Customer Reviews

Watchstanding Guide for the Merchant Officer

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is a must for the active sailing Merchant Mariner. Meurn has combined his wealth of stories, pratical knowledge, and years of experience. His telling of the horrors of "that first watch" is familar to any officer. This book has served as an excellent text for ship simulator courses, and it provides the mariner with pratical watchstanding procedures.

This book was originally intended for preparing enlisted members of the seagoing community to transition into the officers' corps, and for that purpose it is an excellent work. However, because there is very little written specifically for maritime intelligence operations, this volume may fill the gap. For those interested in specializing in maritime intelligence operations it would be wise to learn as much as possible about shipboard procedures.

Proper shipboard operations follow a very strict regimen. Therefore, any deviance from what would be seen as normal should send up red flags. Watchstanding Guide for the Merchant Officer is packed full of forms, examples, and procedures that should be a formal part of every ship's operation. During a boarding, or any subsequent investigation, if the investigator doesn't see documentation very similar to that depicted in this work then something is amiss. For those monitoring a ship's movement from an office location, the normal actions for the vessel and crew should be easily visualized after reading this book.

It is a sad state of affairs when there are so many `area experts' that have never set foot within the country of their 'expertise'. The same holds true for the maritime intelligence officer, who has little or no time at sea. There is no substitute for experience, but I do recommend this book as an excellent reader for a maritime intelligence course.