Certification
of Engineers
While the evolution of the static steam engine that provided
power for great leaps in industry ashore in the 18th century to its
subsequent later efficient use in transforming sea transportation of people and
goods is fascinating, it is only peripheral to this piece. However, a few
salient points need making.
In spite of experimentation early in the 19th
century, it was not until the compound engine became
efficient enough to transport not only its own weight and that of its fuel
(that was not a consideration in sail, apart from extra canvass and cordage
aboard) and
carry cargo profitably, that steam power became a serious rival to sail.
This only really began in the 1860s and even then, was patchy. Wrapped up with
iron production, steamships were almost exclusively built in the heavy
industrialised areas such as the Clyde (which incidentally did not have much of
a traditional wooden shipbuilding industry). And, it was not until the triple
expansion engine came into being in the 1880s (along with steel as a
replacement for wrought iron in cylinders) that steam was really in the
ascendancy. However, as already stated in the section on
certification of seamen officers, iron and steel, along with other technical
improvements, kept sailing vessels competitive in some trades for a
surprisingly long time.
So, a scheme of certification for engineers as of 1862 can be
seen as being, if not visionary, a sensible action. It was, however, rather a
long time in coming if one considers the conclusions of a number of House of
Commons Select Committees of the 1840s into serious accidents and losses of
steamships. Also, as with seamen, certification in the colonies began for
engineers with the passing of The Merchant Shipping (Colonial) Act, 1869.
When put alongside seamen’s applications, there were real
differences though. Firstly, it is important to realise the scale of operation,
as compared with the certification of seamen officers, as this has a direct
effect on making searches. While not directly comparable, in the first
seventeen years there were approximately 20,000 foreign-going masters’
certificates of competency issued; but approximately only 11,000 of both 2nd
and 1st class engineers’ certificates of competency issued. While
this is easily explainable by the limits of technology, if anything this
disparity grows as time goes on. This then could be regarded as surprising, as
in the 20th century there were generally more engineering officers
employed in running vessels than seamen officers: especially in large vessels
where there could literally be dozens of engineers, but only a handful of
seamen.
The answer is that an unknown but great number of engineers,
either did not hold certificates at all (in all likelihood far more prevalent
in the 19th century), or were ‘under’ certificated. I know that the
former definitely still happened in the 1920s and the latter in the 1960s.
Recourse to the original amending legislation of 1862 makes this all too
understandable though. Foreign-going steamships of over one hundred nominal
horse power were required to have one engineer possessing a 1st
class certificate of competency or service and another with a 2nd
class certificate of competency or service. Foreign-going and home-trade steamships
carrying passengers of lesser engine capacity were required to have one
engineer only with a 2nd class certificate of competency or service.
My understanding is that this aspect was never updated and many companies
merely adhered to the minimum requirements. And, as the penalty for infringing
these regulations was a maximum fine of fifty pounds for each offence (which
was identical to employing unqualified seamen officers), this was hardly a
deterrent considering the sums involved in the shipping business (even in the
1850s and 1860s).
There were some updates however. In time an extra grade of
‘extra engineer’ was instituted. And, when diesel engines finally became more
popular in British vessels ‘motor vessel’ tickets came into force.
In finishing the historical aspects, I would like to point out
one other similarity with the system for seamen and one difference. Not only
were the standards of examination not uniform, but in engineering circles it
was claimed that bribery could be employed in order to gain certification at
Falmouth at one time. Also, in the earlier decades at least there was no formal
training for aspiring marine engineers, overwhelmingly
application forms show apprenticeships ashore: sometimes in trades where it is
difficult to imagine transferable skills.
Again much of this section was gained from study of the original
legislation and records. Similarly, an excellent account of the technical
evolution of steam-powered merchant shipping can be gained from Robert Gardiner
(Editor): The Advent of
Steam: The Merchant Steamship before 1900 (London: Conway Maritime
Press, 1993). Additionally, an older publication, K.T. Rowland: Steam at Sea: A
History of Steam Navigation (Newton Abbott: David & Charles, 1970)
gives a longer and wider overview of this subject and includes warship
propulsion.
Go to the
Certification of Seamen Officers