Deck officers are responsible for the safe navigation of the ship, communications, cargo loading/discharge and ship stability. Deck officers also supervise the crew when occupied on general maintenance work, cargo hold and tank preparation and in mooring or anchoring operations. Other duties will include maintenance of life saving and fire fighting equipment, running fire, safety and lifeboat drills, correcting charts and weather reporting. Most of the ship's legal and commercial business is undertaken by senior deck officers.

If you are following the 3-year HND route, the first phase of your training will comprise of a 21 week induction course at a residential Nautical College. Here you will follow a syllabus covering shipboard familiarisation, basic seamanship, fire-fighting, personal survival and safety. Lectures will cover the underpinning knowledge which will allow you to make the best of your opportunities to gain practical competence when you go to sea. You will be issued with a portfolio detailing and recording the tasks which you are required to complete both in college and at sea throughout your cadetship.

During your first seagoing phase you will start to put into practice and become competent in those aspects of the job that you learned about, in theory, at college; together with many other competencies which can only be learned at sea. The remainder of your training consists of a number of phases, alternating between college and sea.

At sea you will work aboard one of a diverse range of vessels - such as cruise ships, tankers, bulk carriers, container ships, research ships, roll-on/roll-off ferries, dredgers or lighthouse support vessels ships - operated by a number of different, well respected companies; thereby providing you with extensive practical experience.

During each college phase your progress is assessed and you will be given the underpinning knowledge to enable you to tackle the more complex tasks which await you in the next seagoing phase. At each phase you will learn to take more responsibility whilst gaining greater competence as a deck officer.

If you are following the Foundation Degree route, the first phase at college is 6 months, and overall the course has 5 phases in total. The duration of the course is approximately three years.

The training schedule below is designed to give you a good indication of time spent at college and at sea. This does vary depending on the route chosen and college attended.

Qualifications Gained

Professional: Officer of the Watch, Deck

Academic: HND or Foundation Degree in Nautical Studies

Once qualified, you will keep a 'watch' and could be in sole charge of an ocean-going ship for at least eight hours each day. You will continue to expand your knowledge by gaining experience and competence eventually qualifying to hold a Certificate of Competency as a Master Mariner.

Ranking Structure

Deck Cadet - Third Officer - Second Officer - Chief Officer - Master

Training Schedule

Deck HND Programme:

Deck Foundation Degree Programme: