Sailors and Marine Oilers
Stand watch to look for obstructions in path of vessel, measure water depth, turn wheel on bridge, or use emergency equipment as directed by captain, mate, or pilot. Break out, rig, overhaul, and store cargo-handling gear, stationary rigging, and running gear. Perform a variety of maintenance tasks to preserve the painted surface of the ship and to maintain line and ship equipment. Must hold government-issued certification and tankerman certification when working aboard liquid-carrying vessels. Includes able seamen and ordinary seamen.
31,670 people do this job in the US. $51,520 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 20%
- 0%
- 80%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 3%. Today's estimate: 4%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 24 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maintain government-issued certifications, as required.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 19% | 3.3 h50 min to 2.1 work days | 18%Half by Jul 2027 | |
| Tie barges together into tow units for tugboats to handle, inspecting barges periodically during voyages and disconnecting them when destinations are reached.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 12% | 2.5 h25 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Break out, rig, and stow cargo-handling gear, stationary rigging, or running gear.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Stand watch in ships' bows or bridge wings to look for obstructions in a ship's path or to locate navigational aids, such as buoys or lighthouses.Done daily by most who do it. | 8% | 1.7 h50 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Sweep, mop, and wash down decks to remove oil, dirt, and debris, using brooms, mops, brushes, and hoses.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Handle lines to moor vessels to wharfs, to tie up vessels to other vessels, or to rig towing lines.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 25 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Paint or varnish decks, superstructures, lifeboats, or sides of ships.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 5% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Operate, maintain, or repair ship equipment, such as winches, cranes, derricks, or weapons system.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 1.7 h25 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Chip and clean rust spots on decks, superstructures, or sides of ships, using wire brushes and hand or air chipping machines.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 4% | 2.5 h25 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Load or unload materials, vehicles, or passengers from vessels.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 4% | 2.5 h25 min to 1 work day | Stays with people | |
| Provide engineers with assistance in repairing or adjusting machinery.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 4% | 2.5 h38 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Examine machinery to verify specified pressures or lubricant flows.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 38 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).