Motorman on a Ship and Marine Engineer

The STCW Convention distinguishes officers from ratings, and this is where the line between the two professions runs. An able seafarer engine (first-class motorman) and an electro-technical rating are ratings qualified under Regulations III/5 and III/7. An engineer is an officer qualified under Regulations III/1, III/2 or III/3; the chief engineer officer is responsible for the propulsion of the ship and for the operation and maintenance of the ship's mechanical and electrical installations, and the second engineer officer is next in rank to the chief. The Ukrainian Regulations on ranks define the engineer officer of the watch as the operational level, and the second and chief engineer as the management level.

Hence two different documents. The engineer officer of the watch on a seagoing ship with main propulsion machinery of 750 kW or more must hold a professional diploma. A motorman's right to the position is confirmed by a certificate of proficiency issued by the Shipping Administration of Ukraine.

The 750 kW threshold is common to most of the regulations in Chapter III of STCW: III/1 and III/4–III/7 apply on seagoing ships with main propulsion machinery of 750 kW or more, III/3 from 750 to 3,000 kW, and III/2 from 3,000 kW. Propulsion power is the total maximum continuous rated output of all the ship's main propulsion machinery in kilowatts, as shown on the ship's certificate of registry or another official document.

Two acts. Ratings are certified under the Rules approved by Order No. 784 of 5 September 2023 of the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine, as amended in 2026. Officer ranks are awarded under the Regulations approved by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 1499 of 30 December 2022, as amended in 2023–2025.

Two other engine-room roles are easy to mix up with these: an electro-technical officer is an officer under Regulation III/6, aged 18 or over, with a separate diploma. An electro-technical rating is a rating under Regulation III/7. The full hierarchy of positions on board is covered in the article on ranks and positions on a ship.

A watch motorman is a rating forming part of an engineering watch. To become one, a candidate must be at least 16 years old and needs approved seagoing service of at least 6 months, or special training plus seagoing service of at least 2 months. The service and training must be associated with engine-room watchkeeping functions and involve the performance of duties under the direct supervision of a qualified engineer officer or a qualified rating.

The duties are set by Table A-III/4 — one function, "Marine engineering at the support level", and three areas of competence. The first is the routine duties of an engine-room watch. The second is the boiler watch: maintaining the correct water levels and steam pressures and operating boilers safely. The third is emergency equipment and emergency procedures: duties at alarm signals, escape routes, fire-fighting equipment in machinery spaces.

In practice it looks like this: the ratings of an engineering watch work under the direction of the engineer officer of the watch and assist in the safe operation of the power plant. If the automatic equipment fails, a motorman engaged in maintenance helps with the manual operation of the machinery.

The deck counterpart of this step is the watch seaman; what he or she does and which documents are needed is explained in the article "Who Is an Able Seaman".

There are three names for one step here, and they really are confusing. In the official Ukrainian text of STCW, the able seafarer engine is called a "first-class motorman". Order No. 784 calls the same document a certificate of proficiency as a "qualified motorman", with the term able seafarer engine in brackets next to it. The old names in certificates issued earlier — "second-class motorman" and "first-class motorman" — correspond to the new "watch motorman" and "qualified motorman". And "motorman (machinist), 1st class" is a vocational qualification, one of the conditions for a certificate of proficiency, not the certificate itself.

The conditions under STCW: aged 18, meeting the requirements for a rating forming part of an engineering watch, and seagoing service in the engine department of at least 12 months, or at least 6 months plus approved training.

There are more duties here — four functions and ten areas of competence. The function "Marine engineering at the support level" covers contributing to a safe engineering watch, to monitoring and controlling an engine-room watch, to fuelling and oil transfer operations, to bilge and ballast operations, and to the operation of equipment and machinery. The second function is electrical, electronic and control engineering at the support level, with one area: the safe use of electrical equipment. The third is maintenance and repair at the support level, with the area "contribute to shipboard maintenance and repair": paint, lubricants, hand and power tools, machine tools, metalwork. The fourth is controlling the operation of the ship and care for persons on board at the support level: handling stores, preventing pollution of the marine environment, occupational health and safety.

Certificates of proficiency as a watch motorman and a qualified motorman are issued by the Shipping Administration of Ukraine; they have no expiry date and do not need revalidation.

For a watch motorman certificate you need: age 16 or over; a qualified worker's diploma in the occupation "motorman (machinist)", 2nd or 1st class; 2 months of seagoing service if vocational education was full-time, or 6 months if it was part-time, while working; certificates of basic safety training and of security-related familiarization training; a valid seafarer's medical certificate.

A qualified motorman needs more: age 18 or over; a watch motorman certificate; a qualified worker's diploma "motorman (machinist), 1st class"; 6 months (full-time education) or 12 months (part-time education while working) of service in the engine department on ships of 750 kW or more; a valid seafarer's medical certificate.

The different "twelve months" here mean different things: in STCW it is the service for a first-class motorman without approved training, while in Order No. 784 it is the service required where vocational education was obtained part-time, while working.

Where a certificate is not mandatory: Rules No. 784 do not apply to small, pleasure and river vessels, seagoing ships of less than 500 gross tonnage and fishing vessels under 24 metres in length — on them, certificates for ratings are not mandatory.

The engineer officer of the watch is the chief engineer officer's representative and is at all times responsible for the reliable operation of the machinery affecting the safety of the ship. Orders from the bridge are carried out immediately, and changes in the speed of the main engine are recorded.

The conditions under Regulation III/1: at least 18 years of age; either 12 months of combined workshop skill training and seagoing service under an approved programme documented in a training record book, or a total of 36 months, of which at least 30 in the engine department; at least 6 months of engine-room watchkeeping duties under supervision. The training must include workshop training — skills in operating mechanical and electrical installations.

Table A-III/1 consists of four functions at the operational level: marine engineering; electrical, electronic and control engineering; maintenance and repair; controlling the operation of the ship and care for persons on board. The first function has six areas: maintaining a safe engineering watch, engine-room resource management, English, internal communication systems, operating main and auxiliary machinery, and operating fuel, lubrication, ballast and other pumping systems. The second covers the operation of electrical, electronic and control systems and their maintenance and repair. The third covers hand tools, machine tools and measuring instruments for making parts, and the repair of shipboard machinery and equipment. The fourth function has eight areas: pollution prevention, seaworthiness of the ship, fire-fighting, life-saving appliances, medical first aid, legislative compliance, leadership and teamworking skills, and the safety of personnel and ship.

Next comes the management level. On ships of 3,000 kW or more, a second engineer officer's diploma requires at least 12 months of service as a qualified engineer officer, and a chief engineer officer's diploma at least 36 months, or 24 if at least 12 of them were served as second engineer officer. For ships of 750–3,000 kW, Regulation III/3 applies: second engineer — 12 months as an assistant engineer officer or engineer officer, chief engineer — 24 months, of which 12 while qualified as second engineer; a second engineer officer of ships of 3,000 kW or more may serve as chief engineer on ships below 3,000 kW with a properly endorsed certificate.

The deck career ladder works in a similar way, and it is described in the article "How to Become a Ship Captain".

Marine engineers are awarded three ranks: chief engineer, second engineer and engineer officer of the watch; electro-technical officers are awarded the rank of electro-technical officer.

Engineer officer of the watch (item 41 of the Regulations): age 18; a valid medical certificate; a diploma of maritime professional pre-higher or higher education; certificates of basic safety training, survival craft, advanced fire-fighting and first aid (not required within five years of the issue of the maritime education diploma); 12 months of service under an educational institution's programme with a training record book, or 36 months, of which 30 in the engine department and 6 on watchkeeping duties; a computer exam or the unified state qualification exam.

A maritime education diploma is mandatory whichever service option is chosen. Years as a motorman count — 30 of the 36 months in the engine department — but they do not replace education.

Second engineer (item 39): a valid medical certificate; a specialist, bachelor's or master's diploma of maritime higher education; a professional diploma as engineer officer of the watch; at least 12 months of service as engineer officer of the watch; an upgrading course under Section A-III/2, which a master's degree holder does not need; a computer exam. Chief engineer (item 37): a valid medical certificate; maritime higher education; a diploma as engineer officer of the watch or second engineer; 36 months of service as engineer officer of the watch, or 24 months of which 12 as second engineer; the A-III/2 course is not needed by a master's degree holder or a second engineer diploma holder; a computer exam.

Professional diplomas certifying the award of a rank are issued by the Shipping Administration of Ukraine; candidates' documents are reviewed, and the decision to issue is prepared, by the State Qualification Commission of Seafarers it has set up. A marine engineer's professional diploma requires revalidation of continued competence every five years. Service for revalidating the diploma of engineer officer of the watch and for the ranks of second and chief engineer is counted on self-propelled seagoing ships and river-sea ships with main engines of 750 kW or more.

The AVANT training centre runs the Motorman 2nd Class Training Course. The next step is the Motorman 1st Class Training Course. For the conditions, format, duration and programme, see the course page.

The centre also runs the course "Engine Room Watchkeeping" (Engine-Room Resource Management). Engine-room resource management is one of the six areas of competence of an engineer officer of the watch under Table A-III/1.

The centre has an ERS 5000 engine-room simulator.