Entry & progression
Three years in the engineroom, eighteen months of it as a QMED or equivalent. Exam required. Minimum age 19. Tonnage: unlimited inland, < 1,600 GRT on oceans, near-coastal and the Great Lakes.
The service requirement — 11.522(a), verbatim
NOTE — 46 CFR 11.522(a) "...3 years of service in the engineroom of vessels. Eighteen months of this service must have been as a Qualified Member of the Engine Department (QMED) or equivalent position."
Read that carefully, because it is two requirements sitting inside one another. Three years total. Of those three years, eighteen months — half of it — has to be QMED service or equivalent. The remaining eighteen months can be any engineroom service, including Wiper time.
The QMED half is the part people underestimate. QMED is a rating, not an officer grade, and it comes in five current flavours: Boiler Technician/Watertender, Oiler, Junior Engineer, Electrician/Refrigerating Engineer, and Pump Technician/Machinist. Note that Oiler is itself a QMED rating — the ladder is Wiper to QMED, not Wiper to Oiler to QMED, and anyone who tells you otherwise learned it wrong.
What it entitles you to
- Service as an assistant engineer — an officer of the engineering watch, not the head of the department
- Any horsepower within the limitation placed on your endorsement by the 11.503(b) formula
- Unlimited tonnage inland
- Less than 1,600 GRT on oceans, near-coastal and the Great Lakes (11.501(b))
The supporting requirements
- Examination required — 11.903(a)(33). There is no waiver at this grade.
- Minimum age 19 — Assistant Engineer-Limited is one of the grades on the 19 list at 11.201(e).
- Deck-service credit: up to 25% or 6 months, whichever is less (11.504).
- A propulsion-power limitation computed under 11.503(b), unless your service clears the 50% threshold.
- US citizenship, TWIC, medical certificate, drug test, first aid and CPR, and both Basic and Advanced Firefighting.
The symmetry worth noticing
Assistant Engineer-Limited asks for exactly the same service as the top tier of the Designated Duty Engineer ladder: three years in the engineroom, eighteen months of it as QMED. Identical numbers. What you get for them is not identical at all.
| DDE — Unlimited | Assistant Engineer-Limited | |
|---|---|---|
| Service | 3 years / 18 months QMED | 3 years / 18 months QMED |
| Tonnage | < 500 GRT | < 1,600 GRT at sea; unlimited inland |
| Capacity | Sole engineer | Officer of the engineering watch |
| Section | 11.524 | 11.522 |
TIP — Same sea time, three times the ship If you are building service and you have a choice, the Limited grade is worth more per month of sea time than the DDE grade. Same three years, same eighteen months of QMED, and the tonnage ceiling triples. The trade-off is the role: DDE is the sole engineer on a small vessel; Assistant Engineer-Limited is a watch officer in a department. Think about which one the boats you actually want to work on carry.
One caution about the service itself. If any of your time is on vessels under 100 GRT, 46 CFR 11.504 requires a "walk in" engine room with an engineering plant comparable to vessels over 100 gross tons. The NMC lists "claiming engineer service on a vessel without an engine room" among its most common reasons for rejecting an application.