Third Mate Jobs in the U.S. Maritime Industry
6 open third mate positions, updated November 3, 2026
Open Third Mate Positions
Third Mate Dredge Control Officer Hopper Dredge.
US Army Corps of Engineers
Third Mate
Atlas Nextwave
Third Mate, U.S. Brig Niagara (Sailmaker, Flagship Niagara)
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Third Mate Dredge Control Officer Hopper Dredge
US Army Corps of Engineers
Tanker Third Mate
Overseas Shipholding Group
Third Mate
Fairwater
About Third Mate Jobs
Third Mate is the first job where you hold a license and stand a watch alone on the bridge. The eight to twelve is usually yours, at sea and in port, which means collision avoidance, traffic separation schemes, pilot embarkation, and the judgment call about when to wake the Master.
The standing collateral duty is safety: lifeboats and liferafts, immersion suits, EEBDs, fire extinguishers and fixed systems, the drill schedule and the records that prove any of it happened. Inspectors will find what you missed.
Most third mates come from the state and federal maritime academies, sailing out with a license and STCW endorsements already in hand. The hawsepipe route exists and works, it just takes documented AB sea time and a longer march through courses and exams.
The berths are on deep-sea cargo and tanker fleets, MSC and government-operated vessels, research ships, larger offshore units, and passenger vessels. Union deep-sea jobs ship out of the deck officer halls.
There are not many of these openings posted at any one time, and they move quickly. Watch time here counts toward Second Mate, so the priority in the first couple of years is sea days and a clean record.
Where Third Mates Are Hiring
Companies Hiring Third Mates
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do you become a Third Mate?
- Two routes. Graduate from a maritime academy with a license, or come up the hawsepipe with documented sea time as an AB plus the required courses and NMC exams. The academy route is the more common one.
- What does a Third Mate do aboard?
- Stands the eight to twelve navigation watch, and is normally responsible for safety equipment such as lifeboats, liferafts, firefighting gear and the associated drills and records.
- Do Third Mates get hired without experience?
- Yes. It is the entry grade for licensed deck officers, and academy graduates are hired directly into it. Companies expect to train you on their vessel and their systems.
- What comes after Third Mate?
- Second Mate, then Chief Mate, then Master. Each upgrade requires documented sea time in the grade below plus courses and exams.