Ship Engineers
Transportation and Material Moving Occupations- O*NET-SOC code
- 53-5031.00
Supervise and coordinate activities of crew engaged in operating and maintaining engines, boilers, deck machinery, and electrical, sanitary, and refrigeration equipment aboard ship.
- Data source: BLSPublished: 2026-08
Low· relative
LowFour relative bandsVery highGroup-level value
Scale, basis and source
Four relative bands (Low / Moderate / High / Very high)
831 detailed occupations in the BLS Employment Projections table. Assigned per National Employment Matrix (NEM) code, so occupations sharing a NEM code carry the same band
- Data source: AnthropicPublished: 2026-03
0.000
0.000Range of values carried here0.745Scale, basis and source
Observed exposure index, 0–1 as published
Mapped onto O*NET tasks
Published per SOC 2018 occupation; every O*NET occupation with the same SOC 2018 code carries this value
- Data source: ILOPublished: 2025
0.23
0.09Range of values carried here0.70Group-level value
Scale, basis and source
Generative AI exposure index, 0–1 as published
Published per ISCO-08 unit group. Linked to this occupation, wholly or in part, by applying U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (ISCO-08 to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to 2018 SOC) as published
What kind of figure this source publishes
The BLS category is a relative rank, not an absolute level, and it is not a first-hand measurement: it groups an occupation's percentile ranks across several published studies into four bands. It is not an employment or wage forecast, not a probability of adoption, and it does not separate automation from augmentation.
Task-level exposure
Exposed tasks only17 rated tasks · 4 tasks with β ≥ 0.5 (23.5%)
β = direct exposure (E1) + 0.5 × exposure when tools are available (E2), per the source repository's definition.
- Source unit: O*NET 27.2 tasks → O*NET 31.0 occupation code
- All rated tasks are in the O*NET 31.0 task list.
- Source
- OpenAI "GPTs are GPTs" exposure rubric
- Release
- gh-main-0471612
- License
- MIT License, Copyright (c) 2024 OpenAI
| Task (O*NET 20.1) | APIRaw / share % |
|---|---|
Act as a liaison between a ship's captain and shore personnel to ensure that schedules and budgets are maintained and that the ship is operated safely and efficiently.53-5031.00 | 0.0015100.0 |
| Not observed on any surface — 16 task(s) — These tasks have no row in the source for this release. The 0 in the share row is a display-stage composition ratio; absence is what the — in the raw row states. | |
Monitor the availability, use, or condition of lifesaving equipment or pollution preventatives to ensure that international regulations are followed. | —0 |
Monitor engine, machinery, or equipment indicators when vessels are underway and report abnormalities to appropriate shipboard staff. | —0 |
Maintain electrical power, heating, ventilation, refrigeration, water, or sewerage systems. | —0 |
Record orders for changes in ship speed or direction and note gauge readings or test data, such as revolutions per minute or voltage output, in engineering logs or bellbooks. | —0 |
Perform or participate in emergency drills, as required. | —0 |
Maintain complete records of engineering department activities, including machine operations. | —0 |
Start engines to propel ships and regulate engines and power transmissions to control speeds of ships, according to directions from captains or bridge computers. | —0 |
Monitor and test operations of engines or other equipment so that malfunctions and their causes can be identified. | —0 |
Maintain or repair engines, electric motors, pumps, winches, or other mechanical or electrical equipment or assist other crew members with maintenance or repair duties. | —0 |
Perform general marine vessel maintenance or repair work, such as repairing leaks, finishing interiors, refueling, or maintaining decks. | —0 |
Operate or maintain off-loading liquid pumps or valves. | —0 |
Clean engine parts and keep engine rooms clean. | —0 |
Supervise the activities of marine engine technicians engaged in the maintenance or repair of mechanical or electrical marine vessels and inspect their work to ensure that it is performed properly. | —0 |
Order and receive engine room stores, such as oil or spare parts, maintain inventories, and record usage of supplies. | —0 |
Install engine controls, propeller shafts, or propellers. | —0 |
Fabricate engine replacement parts, such as valves, stay rods, or bolts, using metalworking machinery. | —0 |
Values in this tab are predicted labels, not observations. Eloundou et al. (2023) published two rating regimes — human raters and GPT-4 — and the β shown here is derived from the GPT-4 rater basis alone; the same task can take a different value under the other regime. The unit and the meaning differ from the observed shares (%) in the other tabs, so do not place them on the same axis.
| Task (O*NET 27.2) | βE1 + 0.5 × E2 |
|---|---|
Record orders for changes in ship speed or direction, and note gauge readings or test data, such as revolutions per minute or voltage output, in engineering logs or bellbooks.O*NET Task ID 14555 | 1.0 |
Maintain complete records of engineering department activities, including machine operations.O*NET Task ID 14557 | 1.0 |
Order and receive engine room stores, such as oil or spare parts, maintain inventories, and record usage of supplies.O*NET Task ID 14565 | 0.5 |
Act as a liaison between a ship's captain and shore personnel to ensure that schedules and budgets are maintained and that the ship is operated safely and efficiently.O*NET Task ID 14566 | 0.5 |
Monitor the availability, use, or condition of lifesaving equipment or pollution preventatives to ensure that international regulations are followed.O*NET Task ID 14552 | 0.0 |
Monitor engine, machinery, or equipment indicators when vessels are underway, and report abnormalities to appropriate shipboard staff.O*NET Task ID 14553 | 0.0 |
Maintain electrical power, heating, ventilation, refrigeration, water, or sewerage systems.O*NET Task ID 14554 | 0.0 |
Perform or participate in emergency drills, as required.O*NET Task ID 14556 | 0.0 |
Start engines to propel ships, and regulate engines and power transmissions to control speeds of ships, according to directions from captains or bridge computers.O*NET Task ID 14558 | 0.0 |
Monitor and test operations of engines or other equipment so that malfunctions and their causes can be identified.O*NET Task ID 14559 | 0.0 |
Maintain or repair engines, electric motors, pumps, winches, or other mechanical or electrical equipment, or assist other crew members with maintenance or repair duties.O*NET Task ID 14560 | 0.0 |
Perform general marine vessel maintenance or repair work, such as repairing leaks, finishing interiors, refueling, or maintaining decks.O*NET Task ID 14561 | 0.0 |
Operate or maintain off-loading liquid pumps or valves.O*NET Task ID 14562 | 0.0 |
Clean engine parts and keep engine rooms clean.O*NET Task ID 14563 | 0.0 |
Supervise marine engine technicians engaged in the maintenance or repair of mechanical or electrical marine vessels, and inspect their work to ensure that it is performed properly.O*NET Task ID 14564 | 0.0 |
Install engine controls, propeller shafts, or propellers.O*NET Task ID 14567 | 0.0 |
Fabricate engine replacement parts, such as valves, stay rods, or bolts, using metalworking machinery.O*NET Task ID 14568 | 0.0 |
β = E1 + 0.5 × E2 · E1 = tasks where direct LLM access alone cuts time by at least 50%, E2 = tasks where software built on top of an LLM cuts time by at least 50%. Values take only 0 / 0.5 / 1.0.
Data sources & licenses — O*NET®, Anthropic Economic Index, Eloundou et al. (2023): see full notices on the Credits page
All O*NET 31.0 task statements (17)
All O*NET 31.0 task statements for this occupation (English, as published; task type core or supplemental). Exposure values are not listed here; they are in the table above, next to each task statement as worded in the O*NET version each source used.
| Task (O*NET 31.0) | Type |
|---|---|
| Monitor the availability, use, or condition of lifesaving equipment or pollution preventatives to ensure that international regulations are followed. | Core |
| Monitor engine, machinery, or equipment indicators when vessels are underway, and report abnormalities to appropriate shipboard staff. | Core |
| Maintain electrical power, heating, ventilation, refrigeration, water, or sewerage systems. | Core |
| Record orders for changes in ship speed or direction, and note gauge readings or test data, such as revolutions per minute or voltage output, in engineering logs or bellbooks. | Core |
| Perform or participate in emergency drills, as required. | Core |
| Maintain complete records of engineering department activities, including machine operations. | Core |
| Start engines to propel ships, and regulate engines and power transmissions to control speeds of ships, according to directions from captains or bridge computers. | Core |
| Monitor and test operations of engines or other equipment so that malfunctions and their causes can be identified. | Core |
| Maintain or repair engines, electric motors, pumps, winches, or other mechanical or electrical equipment, or assist other crew members with maintenance or repair duties. | Core |
| Perform general marine vessel maintenance or repair work, such as repairing leaks, finishing interiors, refueling, or maintaining decks. | Core |
| Operate or maintain off-loading liquid pumps or valves. | Core |
| Clean engine parts and keep engine rooms clean. | Core |
| Supervise marine engine technicians engaged in the maintenance or repair of mechanical or electrical marine vessels, and inspect their work to ensure that it is performed properly. | Core |
| Order and receive engine room stores, such as oil or spare parts, maintain inventories, and record usage of supplies. | Core |
| Act as a liaison between a ship's captain and shore personnel to ensure that schedules and budgets are maintained and that the ship is operated safely and efficiently. | Core |
| Install engine controls, propeller shafts, or propellers. | Core |
| Fabricate engine replacement parts, such as valves, stay rods, or bolts, using metalworking machinery. | Supplemental |
0.32/ 3· Robot exposure index
Scale, basis and source
Each physical task is graded 0–3 by the setting in which robots that have been deployed, sold or demonstrated could do it (0 none · 1 purpose-built robot settings such as a fenced machine cell or a bottling line · 2 structured facilities such as a hospital pharmacy or a container port · 3 unstructured settings such as a private home or a construction site), and the grades are averaged by share of working time
Physical tasks among this occupation's O*NET 29.3 tasks
Anthropic estimated the grades and time shares with Claude Opus 5 using web search, as of 2026.
The robot exposure index is a different measure from the AI exposure figures on this site and cannot be added to or compared with them. It does not measure actual adoption or cost, and 0 also covers occupations with no physical tasks.
Tier of each physical task
Robot environment tiers (E0–E3)
E0 noneDetails
Rated not doable by robots that have been deployed, sold or demonstrated, even in a purpose-built setting
E1 purpose-built robot settingsDetails
Rated doable in a setting built around the machine, such as a fenced machine cell or a bottling line
E2 structured facilitiesDetails
Rated doable in a human work facility that an institution keeps to a working standard, such as a hospital pharmacy or a container port
E3 unstructured settingsDetails
Rated doable in a setting that no institution keeps to a working standard, such as a private home or a construction site
Only tasks classified as physical are listed; other tasks have no tier in the source.
| Task (O*NET 29.3) | Robot environment tier |
|---|---|
| Monitor the availability, use, or condition of lifesaving equipment or pollution preventatives to ensure that international regulations are followed. | E2 structured facilities |
| Maintain electrical power, heating, ventilation, refrigeration, water, or sewerage systems. | E0 none |
| Perform or participate in emergency drills, as required. | E0 none |
| Start engines to propel ships, and regulate engines and power transmissions to control speeds of ships, according to directions from captains or bridge computers. | E2 structured facilities |
| Monitor and test operations of engines or other equipment so that malfunctions and their causes can be identified. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Maintain or repair engines, electric motors, pumps, winches, or other mechanical or electrical equipment, or assist other crew members with maintenance or repair duties. | E0 none |
| Perform general marine vessel maintenance or repair work, such as repairing leaks, finishing interiors, refueling, or maintaining decks. | E0 none |
| Operate or maintain off-loading liquid pumps or valves. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Clean engine parts and keep engine rooms clean. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Supervise marine engine technicians engaged in the maintenance or repair of mechanical or electrical marine vessels, and inspect their work to ensure that it is performed properly. | E0 none |
| Install engine controls, propeller shafts, or propellers. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Fabricate engine replacement parts, such as valves, stay rods, or bolts, using metalworking machinery. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
Occupation information
Employment outlook (BLS)
- Employment, 2025
- 9K
- Projected employment, 2035
- 9K
- Change (2025–35)
- +2.7%
- Median annual wage, 2025
- $109,530
- Typical education needed for entry
- Postsecondary nondegree award
Korea classification links (KSCO)
Links from the current release of the Korea Occupation Direct Crosswalk v1.1, made by AI Changing Work. Relation values are read from the O*NET-SOC occupation side.
| KSCO code | KSCO title | Relation | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23823 | 선박 기관사 | Same scope | confirmed |
Relation and status definitions(kr-direct v1.1)
ILO occupational description
AI Changing Work links the ISCO-08 unit groups below to this occupation by applying the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (2018 SOC to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to ISCO-08) as published, without case-by-case selection; each link may be whole or partial.
- ISCO-08 3151Ships' Engineers
The definition, tasks and examples below are the ILO's description of that unit group, not of this occupation.
Ships’ engineers control and participate in the operation, maintenance and repair of mechanical, electrical and electronic equipment and machinery on board ship, or perform related supporting functions on shore.
Tasks
- (a) controlling and participating in the operation, maintenance and repair of mechanical, electrical and electronic equipment and machinery on board ship;
- (b) ordering fuel and other engine-room department stores and maintaining record of operations;
- (c) performing technical supervision of the installation, maintenance and repair of ship’s machinery and equipment to ensure compliance with specifications and regulations;
- (d) inspecting and conducting maintenance and emergency repairs to engines, machinery and auxiliary equipment;
- (e) standing engine room watch, monitoring and noting performance of engines, machinery and auxiliary equipment.
Example occupations
Ships' Engineer
Sources: ILO ISCO-08 — details: Credits
ESCO occupational vocabulary
Each entry below is matched to this occupation in the published ESCO-O*NET Crosswalk (version 1, 2022). The match types are that crosswalk's; the wording is AI Changing Work's.
- ship duty engineerESCO 3151.4Same scope
Ship duty engineers share responsibility for most of the content of the ship's hull. They ensure operation of the main engines, steering mechanism, electrical generation and other major subsystems. They communicate with the ship chief engineer to perform technical operations.
- marine engineerESCO 2144.1.10Overlapping, not the same
Marine engineers design, build, maintain and repair the hull, mechanical, electronic equipment and auxiliary systems such as engines, pumps, heating, ventilation, generator sets. They work on all types of boats from pleasure crafts to naval vessels, including submarines.
- marine mechanicESCO 7233.9Overlapping, not the same
Marine mechanics are in charge of the engines and mechanical parts of the vessel and replace defective equipment and parts. They communicate with other crew members on the operational level. Marine mechanics maintain and repair the engines and the other machinery of vessels such as boilers, generators and electrical equipment.
Source: European Commission, DG EMPL — ESCO API 2026-08-08 (bridge v1.2.1)
License: CC BY 4.0 (EU Reuse Notice)
ESCO reuse terms and the modification notice are in Credits.
France classification links (ROME)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and ROME 4.0 job profiles, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side. Links marked “provisional” were adopted on the judgments of two judges from the same model family (Claude) alone, or by an operator rule applied to their judgments, so they rest on weaker evidence than confirmed links.
| ROME code | ROME title (French) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| N3106 | Officier / Officière de la marine marchande | This occupation is narrowerprovisional |
| I1605 | Mécanicien / Mécanicienne en mécanique marine ou navale | Related, not a matchprovisional |
| N3102 | Matelot machine de la marine marchande | Related, not a matchprovisional |
| N3111 | Officier électronicien / Officière électronicienne | Related, not a matchprovisional |
Source: France Travail — Répertoire Opérationnel des Métiers et des Emplois (ROME 4.0), version 61, last updated 15 June 2026 (https://www.data.gouv.fr/datasets/repertoire-operationnel-des-metiers-et-des-emplois-rome). Licence Ouverte 2.0.
ROME codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET-SOC occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a France Travail correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: fr-direct v1)
Spain classification links (CNO-11)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and CNO-11 occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| CNO-11 code | CNO-11 title (Spanish) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 3151 | Jefes y oficiales de máquinas | Same scopeprovisional |
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), National Classification of Occupations 2011 (CNO-11, Royal Decree 1591/2010) — www.ine.es · Licensed CC BY 4.0. CNO-11 codes and Spanish titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not an INE correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: es-direct v1)
Germany classification links (KldB)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and KldB occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| KldB code | KldB title (German) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 51133 | Berufe im technischen Schiffsverkehrsbetrieb - komplexe Spezialistentätigkeiten | This occupation is broaderprovisional |
| 51134 | Berufe im technischen Schiffsverkehrsbetrieb - hoch komplexe Tätigkeiten | This occupation is broaderprovisional |
| 51193 | Aufsichtskräfte - Technischer Betrieb im Eisenbahn-, Luft- und Schiffsverkehr | Related, not a matchprovisional |
Source: © Statistik der Bundesagentur für Arbeit — Klassifikation der Berufe 2010 – überarbeitete Fassung 2020, https://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de. KldB codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own mapping (eigene Zuordnung) and are not a Bundesagentur für Arbeit correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: de-direct v1)
Japan classification links (JSCO)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and JSCO occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| JSCO code | JSCO title (Japanese) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 623 | 船舶機関長・機関士（漁労船を除く） | Same scopeprovisional |
| 482 | 船長・航海士・機関長・機関士（漁労船） | Related, not a matchprovisional |
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), Japan Standard Occupational Classification (Dec. 2009, MIC Notification No. 555). JSCO codes and Japanese titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a MIC correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: jp-direct v1)
Sources, licenses and AI Changing Work's modification and translation notices for this page: Credits & sources