Chief engineer

A chief engineer, commonly referred to as "Chief" or "ChEng", is the most senior licensed mariner (engine officer) of an engine department on a ship, typically a merchant ship, and holds overall leadership and the responsibility of that department. In rank, a chief engineer is equivalent to the rank of a ship's captain. As a person who holds one of the most senior roles on the ship, they must have excellent communication and leadership skills. They will be expected to regularly work alongside other crew members and external consultants, and most importantly, provide guidance to their team.

To be a chief engineer, an engineer must attain a chief engineer's license appropriate to the tonnage, power rating, and type of ship the engineer is employed on. A chief engineer is ultimately responsible for all operations and maintenance that has to do with any and all engineering equipment throughout the entire ship, and supervises all other engineering officer and engine ratings within the department.

In the UK, chief engineers are under MSN 1857 (M+F) - UK Requirements for Engineer Officers and Engineer Operators. Chief engineers may be rated as Unlimited or for ships Less than 3,000 kW.

To become a chief engineer in the UK, engineers must have either:

Courses for potential Chief Engineers are designed by experienced engineers who had spent years in the field of engineering already, "To determine the topics that should be included in the certificate, the team undertook an analysis of existing company training materials that were being used for training their senior level project and systems engineers."

A similar training program for potential Chief Engineers, the Certified Chief Engineer (CCE) Training is also being developed by the National Association of Hotel & Lodging Engineers. The development process of CCE includes gathering the input of various hotel management companies and industry professions. CCE program is designed to provide a curriculum exclusively for hotel engineers and maintenance professionals.

Oscar Kjellberg, a Swedish chief engineer who later became an inventor.

Joseph Bell, a British chief engineer who served as first chief engineer of Olympic, and subsequently RMS Titanic; he died in Titanic's sinking.