U.S. Coast Guard: Unlimited tonnage deck officer survey

STAR Center Director of Training Jerry Pannell provided the following details: The U.S. Coast Guard is seeking participation from current unlimited tonnage deck officers in a survey, which will be sent to the email address each mariner has on file with the Coast Guard. The purpose of the survey is to validate the USCG's recently completed job task analysis and determine the relevance and frequency of critical tasks performed by unlimited tonnage deck officers onboard their vessels. This valuable input from currently sailing mariners will lead to updates and changes to USCG licensing requirements and examination makeup and structure, with the aim of making these more relevant for modern vessels and operations. AMO officers are encouraged to participate in the survey.

The following bulletin was released May 24 by the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard is seeking input from mariners who hold national Merchant Mariner Credential deck officer endorsements for unlimited tonnage vessels to validate information gathered as part of a job task analysis (JTA).

Since 2016, the Coast Guard has been working on several initiatives to improve the quality of the content of credentialing examinations. One initiative is to validate the occupational tasks carried out by mariners in today's merchant fleet by conducting JTAs. The Coast Guard is currently working on JTAs of deck officer endorsements for unlimited tonnage vessels. We have worked with members of industry who have experience as deck officers on unlimited tonnage vessels on all operating routes to identify tasks that both management and operational level deck officers are responsible for while signed on a vessel. The Coast Guard is inviting you to be a part of this exciting and worthwhile effort by:

• Validating the unlimited tonnage deck officer tasks.
• Telling us the difficulty, importance, and frequency of performance of these tasks.

This is a unique opportunity for you to provide insight into your job as a deck officer on unlimited tonnage vessels and contribute to Coast Guard examination improvements. The Coast Guard will use the results of the JTAs in consultation with industry to evaluate and update examination content for all the unlimited tonnage deck officer endorsements.

Mariners who hold unlimited tonnage deck officer endorsements will receive an e-mail from JobTaskAnalysis@uscg.mil containing a link to the survey and the dates the survey is open. Your link to the survey will have a unique identifier to record your responses. It is not linked to you personally and the information you provide will remain anonymous. Your participation is encouraged for the benefit of the maritime community and safety of the Marine Transportation System.

If you have questions regarding the survey, .

Your participation in the survey is greatly appreciated. We look forward to your input.