Main article: Seafarer's professions and ranks

An Able Seaman (AB) is an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination of these roles. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 571 pixelsFull resolution (1479 × 1056 pixel, file size: 1. ... A helmsman is an person who steers a ship. ... This article is about the navigational instrument. ... The deck department is responsible for safely receiving, discharging, and caring for cargo during a voyage. ... The bosun aboard a modern merchant ship stands cargo watch as freight is lowered into an open hatch. ... Main article: Seafarers professions and ranks A Chief Mate (C/M) or Chief Officer is a licensed member and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. ... A helmsman is an person who steers a ship. ... A lookout or look-out is a person on a ship in charge of the observation of the sea for hazards, other ships, land, etc. ... // In the Royal Navy in the middle of the 18th century, the term Able Seaman referred to a seaman with at least two years experience at sea. ... A vessel is, say, like a town in that everything works such that. ... A United States Merchant Marine license. ... The deck department is responsible for safely receiving, discharging, and caring for cargo during a voyage. ... Cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship that carries goods and materials from one port to another. ...

Watchstander

At sea an AB watchstander's duties include standing watch as helmsman and lookout. A helmsman is required to maintain a steady course, properly execute all rudder orders and communicate utilizing navigational terms relating to heading and steering. A watchstander may be called upon to stand security-related watches, such as a gangway watch or anchor watch while the ship is not underway. Watchstanding, or watchkeeping, in nautical terms concerns the division of qualified personnel to operate a ship continuously around the clock. ... A helmsman is an person who steers a ship. ... A lookout or look-out is a person on a ship in charge of the observation of the sea for hazards, other ships, land, etc. ...

Dayworker

Dayworker AB preparing a mast for painting

Knowing how to safely work aloft to maintain cargo rigging is a skillset required of an AB.

An AB day worker performs general maintenance, repair, sanitation and upkeep of material, equipment, and areas in the deck department. This can include maintenance of the ship’s metal structures such as chipping, scraping, cleaning, priming, and painting. Areas frequently in need of such maintenance include the hull, decks, superstructure, cargo gear, and smoke stack. Day workers also frequently perform maintenance on lifeboats, rescue boats and liferafts, and emergency and damage control gear. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Look up mast in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

General duties

An AB may be called on to use emergency, lifesaving, damage control, and safety equipment. Able seamen perform all operations connected with the launching of lifesaving equipment. An AB is expected to be able to operate deck machinery, such as the windlass or winches while mooring or unmooring, and to operate cargo gear. A windlass is an apparatus for moving a heavy weight. ... Modern self-tailing winch on a sailing boat. ...

Able seamen require advanced training, including lifeboatman certification. Severn class lifeboat in Poole Harbour, Dorset, England. ...

The ship's boatswain, if carried, is typically a senior AB. The boatswain is in charge of the able seamen and ordinary seaman that comprise the unlicensed deck crew, and reports directly to the chief mate. The bosun aboard a modern merchant ship stands cargo watch as freight is lowered into an open hatch. ... Main article: Seafarers professions and ranks In the United States Merchant Marine, an Ordinary Seaman or OS is an entry-level position in a ships deck department. ... Main article: Seafarers professions and ranks A Chief Mate (C/M) or Chief Officer is a licensed member and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. ...

Certification

Image File history File links Gnome-globe. ...

United States

Training

AB's were in high demand during World War II.

The Code of Federal Regulations establishes in 46 CFR 12.05^[1] four categories of able seaman for the United States Merchant Marine: Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is the codification of the general and permanent rules and regulations (sometimes called administrative law) published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government of the United States. ... USMM redirects here. ...

1. Able Seaman—Any Waters, Unlimited. Requires three years service on deck on vessels operating on the oceans or the Great Lakes.
2. Able Seaman—Limited. Requires 18 months service on deck in vessels of 100 gross tons or more which operate in a service not exclusively confined to the rivers and smaller inland lakes of the United States.
3. Able Seaman—Special. Requires 12 months service on deck on vessels operating on the oceans, or the navigable waters of the United States including the Great Lakes.
4. Able Seaman—Special (OSV). Requires six months service on deck on vessels operating on the oceans, or the navigable waters of the United States including the Great Lakes.

Time served in certain training programs and school ships may be substituted for the time of service listed above. Special certificates of service are available for Able Seaman, Great Lakes—18 months service, Able Seaman, Any waters—12 months, Able Seaman, Tugs and towboats—any waters, Able Seaman, Bays and sounds—12 months, vessels 500 gross tons or less not carrying passengers, and Able Seaman, Seagoing barges—12 months.

Examination requirements

The Able Seaman's certification is printed on the back of one's Merchant Mariner's Document after completing training.

For the United States Merchant Marine, the Code of Federal Regulations establishes in 46 CFR 12.05^[2] examination requirements for the certification of able seamen, which includes: Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... A United States Merchant Mariners Document (front). ... USMM redirects here. ... The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is the codification of the general and permanent rules and regulations (sometimes called administrative law) published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government of the United States. ...

• Competence as a lifeboatman, including showing

1. training in all the operations connected with the launching of lifeboats and liferafts, and in the use of oars;
2. acquaintance with the practical handling of boats; including the ability to command the boat's crew.

• An examination, conducted only in English, consisting of questions regarding:

1. lifeboats and liferafts, the names of their essential parts, and a description of the required equipment;
2. the clearing away, swinging out, and lowering of lifeboats and liferafts, and handling of lifeboats under oars and sails, including questions relative to the proper handling of a boat in a heavy sea;
3. the operation and functions of commonly used types of davits;
4. knowledge of nautical terms; boxing the compass, either by degrees or points; running lights, passing signals, and fog signals for vessels on the high seas, in inland waters, or on the Great Lakes depending upon the waters on which the applicant has served; and distress signals; and,
5. knowledge of proper response to commands for handling the wheel and knowledge of the use of engine room telegraph or bell-pull signals.

• In the actual demonstration, the applicant shall show ability by taking command of a boat and directing the operation of clearing away, swinging out, lowering the boat into the water, and acting as coxswain in charge of the boat under oars. The AB shall demonstrate ability to row by pulling an oar in the boat. The applicant shall also demonstrate knowledge of the principal knots, bends, splices, and hitches in common use by tying them.
• The applicant must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection, knowledge of pollution laws and regulations, procedures for discharge containment and cleanup, and methods for disposal of sludge and waste material from cargo and fueling operations.

Notable Able Seamen

Some notable Able Seamen from the merchant service include:

• Tom Ayrton, fictional AB and quartermaster in Jules Verne novels
• Perce Blackborow, stowaway then AB on Shackleton's voyage to Antarctica
• John Brightman, Baron Brightman, an English Chancery barrister and ultimately a judge of the House of Lords.
• Sailor Steve Costigan, a fictional AB created by Robert E. Howard
• Joseph Curran, American labor leader
• Ben Jackson, fictional AB in sci-fi series Doctor Who
• Charles Lindley, a Swedish socialist and trade union activist
• Jack Lord American actor
• Alan Villiers, Australian author, adventurer, photographer and Master Mariner

This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... John Anson Brightman, Baron Brightman (20 June 1911–6 February 2006) was an English Chancery barrister and ultimately a judge of the House of Lords. ... Sailor Steve Costigan is a fictional character created by Robert E. Howard. ... Joseph Curran J. Joseph Curran, Jr. ... Ben Jackson is a fictional character played by Michael Craze in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Carl Gustaf Lindley, always called Charles Lindley, (born 1865 - 1957) was a Swedish socialist and trade union activist. ... John Joseph Patrick Ryan (December 30, 1920 â€“ January 21, 1998), best known by his stage name Jack Lord, was an American television, film, and Broadway actor. ... Captain Alan John Murray Villiers (1903-1982); Author, Adventurer, Photographer and Master Mariner. ...

Able-bodied Seaman

Some modern references claim that AB stands for able-bodied seaman as well as, or instead of, able seaman. Able seaman was originally entered using the abbreviation AB instead of the more obvious AS in ships' muster books or articles. Such an entry was likely to avoid confusion with ordinary seaman (OS). Later the abbreviation began to be written as A.B., leading to the back formation able-bodied seaman. The correct term, able seaman, remains in use in legal documents, in seaman's papers, and aboard ship. In etymology, the process of back-formation is the creation of a neologism by reinterpreting an earlier word as a derivation and removing apparent affixes, or more generally, by reconstructing an original form from any kind of derived form (including abbreviations or inflected forms). ...

References

is the 62nd day of the year (63rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 62nd day of the year (63rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

See also

• Ordinary Seaman (occupation)
• Boatswain
• Deck department

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Main article: Seafarers professions and ranks In the United States Merchant Marine, an Ordinary Seaman or OS is an entry-level position in a ships deck department. ... The bosun aboard a modern merchant ship stands cargo watch as freight is lowered into an open hatch. ... The deck department is responsible for safely receiving, discharging, and caring for cargo during a voyage. ...

External links

• International Labour Organization (2000-12-05). Seaman, Merchant Marine. International Hazard Datasheets on Occupation. Retrieved on 2007-05-26.

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 339th day of the year (340th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 146th day of the year (147th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...