What does a port captain do?
Port captains must have skills in vessel maintenance, safety programs, USCG, cargo operations, and ABS. This career requires a U.S. Coast Guard Deck license, with licensure as a Master being preferrable, as well as five years' experience working with vessels in a leadership capacity. Those who embark on this career path supply their maritime expertise to prepare ships. They ensure that all vessels contain the necessary equipment and crew for their respective missions.
Port captain responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real port captain resumes:
- Lead a platoon that earn numerous awards for jamming opposition force artillery nets and conducting counterattacks on opposition electronic warfare platoons.
- Maintain boats to USCG standards in image and maintanence.
- Supervise all schedules, budgets, payroll, and inspections including maintenance and USCG.
- Direct the installation, operation and maintenance of military radio and telecommunications assets for combat infantry units and fix telephone facilities.
- Monitor operations to consistently meet BP requirements.
Port captain skills and personality traits
We calculated that 27% of Port Captains are proficient in Vessel Operations, Safety Program, and USCG. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Hand-eye coordination, and Hearing ability.
We break down the percentage of Port Captains that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Vessel Operations, 27%
Make frequent on board vessel inspections to ensure safe and efficient vessel operations.
- Safety Program, 15%
Worked directly with offshore clients (APACHE) to achieve a better safety program.
- USCG, 13%
Resolve questions or problems with U.S. Customs, USCG and ABS officials.
- Cargo Operations, 7%
Direct cargo operations to ensure timely completion.
- ABS, 5%
Scheduled annual ABS Class society surveys.
- US Coast Guard, 5%
Maintained constant communications with US Coast Guard, US Navy, and Harbor Police to prevent navigational hazards or suspicious activities.
"vessel operations," "safety program," and "uscg" are among the most common skills that port captains use at work. You can find even more port captain responsibilities below, including:
Customer-service skills. One of the key soft skills for a port captain to have is customer-service skills. You can see how this relates to what port captains do because "many motorboat operators interact with passengers and must ensure that the passengers have a pleasant experience." Additionally, a port captain resume shows how port captains use customer-service skills: "lead paddle boat attraction deckhand who assisted guests in entrance and exit of paddle boats and ensured safety at all times. "
Hand-eye coordination. Another essential skill to perform port captain duties is hand-eye coordination. Port captains responsibilities require that "officers and pilots who steer ships have to operate various controls while staying aware of their surroundings." Port captains also use hand-eye coordination in their role according to a real resume snippet: "trained members of the logistics resource coordination center. "
Hearing ability. port captains are also known for hearing ability, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to port captain responsibilities, because "mariners must pass a hearing test to get an mmc." A port captain resume example shows how hearing ability is used in the workplace: "staged congressional hearings and constitutional debate team led team with 12 other students to state championship and 14th place in the nation"
Manual dexterity. For certain port captain responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "manual dexterity." The day-to-day duties of a port captain rely on this skill, as "crewmembers need good balance to maneuver through tight spaces and on wet or uneven surfaces." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what port captains do: "write isps manuals & write company ism manuals. "
Mechanical skills. A commonly-found skill in port captain job descriptions, "mechanical skills" is essential to what port captains do. Port captain responsibilities rely on this skill because "members of the engine department keep complex machines working properly." You can also see how port captain duties rely on mechanical skills in this resume example: "served as logistics officer, responsible for over one million dollars in accountable mechanical maintenance equipment. "
Physical strength. Lastly, "physical strength" is an important element of what a port captain does. Port captain responsibilities require this skill because "sailors on freight ships load and unload cargo." This resume example highlights how port captain duties rely on this skill: "administered compete physical to determine combat readiness. "
The three companies that hire the most port captains are:
- Allied Universal
2 port captains jobs
- Crowley Holdings Inc.2 port captains jobs
- HealthTrust1 port captains jobs
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Compare different port captains
Port captain vs. Vessel master
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, port captain responsibilities require skills like "safety program," "cargo operations," "abs," and "us coast guard." Meanwhile a typical vessel master has skills in areas such as "twic," "coast guard," "safety equipment," and "arpa." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
On average, vessel masters reach similar levels of education than port captains. Vessel masters are 1.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.9% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Port captain vs. Charter boat operator
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, port captain responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "vessel operations," "safety program," "uscg," and "cargo operations." Meanwhile, a charter boat operator has duties that require skills in areas such as "boat safety," "background checks," "faa," and "quantitative data." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Charter boat operators earn lower levels of education than port captains in general. They're 11.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.9% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Port captain vs. Marine safety officer
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, port captains are more likely to have skills like "vessel operations," "abs," "us coast guard," and "vessel compliance." But a marine safety officer is more likely to have skills like "patrol," "cpr," "logistics," and "coast guard."
When it comes to education, marine safety officers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to port captains. In fact, they're 0.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 2.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Port captain vs. Harbor master
Types of port captain
Updated January 8, 2025
