Coast Guard seeks input from unlimited tonnage deck officers

(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Coast Guard is seeking input from mariners who hold national merchant mariner credential (MMC) deck officer endorsements for unlimited tonnage vessels to validate information gathered as part of a job task analysis (JTA).

Since 2016, the Coast Guard has been working on several initiatives to improve the quality of the content of credentialing examinations. One initiative is to validate the occupational tasks carried out by mariners in today’s merchant fleet by conducting JTAs. The Coast Guard is currently working on JTAs of deck officer endorsements for unlimited tonnage vessels. We have worked with members of industry who have experience as deck officers on unlimited tonnage vessels on all operating routes to identify tasks that both management and operational level deck officers are responsible for while signed on a vessel. The Coast Guard is inviting you to be a part of this exciting and worthwhile effort by:

• Validating the unlimited tonnage deck officer tasks.

• Telling us the difficulty, importance, and frequency of performance of these tasks.

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This is a unique opportunity for you to provide insight into your job as a deck officer on unlimited tonnage vessels and contribute to Coast Guard examination improvements. The Coast Guard will use the results of the JTAs in consultation with industry to evaluate and update examination content for all the unlimited tonnage deck officer endorsements.

Mariners who hold unlimited tonnage deck officer endorsements will receive an e-mail from JobTaskAnalysis@uscg.mil containing a link to the survey and the dates the survey is open. Your link to the survey will have a unique identifier to record your responses. It is not linked to you personally and the information you provide will remain anonymous. Your participation is encouraged for the benefit of the maritime community and safety of the Marine Transportation System.

If you have questions regarding the survey, please contact us at JobTaskAnalysis@uscg.mil. Your participation in the survey is greatly appreciated. We look forward to your input.

– Mayte Medina, chief, Office of Merchant Mariner Credentialing

By Professional Mariner Staff