Merchant navy uniform guide
A uniform in
any organization or workspace exists to promote uniformity and to defeat
individuality a career in merchant ship is based on discipline and timeliness
When it
comes to ship operations teamwork is the most important aspect for making
anyone safe insecure and mature Navy uniform helps in achieving the team
mindset by promoting uniformity
Merchant Navy uniforms are also a matter of great
fascination not just for those in the industry but also for those who have no
clue what maritime professionals do or the industry is all about for many the
uniform is not just two piece of plates but then experience and achievement and
an attachment to an industry which has made them what they are today
However those who want to wear this uniform need
to work hard to earn that privilege
Let us
understand much a navy uniform and its different aspects
What a maritime professional wears on board
ships depend on type of the vessel and the nature of work he or she performs
for example a marina working on ships deck or in the engine room will rear a
boiler suit along with high visibility west or safety accessories such as
gloves helmet safety shoes etc.
Officer
uniform on a cruise ship might differ a bit as compared to those worn on a merchant
vessel the idea of a particular uniform for the seafarers working on merchant
vessels was introduced in the 20th century especially after the First
World War
Initially officers and other crewmembers on
board a merchant ship were allowed to choose their clothes according to their
choices according to historical documents there was no official uniform for
maybe until 1918 when the British Board of Trade introduced it for the first
time it is said that uniforms became part of the culture of Merchant Navy after
the passenger ships introduced systems of stripes and badges to identify its
crew member from fellow travelers
The system also helped to identify officers
from other crewmembers such as seamen or ratings apart from helping to identify
the ranks of seafarers the uniform also talked about the responsibilities of
crew members and brought more discipline into their job the shining applets on
the shoulders reflected the responsibilities are formed at different times and other
achievement of the Seafarer
Though the
culture of uniform aboard the commercial vessels continued until 1970s the later
years witnessed people moving away from such formal characteristics especially
in case of merchant vessels while the crew working on board essential vessels
continued to be dressed up in the uniforms and other commercial vessels focused
more on operational capabilities making other sophisticated elements optional
At the same time Merchant Navy gab badges were
also issued in Britain in terms of insignia uniforms with full golden stripes
are meant for deaf officers while engineer officers will have golden stripes
with purple color in-between on the uniform
The gold stripes with green color and red
color are being used on the uniforms of electrical officers and medical officers
respectively the electrical officer wears the same stripe as that of a third
engineer or a second officer the crew working as the chief steward or in the hospital
, the Department will have golden stripes with white color background in cruise
ships at the same time the Merchant Navy uniforms that features stripes with
diamond and only be used by officers having the certificate of competency or COC
However the
feature on merchant navy dress display slight differences from country to
country known as Merchant Navy insignia these designs were first issued for the
merchant named in 1940s by office of Admiralty and marine Affairs Britain
however nowadays the color differentiation is not given that much of importance
in cargo ships as there are few crew members and only the number of stripes are
used by both deck and engine department to differentiate the ranks
Deck
officers working on merchant ship usually wear a white shirt and a black
trouser with appearance according to their rank when on ships bridge accommodation
or mess area the uniforms accompanied with black former shoes and a pullover or
sweatshirt during cold condition
The cap also known as P cap is a black hood
with a white top having an anchor symbol while working on deck or during cargo
operations neck officer can be usually seen wearing a boiler suit along with
other personal protective equipment
Rating from
the tech department also wear the same boiler suit and safety shoes in a cruise
ship the ship officers usually wear white shirt and white pants instead of black
pants that are worn in cargo ship when working on bridge or navigational watch
mostly even the boiler suits in cruise ships are identical
As everyone from the Indian Department spends
most of the time in the engine room working with machineries they are therefore
always in volumes except when they are in the officers mess or on the bridge
though during lunch hours they can be allowed to have food in borders because
of time constraint
The formal
uniform of engineer officers is the same as that of attack officers however the
epaulets change according to the rank engineer officers appearance also have
purple color in between stripes they also have a symbol of propeller whereas
those of deck officers have an anchor the B cap is same as that of the deck
department
The engine room ratings also mainly wear
boiler suits and safety overall as mentioned earlier ratings belongs both to
deck and engine departments usually where boiler suits during workouts the cook
and the steward of the catering department will mainly wear a white shirt black
trousers and formal black shoes or safety shoes along with the safety apron if
working in the galley has been practiced across all the workplaces the crew
aboard the cruise vessels are allotted separate uniforms according to their
ranks and jumps
The uniform of cruise vessels crew members
sometime also displays the company cabbage and other badges that are popular in
use for merchant vessels crew on special occasions such as launch of new vessel
naming ceremony or your delivery of a new ship etc. the crew will usually wear
a usual formal uniform along with suit or a blazer on top
The hands of the Blazer or soon will have
stripes on it indicating the rank of the individual officer today the uniform
and other dress codes that Merchant Navy officers follow have changed immensely
the uniforms design has improved much and of course the fascination of you to
be a part of that community has also increased in a noticeable level
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