Engine department

[1] These include the ship engine, fuel oil, lubrication, water distillation, separation process, lighting, air conditioning, and refrigeration.

Due to advances in marine technology during the 20th century, the engine department aboard merchant ships is considered equally important as the deck department, since trained engine officers are required to handle the machinery on a ship.

[2] Typically, a ship's engine department is run by the engine officers but staffed with other occupational specialties of the seafarer's trade like: In order to be a watch officer and have the license for it, there are 3 basic requirements and they are age, seagoing service, and education/training on stcw's.

[3] Some basic USCG stcw requirements go further into seagoing service, approved trainings such as; engine resource management, gas/steam turbine plants, control systems, etc., and finally the competencies which include "Evidence of Standard of competence".

Nowadays due to the increase in automation on merchant vessels and the increase in the unattended machinery spaces (UMS) aboard them, the number of seafaring engine officers has decreased drastically on board merchant ships.