2. Ship’s organization.

There are three main departments: deck department, engine room department and catering department.

Deck department.

The head of the deck department is also the master of the entire vessel, the Captain. He has absolute rights of control over the ship and all those (passengers as well as crew) who sail in her. As well as overseeing the navigation, a Captain's daily routine is largely taken up with paperwork, inspection tours, attending social events and meeting with the various heads of department. Also, international maritime law dictates that only the Captain is allowed to sign verification of the daily entries in the ship's log book, such entries providing an important record of nautical and navigational data, together with reports concerning passengers and crew.

Subordinate to the Master are mates first, or chief; second; third; and junior third, or fourth. The expressions "mate" and "officer", when referring to deck officers, are exactly synonymous.

The First Mate (The Chief Mate) is second in command and administers the deck department, which operates and maintains all parts of the ship except its propulsion machinery, and is in charge of cargo handling and stowage. Like the Captain, the First Mate generally stands no watch but is always on call.

The Second Mate is the navigator and usually stands the 4-to-8 watches so that star sights may be taken. He is responsible to the captain for all aspects of navigation (voyage planning, chart/publication correction, navigation equipment maintenance, and recently added GMDSS Communications responsibilities as well) while at sea, in charge of cargo watch while in port for the safe and efficient transfer of cargo.

The third and junior-third mates stand the other watches. The Third Officer is in charge of the life-saving equipment. He is responsible for all safety inspections, usually designated as medical officer, maintains navigation watch while at sea, in charge of cargo watch while in port. While on watch, a mate is in charge of the ship.

Deck Cadet is a student from one of the Maritime Academies doing a sea apprenticeship to become a Third Mate.

In the deck department, the carpenter, boatswain, and quartermasters (helmsmen) are petty officers. The boatswain (bosun) and carpenter are directly responsible to the chief officer, and the boatswain supervises the work of the crew. He is usually an experienced seafarer with rather more service than most of the men under him. The carpenter is usually a qualified shipwright. The title is misleading since he may do very little carpentry in the course of a voyage. One of the carpenter's most important regular jobs is that of sounding all the tanks and bilges on the vessel. He is also responsible, under the chief officer, for lowering and raising the anchor. The carpenter has general charge of hatches and wooden structures. The boatswain is the foreman of the deckhands, or seamen. On large ships the boatswain may be assisted by boatswain's mates. Quartermasters steer the ship and maintain her Navigation Bridge. Deckhands are called ordinary seamen, able-bodied seamen, or maintenance men. On the modern cargo ship the deck rating's or sailor's job is very varied and he finds himself doing almost any form of work from painting the topmast to steering the ship. On an outward voyage all cargo running gear will be overhauled, and wires and ropes will be made ready for each port of call. The sailor must be able to stand watches, steer, paint, sew, scrub, polish, scrape, splice, drive a winch, keep a lookout, slack away a backspring and do a hundred other jobs. Maintenance men do not stand watches.