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Sailors and Marine Oilers

Stand watch to look for obstructions in path of vessel, measure water depth, turn wheel on bridge, or use emergency equipment as directed by captain, mate, or pilot. Break out, rig, overhaul, and store cargo-handling gear, stationary rigging, and running gear. Perform a variety of maintenance tasks to preserve the painted surface of the ship and to maintain line and ship equipment. Must hold government-issued certification and tankerman certification when working aboard liquid-carrying vessels. Includes able seamen and ordinary seamen.
Related: Captains, Mates, & Pilots of Water Vessels  Dredge Operators  Motorboat Operators  Riggers  Ship Engineers 
Industries: Transportation & Storage  Government 

  • Summary

  • Details

    • Work Activities

    • Maintain government-issued certifications, as required.
    • Relay specified signals to other ships, using visual signaling devices, such as blinker lights or semaphores.
    • Lower and man lifeboats when emergencies occur.
    • Give directions to crew members engaged in cleaning wheelhouses or quarterdecks.
    • Handle lines to moor vessels to wharfs, to tie up vessels to other vessels, or to rig towing lines.
    • Read pressure and temperature gauges or displays and record data in engineering logs.
    • Clean and polish wood trim, brass, or other metal parts.
    • Overhaul lifeboats or lifeboat gear and lower or raise lifeboats with winches or falls.
    • Stand gangway watches to prevent unauthorized persons from boarding ships while in port.
    • Stand by wheels when ships are on automatic pilot, and verify accuracy of courses, using magnetic compasses.
    • Attach hoses and operate pumps to transfer substances to and from liquid cargo tanks.
    • Break out, rig, and stow cargo-handling gear, stationary rigging, or running gear.
    • Chip and clean rust spots on decks, superstructures, or sides of ships, using wire brushes and hand or air chipping machines.
    • Load or unload materials, vehicles, or passengers from vessels.
    • Provide engineers with assistance in repairing or adjusting machinery.
    • Participate in shore patrols.
    • Tie barges together into tow units for tugboats to handle, inspecting barges periodically during voyages and disconnecting them when destinations are reached.
    • Steer ships under the direction of commanders or navigating officers or direct helmsmen to steer, following designated courses.
    • Splice and repair ropes, wire cables, or cordage, using marlinespikes, wire cutters, twine, and hand tools.
    • Maintain a ship's engines under the direction of the ship's engineering officers.
    • Read pressure and temperature gauges or displays and record data in engineering logs.
    • Examine machinery to verify specified pressures or lubricant flows.
    • Operate, maintain, or repair ship equipment, such as winches, cranes, derricks, or weapons system.
    • Paint or varnish decks, superstructures, lifeboats, or sides of ships.
    • Operate, maintain, or repair ship equipment, such as winches, cranes, derricks, or weapons system.
    • Record data in ships' logs, such as weather conditions or distances traveled.
    • Attach hoses and operate pumps to transfer substances to and from liquid cargo tanks.
    • Measure depth of water in shallow or unfamiliar waters, using leadlines, and telephone or shout depth information to vessel bridges.
    • Stand watch in ships' bows or bridge wings to look for obstructions in a ship's path or to locate navigational aids, such as buoys or lighthouses.
    • Sweep, mop, and wash down decks to remove oil, dirt, and debris, using brooms, mops, brushes, and hoses.
    • Stand by wheels when ships are on automatic pilot, and verify accuracy of courses, using magnetic compasses.
    • Lubricate machinery, equipment, or engine parts, such as gears, shafts, or bearings.
    • Operate, maintain, or repair ship equipment, such as winches, cranes, derricks, or weapons system.
    • Tie barges together into tow units for tugboats to handle, inspecting barges periodically during voyages and disconnecting them when destinations are reached.

    Skills

    • Systems Analysis
      • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
    • Repairing
      • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
    • Operation and Control
      • Using equipment or systems.
    • Learning Strategies
      • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
    • Coordination
      • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
    • Management of Personnel Resources
      • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
    • Negotiation
      • Bringing people together to solve differences.
    • Critical Thinking
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
    • Persuasion
      • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
    • Equipment Selection
      • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
    • Speaking
      • Talking to others.
    • Equipment Maintenance
      • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
    • Active Learning
      • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
    • Management of Financial Resources
      • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
    • Operations Analysis
      • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
    • Management of Material Resources
      • Managing equipment and materials.
    • Technology Design
      • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
    • Active Listening
      • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
    • Mathematics
      • Using math to solve problems.
    • Science
      • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
    • Monitoring
      • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
    • Reading Comprehension
      • Reading work-related information.
    • Writing
      • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
    • Troubleshooting
      • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
    • Systems Evaluation
      • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
    • Service Orientation
      • Looking for ways to help people.
    • Complex Problem Solving
      • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
    • Programming
      • Writing computer programs.
    • Social Perceptiveness
      • Understanding people's reactions.
    • Instructing
      • Teaching people how to do something.
    • Operations Monitoring
      • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
    • Judgment and Decision Making
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
    • Quality Control Analysis
      • Testing how well a product or service works.
    • Time Management
      • Managing your time and the time of other people.
    • Installation
      • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    Abilities

    • Near Vision
      • Seeing details up close.
    • Wrist-Finger Speed
      • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
    • Speech Clarity
      • Speaking clearly.
    • Originality
      • Creating new and original ideas.
    • Number Facility
      • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
    • Category Flexibility
      • Grouping things in different ways.
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
      • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
    • Visual Color Discrimination
      • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
    • Speech Recognition
      • Recognizing spoken words.
    • Deductive Reasoning
      • Using rules to solve problems.
    • Depth Perception
      • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
    • Static Strength
      • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
    • Extent Flexibility
      • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Finger Dexterity
      • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
    • Information Ordering
      • Ordering or arranging things.
    • Inductive Reasoning
      • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
    • Mathematical Reasoning
      • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
    • Far Vision
      • Seeing details that are far away.
    • Speed of Limb Movement
      • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
    • Explosive Strength
      • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
    • Dynamic Strength
      • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
    • Memorization
      • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
    • Manual Dexterity
      • Holding or moving items with your hands.
    • Stamina
      • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
    • Gross Body Equilibrium
      • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
    • Selective Attention
      • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
    • Gross Body Coordination
      • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
    • Auditory Attention
      • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
    • Visualization
      • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
    • Glare Sensitivity
      • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
    • Flexibility of Closure
      • Seeing hidden patterns.
    • Hearing Sensitivity
      • Telling the difference between sounds.
    • Sound Localization
      • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
    • Reaction Time
      • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
    • Written Expression
      • Communicating by writing.
    • Time Sharing
      • Doing two or more things at the same time.
    • Speed of Closure
      • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
    • Night Vision
      • Seeing at night or under low light.
    • Peripheral Vision
      • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
    • Control Precision
      • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
    • Rate Control
      • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
    • Trunk Strength
      • Using your lower back and stomach.
    • Spatial Orientation
      • Knowing where things are around you.
    • Response Orientation
      • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
    • Fluency of Ideas
      • Coming up with lots of ideas.
    • Written Comprehension
      • Reading and understanding what is written.
    • Oral Expression
      • Communicating by speaking.
    • Problem Sensitivity
      • Noticing when problems happen.
    • Perceptual Speed
      • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
    • Multilimb Coordination
      • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
    • Dynamic Flexibility
      • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Oral Comprehension
      • Listening and understanding what people say.

    Knowledge

    • Food Production
      • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
    • Sales and Marketing
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
    • Physics
      • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
    • English Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
    • Personnel and Human Resources
      • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
    • Geography
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
    • Economics and Accounting
      • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
    • Computers and Electronics
      • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    • Design
      • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
    • Production and Processing
      • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
    • Mathematics
      • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    • Law and Government
      • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
    • Telecommunications
      • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
    • Fine Arts
      • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
    • Therapy and Counseling
      • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
    • Transportation
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
    • Education and Training
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
    • Philosophy and Theology
      • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
    • Communications and Media
      • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
    • Administration and Management
      • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
    • Administrative
      • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
    • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
    • Customer and Personal Service
      • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
    • Foreign Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
    • Chemistry
      • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
    • Engineering and Technology
      • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
    • Building and Construction
      • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
    • History and Archeology
      • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
    • Public Safety and Security
      • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
    • Medicine and Dentistry
      • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
    • Biology
      • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
    • Psychology
      • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
    • Mechanical
      • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    Education

    Education
    No formal educational credential
    Work Experience
    No work experience
    Training
    1 to 12 months on-the-job training
    Education and Training Opportunities

    Pay

    Washington Annual Salary
    64860/yr
    Washington Hourly Wage
    31.18/hr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    2,190
    Yearly Projected Openings
    270

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:
    • Dependability
    • Cooperation
    • Concern for Others
    • Attention to Detail
    • Self Control
    • Initiative

    Tools

    • Alarm systems
    • Anchor chocks
    • Anchor lines
    • Anchor rollers
    • Bench vises
    • Blocks or pulleys
    • Bolt cutters
    • Bridge cranes
    • Cable splicing kits
    • Centrifugal pumps
    • Claw hammer
    • Cold chisels
    • Demolition hammers
    • Depth gauges
    • Desktop computers
    • Dewatering pumps
    • Direction finding compasses
    • Explosimeters
    • Eye bolts
    • Fall protection lanyard
    • Fans
    • Fids
    • Fire extinguishers
    • Fire hoses or nozzles
    • Fire suppression system
    • Flares
    • Forklift or elevator accessories or supplies
    • Forklifts
    • Gas detectors
    • Gas generators
    • Gear pumps
    • Grease guns
    • Gyroscopic instruments
    • Hoists
    • Insulated clothing for cold environments
    • Insulated or flotation suits
    • Ladders
    • Life rings
    • Life vests or preservers
    • Lifeboats or liferafts
    • Lifting hooks
    • Lifts
    • Loading equipment
    • Locking pliers
    • Marine craft communications systems
    • Marine signaling systems
    • Masks or accessories
    • Material handling hoses
    • Oil can
    • Open end wrenches
    • Pawls
    • Personal computers
    • Pipe wrenches
    • Power chippers
    • Punches or nail sets or drifts
    • Radarbased surveillance systems
    • Radio navigation instruments
    • Ratchets
    • Reciprocating pumps
    • Respirators
    • Safety glasses
    • Safety harnesses or belts
    • Safety helmets
    • Sewing needles
    • Sharpening stones or tools or kits
    • Slings
    • Spanner wrenches
    • Spot welding machine
    • Telegraph sounders
    • Two way radios
    • Winches
    • Wire cutters

    Technology

    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Facilities management software
    • Office suite software
    • Operating system software
    • Presentation software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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