A mate is a deck naval officer aboard a

merchant vessel A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are us ...

, such as the

chief mate A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the shi ...

(first mate), second mate, or third mate. Between 1800 and 1890 "mate" was also the naval rank now known as

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

—master. One of the mates is always the watch keeping officer, unless the

master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

takes that responsibility. Each mate also has other duties, such as making the

passage planning Passage planning or voyage planning is a procedure to develop a complete description of a vessel's voyage from start to finish. The plan includes leaving the dock and harbor area, the ''en route'' portion of a voyage, approaching the destination, a ...

, overseeing loading and unloading and

personnel management Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any other ...

. The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

had the rank of mate from the mid-1800s until the early 20th century. Mates in the US Navy were junior

warrant officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...

s, originally known as masters mates, who assisted a ship's sailing master. From 1912 to 1931, mate was a commissioned rank within the Royal Navy, for ratings who were selected for a commission through the Mate Scheme. Commissioned mates ranked with sub-lieutenants. In 1931, the scheme was renamed to the Upper Yardman Scheme, and those who selected under it were promoted to sub-lieutenant instead.

References

* Eifler, Edgar G. (1960). The Sails and Sails - motor Navy (Naval Architecture Book) Annapolis Academy Navy United States North America Editor.{{Vague citation, date=June 2019 Marine occupations Nautical terminology Titles de:Maat et:Maat (auaste) nl:Stuurman no:Styrmann ru:Мат (звание) fi:perämies sv:styrman

See also

References