Maritime Operations Officer
Become: Maritime Operations Officer
To become a Maritime Operations Officer you do not require any formal qualifications. HM Coastguards apply through the Governments civil service website and enter into an 8-12 month training program.
About: Maritime Operations Officer
A Maritime Operations Officer works in the HM Coastguarsds operations centre co-ordinating the UK's response to maritime emergencies. You could be assessing the priority of emergencies and dispatching assets such as lifeboats out to the scene of the emergency. Those lifeboat crews rely on the Ops Officers to keep them informed of the incident until they arrive on scene.
You may only get one chance to speak to the person or people in need so it's important you can deal with pressure and speak clearly and concisely to ensure all required information is recorded accurately.
The case study below gives a great insight into your life as a Maritime Operations Officer.
Case Study
Name: George Age: 20 Job role: Maritime Operations Officer Company: Maritime and Coastguard Agency (HM Coastguard) Company website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/maritime-and- coastguard-agency
Qualifications Required: No formal qualifications are required and the post is not UK Reserved meaning it is applicable for foreign applicants provided they meet the required level of English language skills.
• What attracted you to/how did you get in to this career?
I was attracted to the job by the diverse nature of what it entails; as a Coastguard we facilitate six missions (Search and Rescue, Counter Pollution, Vessel Traffic Management, Maritime Safety, Accident and Disaster Response, Maritime Security). We deal with such a wide variety of subjects and every incident is different with its own quirks and challenges.
Getting into the career involves applying online through the Civil Service website where upon passing your interview you’ll enter into an 8-12 month training programme. After successful completion of this you’ll be a qualified Land/Maritime search planner and Mission Coordinator ready to coordinate incidents on your own and as part of your watch you’ll work with every shift.
• Educational Qualifications (None/GCSE/A Level/Degree) and Training
No formal qualifications are required to apply although background reading on the organisation and knowledge of the maritime domain will certainly assist you during the training and ultimately on watch.
• Age and how long you have worked in the sector
20 (Soon to be 21!) and I’ve been in the sector for approaching two years.
• Most enjoyable aspect
The most enjoyable aspect is definitely the feeling of satisfaction when a particularly challenging job is concluded successfully. It’s a difficult feeling to describe but knowing your actions have saved someone from certain death is incredibly rewarding and never gets ‘old’ as it were.
• What has surprised you most?
The amount of sailors who buy vessels with no knowledge or experience of how to sail! We often deal with cases where people have purchased a vessel and proceed to navigate with road maps or simply by eye.
• Typical Working Day
A typical day will begin at either 7am or 7pm depending on if you’re the day or night shift and end at 7pm or 7am respectively. We operate 24/7 365 Coverage for the UK and its area of responsibility. After a handover we assume full coordination for the area, maintain a DUS watch (Distress Urgency and Safety) on Channel 16 and DSC (Digital Selective Calling) whilst dealing with routine telephone calls, radio traffic and emergency (999 or 112) calls.
Depending on your station you may also handle GMDSS coverage, dealing with ship security alerts, emergency radio beacons (EPIRB’s) and satellite distress signals via the INMARSAT C system; liaising with other countries Coastguards to provide Search and Rescue worldwide.
Depending on the time of year and the area you cover the types of incidents and quantities will ebb and flow throughout the year. In the summer in peak areas (South/South-West Coast) it’s possible to deal with 100-150 incidents a day on station whilst in winter you may only see 10-20. The incidents can be anything from a dead whale washed ashore; vessels sinking hundreds of miles into the Atlantic or a lost child on the beach.
You can expect an hourly lunch break and two twenty minute breaks (or variation of) to divide up the day.
• Career progression – where do you see your career in 5 or 10 years time?
In 5-10 Years Time I aim to progress to Senior Maritime Operations Officer; becoming a Search Mission Coordinator and leading a team of Coastguards day to day before transferring to the Coastal branch of HM Coastguard. Dealing with our search and rescue assets out on the ground and coordinating incidents from the scene rather than the operations room.
For those wanting to remain in the operations room the next step would be up to Maritime Controller, coordinating the entire national Coastguard network and then up to Maritime Commander; where the ultimate decisions and command over large scale incidents are made.