A marine superintendent is responsible for ensuring that all necessary repairs on a ship are completed appropriately, notably during the ship’s dry dock. In the maritime industry, a marine superintendent has many responsibilities that require them to be constantly aware and on guard.
In layman’s terms, a marine superintendent is a supervisor or overseer with detailed documentation on the ship’s condition. They also ensure that the ship’s repairs and rebuilding are done appropriately in the authorised shipyard or dry dock. The role of the marine superintendent is highly significant because they are expected to be responsible for the following things:
- A marine superintendent’s job is not easy in the maritime industry. They are held principally responsible if there is a problem with the ship before embarking on a journey.
- A marine superintendent, as an overseer, must maintain continual contact with the ship repair firm for updates and progress on the repair job. This constant watchfulness ensures that the ship repair company doesn’t take more time to fix the ship, which would cost more money.
- A marine superintendent is often assigned to a certain shipyard, where they are given the documentation for the ship that requires urgent attention.
- The marine superintendent, also known as the “ship sup,” oversees all proceedings from when the ship arrives at the shipyard until all documents verifying that the ship’s maintenance was carried out effectively are handed down to the concerned authorities.
Training of marine superintendents
Particular institutes offer offline or online marine training for future marine superintendents. Various topics are taught in these courses, such as how to respond in emergencies; document verification and processing; surveying the extent of damage to a ship; cost efficiency and maintaining effective budgeting, etc. However, it should be emphasised that the position of marine superintendent is not readily obtained.
These aspects are critical when it comes to superintendent training since only through such training can a candidate become adept in the shipping sector and prove to be an asset to the ship owner or shipping company.
Conclusion
The marine superintendent plays an important role in ensuring a safe journey of a ship. Several factors define their ability to be reliable, and experience is also among those factors. When the supervisory task is considered, the more experience a professional has, the better. A person with more experience will know how to do the job’s tasks better in the real world than someone with less experience.
