A boatswain or a bosun, is the leader of the ship’s deck team and is an experienced, qualified and most senior rate of the ship’s deck department. Bosun supervises the deck crew and is usually not a watchstander, except on ships with small crews.
The term ‘Boatswain’ has been in use since 1450 and was initially used to describe a young man, an apprentice, retainer, or servant.
The rank of a bosun is the oldest rank in the Royal Navy, with its origins going back to 1040 when 5 English ports furnished warships to King Edward in exchange for privileges. They also arranged crews whose officers were a master, boatswain, carpenter, and cook. They sailed the vessels and were the standing officers of the navy.
The boatswain was responsible for taking care of rigging, anchors, cordage, sails, boats, flags etc. The Royal Navy’s last official boatswain was Commander E.W Andrew OBE, who retired in 1990. However, the majority of Royal Navy Ships still have a Chief Boatswain’s Mate, the senior rating in the Seaman Specialist Department.
To understand the role of the Bosun, we must first look at the career progression. A trainee OS (ordinary seaman) after having gained the appropriate experience becomes an OS. After gaining more experience, the OS is promoted to the rank of an AB (able-bodied seaman).
When the AB is deemed by the company to be well experienced and in possession of the requisite skills to be one, he is promoted to the rank of the Bosun. A bosun must be thorough with seamanship practices and possess considerable knowledge regarding knots, hitches, bends, whipping, and splices for anchoring the vessel, among other things.
The main duties of bosuns revolve around the deck area of the ship. The Bosun is a member of the deck department and his duty, among others, is to supervise the deck crew of the vessel. The bosun is also involved, under the purview of the Chief Officer (and eventually the Master), in the planning, scheduling, and assigning of work to the deck crew on the ship.
To further simplify his role, a Bosun has to ensure that the lowermost workers effectively carry out their duties and that the ship’s officers are not directly involved with the crew’s deck work and all other aspects involving the deck crew.
Bosuns are highly experienced because when it comes to the deck crew, they are the superiors. The more experience a boatswain has, the better he will be able to maintain the efficiency and the promptness required on the deck. The experience to become a bosun is gained through the years one puts as a deck sailor.
Shipping companies usually pay the Bosun a premium salary compared to other deck crew, given his experience and responsibilities. The pay is decided by the Unions set up specifically for professionals who are existing bosuns or aspire to be bosuns.
Initially, before ships were fitted with equipment like GPS computers and other technologies, the boatswain was also required to have technical knowledge about a ship’s geographic positioning. But after this equipment came to be used extensively, the technical know-how for bosuns stopped being a compulsory requirement.
General Duties Of The Bosun
- Planning the daily work schedule under the purview of the Chief Officer and assigning work to the deck crew. For example, a job that requires more experience will be assigned to an AB rather than an OS.
- Seeing that the work assigned to the crew is realized to the end.
- Maintaining the deck of the ship; tasks involve chipping, painting, buffing etc and overall maintenance of the deck.
- Maintenance of the ship’s windlass to ensure its optimum performance during stations. Also, to perform repair work onboard as required.
- Being thorough with the firefighting aspects of the ship and ensuring that other deck crews are thorough as well.
- Responsible for the ship’s deck stores, paint locker, Bosun store and other such areas as assigned to the Bosun by the Chief Officer.
- Ensuring that the mooring operations, anchoring etc are carried out efficiently.
- Inform the Chief Officer of the progress of the deck work being carried out.
- Being the connection between the officers and the crew about shipboard work.
To categorize the general duties of the Bosun, they can be classified under the following headings:
- Supervision: As mentioned above, the Bosun supervises the deck crew and ensures that the work is done properly and on time.
- Maintenance: The Bosun ensures work is carried out in the assigned areas to ensure the deck is maintained properly. Aside from preventive maintenance, the Bosun guides junior members. He helps them understand the importance of deck work and its effective execution.
- Mooring/Anchoring: Since the mooring lines are laid out on the deck before reaching port, till the ship is cast off, the Bosun plays a crucial role in the efficient operations of the vessel.
To sum it up, the Bosun plays a vital role in ensuring that the ship is seaworthy. Being the proxy between the officers and the crew, the Bosun is essential and imperative to the smooth functioning of the ship.
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