty sure that at the very least, the ship’s Master and Chief Engineer on British flagged ship’s had to be British subjects, but generally speaking in order to satisfy Merchant Shipping Act criteria, the ship simply had to have a ‘British character’ (whatever that meant).
There were also short courses run by the Royal Navy for both officers and crew in naval gunnery (for Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships), and also for Master’s of ships sailing in Convoys. More intensive training was provided for those merchant ships serving as naval auxiliaries.
MB

narikis
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Posts: 46
Joined: 25 Sep 2020, 12:34
Location: Internet

Re: Merchant Navy deck officers

#5

Post by narikis » 02 Oct 2020, 15:12

Helpful answers, thanks again ValiantBee.

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