Third Engineer CV
CHIEF. CV · STCW III/1
A third engineer’s CV is read for the machinery in your care: generators, boilers, purifiers, and whether you kept watches or worked an unmanned engine room.
The job, and what crewing reads first
The third engineer keeps an engineering watch or, on ships with an unattended engine room, is on duty in turn, and is usually in charge of the generators, the boilers and the fuel and lubricating oil purifiers. Duties differ between companies, so name the machinery you were responsible for.
Write the makes and models of the auxiliary engines and purifiers, the boiler type and the fuels on board. If you also did bunkering, write it: it is a duty companies hand to engineers they trust.
Certificate of competency: STCW III/1
Issued as: Officer in charge of an engineering watch, 750 kW or more.
STCW III/1 asks for an age of at least 18 and at least 12 months of combined workshop skill training and approved seagoing service as part of an approved training programme documented in a training record book. Otherwise it is at least 36 months of combined workshop training and seagoing service, of which at least 30 months at sea in the engine department.
Third and fourth engineers hold the same certificate. The next certificate is second engineer, after at least 12 months of approved seagoing service as an engineer officer.
Certificates to list
The STCW certificates this rank is asked for. List each with its number, issue date, expiry date and the country that issued it.
| Certificate | STCW | Who needs it |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Safety Training | VI/1 | Personal survival, fire prevention and fire fighting, elementary first aid, personal safety and social responsibilities. Every seafarer; the survival and fire parts are refreshed every five years. |
| Proficiency in Survival Craft and Rescue Boats (PSCRB) | VI/2-1 | Asked for by administrations before an officer’s CoC and by most companies for anyone in charge of a lifeboat. Refreshed every five years. |
| Advanced Fire Fighting | VI/3 | For seafarers who control fire-fighting operations: in practice every officer. Refreshed every five years. |
| Medical First Aid | VI/4-1 | For seafarers designated to give first aid on board. Asked for before an officer’s CoC. |
| Security Awareness or Designated Security Duties | VI/6 | Every seafarer has security awareness training. Anyone with security duties in the ship security plan needs the designated security duties certificate. |
| Medical fitness certificate | I/9 | Valid for two years at most, one year under the age of 18. Name the type, for example ENG1, and the issuing country. |
Depending on the ship
Ship types add their own training. List what you hold even when the next ship does not need it: it widens the ships you can join.
| Ships | STCW | Who needs it |
|---|---|---|
| Oil, chemical and liquefied gas tankers | V/1-1, V/1-2 | Basic training for everyone with cargo duties; advanced training for the master, chief engineer, chief mate, second engineer and anyone directly responsible for the cargo. |
| Passenger ships | V/2 | Crowd management, crisis management and human behaviour, passenger safety, cargo safety and hull integrity on ro-ro passenger ships, by duty on board. |
| Ships using gas or low-flashpoint fuel (IGF Code) | V/3 | Basic training for everyone with duties on the fuel; advanced for the master, engineer officers and anyone directly responsible for the fuel. |
| Ships in polar waters | V/4 | Basic training for officers of the watch; advanced training for the master and chief mate. |
Add your passport, seaman’s book and visas with their numbers and expiry dates. Crewing checks that each one is valid for the whole contract.
Sea service: what to write
For each contract: rank, vessel name and IMO number, vessel type, flag, the company that employed you, sign-on and sign-off dates, and the machinery: main engine make and model, propulsion power in kW, the generators and the electrical power.
For a third engineer, the generators matter as much as the main engine: fill them in under each contract, as in the sample, and name the boilers and purifiers in the summary.
Sample CV
The layout of the CV that CHIEF. exports to PDF and Word. CVs go to crewing companies in English. Numbers, names and contacts are placeholders.
| Type | Number | Issued | Expires | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CoC OICEW, STCW III/1, unlimited | ••••••• | 19.06.2023 | 18.06.2028 | Valid |
| Flag endorsement | ••••••• | 04.08.2025 | 18.06.2028 | Valid |
Sea time 3/E: 6 months · 4/E: 6 months · Total: 12 months
- Vessel:
- Vessel name
- DWT:
- 61,000
- Flag:
- Marshall Islands
- Built:
- 2019
- M/E:
- make, model
- Power:
- 9,960 kW
- Generators:
- 3 × make, 680 kW each
- Vessel:
- Vessel name
- DWT:
- 61,000
- Flag:
- Hong Kong
- Built:
- 2012
- M/E:
- make, model
- Power:
- 8,890 kW
- Generators:
- 3 × make, 600 kW each
Other ranks
- MasterMasterSTCW II/2 · Master, ships of 500 GT or more
- C/OChief OfficerSTCW II/2 · Chief mate, ships of 500 GT or more
- 2/OSecond OfficerSTCW II/1 · Officer in charge of a navigational watch, ships of 500 GT or more
- 3/OThird OfficerSTCW II/1 · Officer in charge of a navigational watch, ships of 500 GT or more
- C/EChief EngineerSTCW III/2 · Chief engineer officer, 3,000 kW propulsion power or more
- 2/ESecond EngineerSTCW III/2 · Second engineer officer, 3,000 kW propulsion power or more
- ETOElectro-Technical OfficerSTCW III/6 · Electro-technical officer, 750 kW or more
- ABAble SeamanSTCW II/5 · Able seafarer deck
- OilerOilerSTCW III/4 · Rating forming part of an engineering watch
Sources
These are the STCW minimums. The administration that issues your certificate decides, and it can ask for more: check its current rules.