Captain

Responsibilities: The mate is second in command, standing the watches opposite the captain. The mate stands the noon to 1800 watch and the midnight to 0600 watches (6 hours on 6 hours off). When he is on watch, he is in control of the vessels and follows the directives of the captain. The directives are standing orders for the safe conduct of the vessels at all times. Directives may be from the companys operations manual or verbal orders that the captain and mate have agreed upon. The trust between the captain and mate must be complete as the one sleeps while the other safely controls the vessels