A sea captain , ship's captain , captain , master , or shipmaster , is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficient operation of the ship, including its seaworthiness, safety and security, cargo operations, navigation, crew management, and legal compliance, and for the persons and cargo on board.
38-593: Peter Dillon (15 June 1788 – 9 February 1847) was a sea captain engaged in the merchant trade, explorer and writer. Dillon discovered in 1826–27 the fate of the La Pérouse expedition. Peter Dillon was born in Martinique , France , the son and namesake of an Irish immigrant. Not much is known of his early life. He claimed to have joined the Royal Navy at one point and to have served at Trafalgar . He left
76-489: A purser , the captain is in charge of the ship's accounting . This includes ensuring an adequate amount of cash on board, coordinating the ship's payroll (including draws and advances), and managing the ship's slop chest . On international voyages, the captain is responsible for satisfying requirements of the local immigration and customs officials. Immigration issues can include situations such as embarking and disembarking passengers, handling crew members who desert
114-907: A "considerable increase" in the job market over the next few years. As of 2013, captains of U.S.-flagged deep sea vessels make up to US$ 1,500 per day, or US$ 80,000 to US$ 300,000 per year. Captains of smaller vessels in the inland and coastal trade earn between US$ 350 and US$ 700 per day, or US$ 65,000 to $ 180,000 per year. Captains of large ferries average US$ 56,794 annually. In 2005, 3,393 mariners held active unlimited master's licenses. 87 held near-coastal licenses with unlimited tonnage, 291 held unlimited tonnage master's licenses on inland and Great Lakes waters, while 1,044 held unlimited licenses upon inland waters only. Some 47,163 active masters licenses that year had tonnage restrictions, well over half of those being for near-coastal vessels of up to 100 tons gross tonnage . As of 2006, some 34,000 people were employed as captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels in
152-463: A Voyage to the South Seas (1829). In it he describes holding out with five other people, including Charles Savage , on a rock later called " Dillon's Rock " while native Fijians prepared a cannibal feast of Dillon's fallen comrades. During his time as a trader, at least two of his ships were wrecked: Phatisalam on 9 July 1821, and Calder on 10 June 1825. In 1826, Dillon had command of
190-463: A few countries, such as UK, USA and Italy, some captains with particular experience in navigation and command at sea , may be named commodore or senior captain or captain senior grade . The term master is descended from the Latin magister navis , used during the imperial Roman age to designate the nobleman ( patrician ) who was in ultimate authority on board a vessel. The magister navis had
228-443: A liaison to local investigators and is responsible for providing complete and accurate logbooks, reports, statements and evidence to document an incident. Specific examples of the ship causing external damage include collisions with other ships or with fixed objects, grounding the vessel, and dragging anchor. Some common causes of cargo damage include heavy weather, water damage, pilferage, and damage caused during loading/unloading by
266-463: A marriage ceremony on board his ship or aircraft. He shall not permit a marriage ceremony to be performed on board when the ship or aircraft is outside the territory of the United States." However, there may be exceptions "in accordance with local laws and the laws of the state, territory, or district in which the parties are domiciled" and "in the presence of a diplomatic or consular official of
304-526: A species of fiction writing and seamen's yarns." Sea captain The captain ensures that the ship complies with local and international laws and complies also with company and flag state policies. The captain is ultimately responsible, under the law, for aspects of operation such as the safe navigation of the ship, its cleanliness and seaworthiness, safe handling of all cargo, management of all personnel, inventory of ship's cash and stores, and maintaining
342-546: A state or the United States Coast Guard . If the vessel carries over six paying passengers, it must be an "inspected vessel" and a higher class license must be obtained by the skipper/master depending on the vessel's gross tons. In the Royal Navy , Royal Marines , U.S. Navy , U.S. Marine Corps , U.S. Coast Guard , and merchant naval slang, it is a term used in reference to the commanding officer of any ship, base, or other command regardless of rank. It
380-653: Is a wedding on a ship in port, under the authority of an official from that port. In works of fiction, ship captains have performed marriages in various media, including the 1951 film The African Queen , and episodes of The Love Boat , How I Met Your Mother , The Office and various Star Trek series. Master Mariner certification is regulated internationally under the STCW Convention , specifically Regulation II/2 sets out requirements for Master Mariners. Master mariners can possess either an unlimited certification/licence or one restricted based on tonnage of
418-410: Is also more frequently used than captain with privately owned noncommercial or semi-commercial vessels, such as small yachts and other recreational boats, mostly in cases where the person in command of the boat may not be a licensed or professional captain, suggesting the term is less formal. In the U.S., a "skipper" who is in command of a charter vessel that carries paying passengers must be licensed by
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#1732780219018456-625: Is emeritus professor of anthropology at Princeton University and has done much work in his home country of Sri Lanka . His research focuses on psychoanalysis and anthropology and the ways in which personal symbolism is related to religious experience, in addition to the European exploration of Polynesia in the 18th century and after, and the implications of these voyages for the development of ethnography . His books include Land Tenure in Village Ceylon , Medusa's Hair , The Cult of
494-601: Is generally only applied to someone who has earned the speaker's respect, and only used with the permission of the commander/commanding officer in question. Skipper RNR was an actual rank used in the British Royal Naval Reserve for skippers of fishing boats who were members of the service. It was equivalent to Warrant Officer . Skippers could also be promoted to Chief Skipper RNR (equivalent to Commissioned Warrant Officer ) and Skipper Lieutenant RNR. Gananath Obeyesekere Gananath Obeyesekere
532-732: Is the UK Honourable Company of Master Mariners . The international parent and representative body is the International Federation of Shipmasters' Associations which has consultative status at the International Maritime Organization . As of 2008, the U.K. Learning and Skills Council lists annual salaries for senior deck officers as ranging from £22,000 to over £50,000 per year. The Council characterizes job opportunities for senior deck officers as "generally good" and expects
570-421: Is useful for those unfamiliar with the vessel to be able to identify members of the crew and their function. Some companies and some countries use an executive curl similar to that of the Royal Navy . In the United States, and in numerous other maritime countries, captains and officers of shipping companies may wear a merchant navy or merchant marine regular uniform in conjunction with their employment. In
608-784: The Bahamas permit captains of ships registered in their jurisdictions to perform marriages at sea. Princess Cruises , whose ships are registered in Bermuda, has used this as a selling point for their cruises, while Cunard moved the registration of its ships Queen Mary 2 , Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth from Southampton to Bermuda in 2011 to allow marriages to be conducted on their ships. Some captains obtain other credentials (such as ordination as ministers of religion or accreditation as notaries public), which allow them to perform marriages in some jurisdictions where they would otherwise not be permitted to do so. Another possibility
646-577: The St. Patrick and was attempting to get to Fiji when he happened upon Tikopia , one of the Santa Cruz Islands . There he found many of the inhabitants in possession of items of European manufacture such as sword guards, teacups, knives, and glass beads. He learned from the Tikopians that the items had come from two ships wrecked some years before on the neighbouring island of Vanikoro . Dillon
684-767: The University of Ceylon , the University of Washington and the University of California, San Diego . He was Chair of the Princeton University Anthropology Department and a Professor from 1980 to the year 2000 when he retired. He has received several academic awards, the most recent being the Thomas H. Huxley medal by the Royal Anthropological Institute in recognition of his scholarly contributions to
722-528: The stevedores . All persons on board including public authorities, crew, and passengers are under the captain's authority and are his or her ultimate responsibility, particularly during navigation. In the case of injury or death of a crew member or passenger, the master is responsible to address any medical issues affecting the passengers and crew by providing medical care as possible, cooperating with onshore medical personnel, and, if necessary, evacuating those who need more assistance than can be provided on board
760-688: The British East India Company 's survey vessel Research . In January 1827 Dillon sailed for Vanikoro. After a long and difficult journey he reached Vanikoro in September 1827. While there he recovered items from the wrecks, including a ship's bell of French make. He also tried to learn more about the fate of the French explorers from the older inhabitants of the island. According to Dillon's account in his Narrative and Successful Result , he learned that both ships had been wrecked on
798-679: The Goddess Pattini , Buddhism Transformed (coauthor), The Work of Culture , The Apotheosis of Captain Cook: European Mythmaking in the Pacific , and Making Karma . Professor Obeyesekere completed a B.A. in English (1955) at the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya , followed by an M.A. (1958) and PhD (1964) at the University of Washington . Before his appointment to Princeton, Obeyesekere held teaching positions at
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#1732780219018836-720: The Royal Navy and made his way to Calcutta as a young man, eventually becoming a trader in the South Seas. In 1813, he sailed to Fiji as third mate in the Hunter under Captain James Robson to look for sandalwood. While there, tensions between the Europeans and the Fijians escalated into violence that cost the lives of many on both sides. Dillon recounted the events of this battle in his Narrative and Successful Result of
874-648: The United States, who has consented to issue the certificates and make the returns required by the consular regulations." Furthermore, in the United States , there have been a few contradictory legal precedents: courts did not recognize a shipboard marriage in California 's 1898 Norman v. Norman but did in New York 's 1929 Fisher v. Fisher (notwithstanding the absence of municipal laws so carried) and in 1933's Johnson v. Baker , an Oregon court ordered
912-415: The United States. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 18% growth in this occupation, expecting demand for 40,000 shipmasters in 2016. Uniforms are worn aboard many ships, or aboard any vessels of traditional and organized navigation companies, and are required by company regulation on passenger and cruise vessels. In the passenger-carrying trade a unified corporate image is often desired and it
950-618: The defence of John Tawell for the poison murder of Sarah Hart in March 1845. By all accounts a passionate and complex individual, Peter Dillon by turns charmed and alienated the people he encountered. He died in Paris on 9 February 1847. Gananath Obeyesekere , a Sri Lankan professor at Princeton , in 2005 attempted a "radical reexamination of the notion of cannibalism" and deconstruction, particularly as it pertains to "Western eyewitness accounts, carefully examining their origins and treating them as
988-496: The discipline. In the 1990s he entered into a well-known intellectual debate with Marshall Sahlins over the rationality of indigenous peoples. The debate was carried out through an examination of the details of the death of James Cook in the Hawaiian Islands in 1779. At the heart of the debate was how to understand the rationality of indigenous people. Obeyesekere insisted that indigenous people thought in essentially
1026-441: The items brought back by Dillon as items that had been carried on the French ships. In 1829, Dillon published his Narrative and Successful Result . He also received a knighthood and pension from the French government. Much of the remainder of his life was spent in a disappointing search for greater recognition for his achievements. Although generally not recalled, he was one of the character witnesses called by Sir Fitzroy Kelly in
1064-637: The payment of death benefits to a widow because she had established that her marriage at sea was lawful. However, in Fisher v. Fisher the involvement of the ship's captain was irrelevant to the outcome. New Jersey 's 1919 Bolmer v. Edsall said a shipboard marriage ceremony is governed by the laws of the nation where ownership of the vessel lies. In the United Kingdom , the captain of a merchant ship has never been permitted to perform marriages, although from 1854 any which took place had to be reported in
1102-611: The reefs during a storm, that some of the survivors had built a boat from the wreckage and sailed off in it, and that two survivors had remained on the island but had since died. Dillon eventually made his way to France, where he met Barthélemy de Lesseps , the only living survivor of the La Pérouse expedition. De Lesseps had served the expedition as a Russian interpreter; he'd left the expedition in Petropavlovsk , Siberia and made his way overland back to Europe. He identified
1140-483: The right to wear the laurus or corona laurèa and the corona navalis . Carrying on this tradition, the modern-day shipmaster of some nations wears golden laurel leaves or golden oak leaves on the visor of his cap. A skipper (sometimes also serving as the helmansperson , helmsman , or driver ) is a person who has command of a boat or watercraft or tug , more or less equivalent to "captain in charge aboard ship ." At sea, or upon lakes and rivers,
1178-399: The same way as Westerners and was concerned that any argument otherwise would paint them as "irrational" and "uncivilized". In contrast, Sahlins argued that each culture may have different types of rationality that make sense of the world by focusing on different patterns and explain them within specific cultural narratives, and that assuming that all cultures lead to a single rational view is
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1216-592: The ship's certificates and documentation. One of a shipmaster's particularly important duties is to ensure compliance with the vessel's security plan, as required by the International Maritime Organization 's ISPS Code . The plan, customized to meet the needs of each individual ship, spells out duties including conducting searches and inspections, maintaining restricted spaces, and responding to threats from terrorists, hijackers, pirates, and stowaways. The security plan also covers topics such as refugees and asylum seekers , smuggling, and saboteurs. On ships without
1254-483: The ship's log. A ship's master can, however, conduct a church service, regardless of any clergy aboard. Spanish and Filipino law, as narrow exceptions, recognise a marriage in articulo mortis (on the point of death) solemnized by the captain of a ship or chief of an aeroplane during a voyage, or by the commanding officer of a military unit. Japan allows ship captains to perform a marriage ceremony at sea, but only for Japanese citizens. Malta , Bermuda and
1292-443: The ship, making crew changes in port, and making accommodations for foreign crew members. Customs requirements can include the master providing a cargo declaration, a ship's stores declaration, a declaration of crew members' personal effects, crew lists and passenger lists. The captain has special responsibilities when the ship or its cargo are damaged or when the ship causes damage to other vessels or facilities. The master acts as
1330-485: The ship. There is a common belief that ship captains have historically been, and currently are, able to perform marriages. This depends on the country of registry, however, and most do not permit performance of a marriage by the master of a ship at sea. In the United States Navy , a captain's powers are defined by its 1913 Code of Regulations, specifically stating: "The commanding officer shall not perform
1368-452: The ship. Certification is given by national authorities, typically following completion of minimum necessary seatime and a course of approved training, based on the IMO model course. Many maritime countries have private or charitable organisations and associations for Master Mariners. These primarily include organisations to represent Masters in the industry. An example of a national organisation
1406-459: The skipper as shipmaster or captain has command over the whole crew. The skipper may or may not be the owner of the boat. The word is derived from the Dutch word schipper ; schip is Dutch for "ship". In Dutch sch- is pronounced [sx] and English-speakers rendered this as [sk] . The word "skipper" is used more than "captain" for some types of craft, for example fishing boats . It
1444-578: Was convinced he'd happened on the wreckage of La Boussole and L'Astrolabe , the two French frigates of the La Pérouse expedition. The ships had disappeared in the Pacific after calling at Botany Bay in 1788, and their fate had been a mystery for nearly 40 years. Dillon sailed to Calcutta to report his discovery and garner support for an exploration of Vanikoro. The British government in India of Lord Amherst commissioned him and gave him command of
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