Third Officer jobs
YOUR NEW ADVENTURE AWAITS
Explore more yacht roles
Other essential guides
The Third Officer role is generally found on larger yachts where they serve as an integral figure in delivering seamless guest experiences onboard superyacht
The Third Officer’s role is to provide support in daily yacht operations in matters related to safety and security. This means taking over matters related to safety and carrying out safety checks and drills, always ensuring that the yacht is ready to handle any emergency situations. Apart from that, the Third Officer is also assisting with deck duties. The ratio of safety and deck duties will typically depend on the size of the yacht and its structure.
What does a Third Officer do? | Third Officer Job Description
The role is generally split between safety procedures, the maintenance of lifesaving and firefighting equipment and deck duties. The Third Officer is often the designated safety officer or part of the safety team. They ensure that all safety procedures onboard are followed and that all the safety equipment is functioning correctly.
On deck, they participate in yacht maintenance, tender driving and water sports. An excellent knowledge of all maritime safety procedures is required as well as a flexible nature in order to combine bridge duties with assistance on deck. Other duties include undertaking bridge watches when at sea.
The responsibilities of an successful Third Officer include:
Ensuring that all safety procedures are followed
Maintenance of all the LSA and FFA onboard
Arranging regular safety drills
Weekly and monthly safety checks and maintenance
Conducting safety familiarisations and safety training for the crew on a regular basis
Watch-keeping
Overseeing deck maintenance
Tender driving
Water-sports
Participating in deck operations such as anchoring, mooring and operating cranes for hoisting/lowering of tenders
Soft and hard skills required to be a Third Officer
Since the role involves responsibility for safety and safety equipment, the Third Officer needs to possess excellent knowledge of all safety procedures. They also need to be flexible and combine these duties with assisting on deck.
The skills of a successful Third Officer include:
Knowledge of all safety procedures on board
Understanding of all safety equipment and proper care for them
Proficiency in Medical Care
Excellent leadership and communication skills
A positive can-do attitude
Extensive deck maintenance knowledge and skills
Advanced product knowledge
Excellent tender driving skills
Advanced water sports knowledge
Mandatory certificates needed to work on board a yacht
All crew members regardless of position and seniority need to have a valid STCW Basic Safety Training certificate, along with a recognised Seafarers medical certificate, the most popular being the ENG1 which is issued by an MCA (Maritime and Coastguard Agency) professional medic.
Without these two certificates, it is not possible for crew to work on board a yacht and a Recruiter will not be able to assist you in finding work onboard a yacht. For more information about mandatory certificates please visit our Mandatory Certificates Guide.
Are you ready to secure a Third Officer position on board a yacht?
Become a member of YPI CREW and connect with our recruiters so they can guide you through your job search.
Each of our recruiters is specialised in crew placement for a particular department and they will do their best to get you an interview on board a yacht. They will also advise you on how to best present your experience and skills and prepare for a yacht job interview.
