The Men on Deck: Master, Mates and Crew, Their Duties and ResponsibilitiesRiesenberg, Felix
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The Men on Deck: Master, Mates and Crew, Their Duties and Responsibilities
Riesenberg, Felix
Merchant marine -- United States; Navigation; Sailors
The Master Mariner who has the vessel in charge is called the CAPTAIN,
or the MASTER, the latter being his official title. It is correct,
however, to address the master of a vessel as CAPTAIN, a courtesy to
which the Master Mariner is fully entitled through ancient sea usage.
Among seagoing people, the Master Mariner who is in charge of a vessel
+is in complete charge at all times+; divided authority in this matter
is intolerable to the minds of men accustomed to the sea.
+The Master is responsible as follows:—+
+For the safe handling of his vessel in and out of port.+
+For the safe and expeditious navigation of his vessel from port to
port.+
+For the good management, and order, of the various departments that
constitute the internal economy of his vessel—deck—engine—steward's—etc.+
+He is responsible for the safety of the lives of passengers and crew.+
+He is responsible for the safe stowage, carriage, and unlading of the
cargo.+
+The vessel is his direct responsibility. If the Pilot is in charge,
this does not relieve the Master of his full responsibility.+
+The Master is responsible to the owners.+
+He is also responsible to the insurance underwriters.+
+He is also responsible to the Government of the United States, under
which he receives his license as a Master Mariner.+
The Master Mariner who is well qualified to bear the great
responsibilities of his station; to have the keeping of many lives in
his charge; to be the sole judge of what is right and proper in times of
emergency; such a man is not made in a year, nor is he the product of
any short-cut system of training. His sea lore must be learned at sea.
His duty to ship and cargo must be truly come by through close and
thorough contact with the great vessels he is called upon to command.
The Master Mariner must be a student of the laws governing his business
upon the sea, and of the laws defining his duties and responsibilities
to ship, passengers, crew, and cargo.
Briefly, he is charged with the following specific duties and
responsibilities:
+1. The safe navigation of his vessel.+
+2. The general management and care of his vessel.+
+3. The proper coaling—provisioning—supplying of water—etc.+
+4. That she be fully found—anchors—cables—warps—hawsers—boats—rafts—
life-saving equipment—fire-fighting equipment, as required by law—
compasses—chronometers—charts—sailing directions—sextants—and stores of
all kinds needed to safely navigate her.+
+5. The proper signing of the ship's articles.+
+6. The keeping of the Official Log.+
+7. The carrying of a properly equipped medicine chest.+
+8. The carrying of a required slop chest, and compliance with the laws
regulating the sale of slops.+
+9. He is liable for the wrong delivery of specie and cargo, or for loss
or damage to the same due to carelessness or mismanagement on the part
of the crew.+
+10. He is responsible for any neglect through which the validity of the
insurance to ship or cargo is called into question.+
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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