Glossary
Ship Engineer Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential ship engineer terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key ship engineer vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in ship engineer training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Bilge
- Lowest part of the hull.
- Boiler
- Makes steam.
- Chief engineer
- Head of engine department.
- Generator
- Makes electricity.
- Main engine
- Propulsion engine.
- MMC
- Merchant Mariner Credential.
- Oiler
- Engine crew member.
- Planned maintenance system
- Scheduled upkeep.
- Port
- Left side of a vessel.
- Purifier
- Cleans fuel and oil.
- QMED
- Qualified member of engine department.
- Starboard
- Right side of a vessel.
- TWIC
- Transportation Worker Identification Credential.
- USCG
- U.S. Coast Guard.
- Watch
- Duty shift.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Ship Engineer practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Ship Engineer training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.