1st Officer

The 1st Officer Navigation is a Licensed Watch Keeping Officer. The 1st Officer shall stand his/her own watch.

Essential duties and responsibilities:

• All duties and responsibilities are to be performed in accordance with Royal Caribbean International’s The Royal Way, SQM standards, USPH guidelines, environmental, and safety policies.
• Each shipboard employee may be required to perform all functions in various service venues and throughout the ship.
• In accordance with Royal Caribbean International’s philosophy of Anchored in Excellence, each employee conducts oneself in a professional and courteous manner at all times. This consists of physical and verbal interactions with guests or fellow shipboard employees and/or in the presence of guest contact and crew areas.

Watch

• As a watch keeping officer, he/she shall have an understanding of the Safety and Quality Management program including their responsibilities in the safety organization according to the emergency plan and station bill.
• The watch keeping officer shall ensure that all safety, security, and environmental regulations are obeyed and that the alarm and indicator panels are under observation always. He or she shall ensure that safety rounds are carried out in accordance with the Master's standing orders.
• The watch keeping officer shall report to the Master and/or Staff Captain any significant events that occurred on his or her watch. Important events shall be reported immediately, but he or she is to act on his initiative if necessary.
• Should the watch keeping officer find it necessary to give an order to the engine room that would likely result in equipment damage as advised by the watch keeping engineer or the Chief Engineer, the responsibility rests with the watch keeping officer. The decision of the Master should be obtained if time permits. The Master is to be informed in any case. The time and details shall be entered into the logbook.
• At sea, the watch keeping officer shall ensure that discipline is maintained on the bridge and that all watch keeping personnel properly perform their duties.
• Port
• In port, the watch keeping officer shall keep radio contact with the security guards at the gangways. He or she shall regularly check that the gangway operation is free of problems.
• The watch keeping officer shall, from the bridge, supervise any shifting of moorings and be aware of any important work in progress outside normal working hours and whenever good seamanship dictates. He or she shall be constantly alert for sudden strong winds that might affect the ship's moorings. He or she shall notify the Master or, if the Master is ashore, the Staff Captain at once and take corrective actions as the need arises.

Tender

• The watch keeping officer should be ready, when necessary, to operate the tender boats (ship's tenders, Labadee and Coco Cay) establishing a safe and secure service for the passengers and crew according to the procedures described in Chapter 7 of this manual. See Related Entries below.

NPP

• The watch keeping officer shall be familiar with and comply with the Standard Operation Procedures and the Navigation Policy and Procedures. and the Master’s Standing Orders. (See Related Entries below.)
• It is, at all times, the responsibility of the watch keeping officer to ensure they receive adequate rest in accordance with the Navigation Policy and Procedures and STCW. If at any time a watch keeping officer determines their primary or additional duties are in any way affecting proper rest hours, this shall be reported immediately to the Staff Captain.

Primary duties:

Reporting

• The 1st Officer Navigation shall report directly to the Master in all issues pertaining to navigation, voyage planning, itinerary planning and preparation, navigational updates, weather and navigational efficiency. In carrying out these duties, the 1st Officer Navigation shall be accountable on behalf of the Staff Captain for the care and condition of the materials and spare parts associated with the equipment and systems within this area of responsibility. The 1st Officer Navigation shall ensure his or her portions of the maintenance system are current.

Stability

• The watch keeping officer shall also be prepared and fully capable to make stability calculations, if so required by the Staff Captain.

Bridge

• The 1st Officer Navigation shall make out the necessary requisition lists for spare parts and materials and submit them to the Staff Captain for approval. He or she should maintain a record of all expenditures pertaining to the nautical stores account and to base their requirements on sound economic evaluation.
• Depending on workload, the 1st Officer Navigation should ask the Staff Captain for additional resources if needed in order to ensure all navigational charts and publications are up to date in a timely manner.
• The 1st Officer Navigation shall carry out all duties according to that provided within the Navigation Policy and Procedures section 4.0.
• In addition to those duties, the 1st Officer Navigation shall ensure that all bridge equipment is functioning properly and ensure all deficiencies are reported to the Master, Staff Captain and Chief Electrician. He/she shall maintain a log of all bridge equipment deficiencies and submit to a monthly condition report of all bridge equipment to the above mentioned personnel.
• On behalf of the Staff Captain, the 1st Officer Navigation shall maintain the onboard stability computer(s). He/she shall ensure this system is functional at all times and is operating properly.
• Fuel
• The 1st Officer Navigation is also responsible for maintaining any onboard fuel efficiency navigational software. He/she shall continuously monitor navigational efficiencies with respect to voyage planning and route optimization.
• The duties and workload of the 1st Officer Navigation vary significantly with respect to itinerary. Depending on itinerary workload, the Master may suggest the 1st Officer Navigation shall assist the Staff Captain with additional duties with respect to safety, training, or deck maintenance activities.

Safety Training

• Furthermore, all watch keeping officers shall, in conjunction with the Chief Officer Safety, Security Officer, and other marine officers, train the crew both in regular drills and in smaller groups to ensure that all crew are familiar with their duties in the safety organization. The training shall be organized in a monthly schedule prepared by the Chief Officer Safety and approved by the Master and Staff Captain. The crew training in the handling of lifeboats for certification purposes should be primarily the responsibility of the 1st Officers and secondarily of the Chief Officer Safety.

Other

• Attends meetings, training activities, courses and all other work-related activities as required.
• Performs related duties as required. This position description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the shipboard employee occupying this position. Shipboard employees will be required to perform any other job-related duties assigned by their supervisor or management.

Hiring Requirements:

• The 1st Officer Navigation is a watch keeping officer. The 1st Officer Navigation qualifications shall conform to all international and national conventions and regulations and he/she shall have a Nav. Watch Officer License (OOW) Without Limitations.
• He/she must also have the Regulatory and Company Required Training as indicated in the Training, License, & Certificates Requirements Matrix located on the S&E website.
• Ability to speak English clearly, distinctly and cordially with guests.
• Ability to read and write English in order to understand and interpret written procedures. This includes the ability to give and receive instructions in written and verbal forms and to effectively present information and respond to questions from guests, supervisors and co-workers.
• Ability to speak additional languages such as Spanish, French or German preferred.

Physical Requirements:

• While performing the duties of this job, the shipboard employee is regularly required to stand; walk; use hands to touch, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; talk or hear; and taste or smell. The employee must occasionally/frequently/continually lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.
• All shipboard employees must be physically able to participate in emergency life saving procedures and drills. Full use and range of arms and legs as well as full visual, verbal and hearing abilities are required to receive and give instructions in the event of an emergency including the lowering of lifeboats. Ability to lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.