The Maritime Engineer

Engineer Solutions to the World’s Transportation and Energy Systems! The Maritime Engineer is a unique engineering career book for everyone that wants to make the world a better place. The work of naval architects, and marine, ocean and naval engineers is global in nature and has never been more important. These professions connect people and places to each other in a way that is unmatched by other engineering careers. In this one-of-a-kind book you’ll learn: 1. About the engineers that work to help solve the energy crisis by finding ways to harvest energy from the oceans. 2. Which engineers design the technologies that allow us to build underwater structures and explore the mysterious depths of the ocean. 3. What types of engineers design small rowboats, Jet skis®, tugs, workboats, barges, yachts, floating cranes, dredges, supply boats, dinner boats, ferries, tankers, containerships, car carriers, dry bulkers, gas carriers, drill rigs, jack-ups, semisubmersibles, trawlers, factory ships, floating power plants, and more. 4. What types of engineers design military ships such as aircraft carriers, submarines, cruisers, destroyers, frigates, corvettes, fast attack craft, ocean patrol cutters, littoral combat ships, hydrofoils, air cushion vehicles, amphibious landing ships and docks, oilers, supply ships, crane ships, sealift ships, and command and control ships. 5. About the different sectors of the industries such as offshore engineering, large ocean-going vessels, small water craft, underwater exploration and underwater habitats. 6. How to get started in this one-of-a-kind amazing career path.

What is Maritime Engineering? In this book, maritime engineering refers to the engineers who work in the maritime and ocean industries. They design anything that can be used as transportation on water, such as commercial, cargo or Navy ships, yachts, submarines, seaplanes, and icebreakers. Maritime engineers also design underwater structures and ocean technology such as offshore drilling platforms, wind farms, diving gear, underwater robots (both remotely operated and autonomous) and underwater “cities” such as Aquarius, the underwater astronaut training center. Working in and near the ocean is unpredictable, corrosive, and sometimes hostile, so special training and systems are often required. Engineers are life-long learners because there are many considerations in the design of each and every ship. For example, a Navy ship has to have systems that can detect airborne, surface, and subsurface threats, operate over long periods of time in any area of the world, and defend themselves and others against attacks. To do this, Navy ships must be able to withstand shock and blast effects, operate when damaged, prevent detection in hostile waters, have propulsion systems that are acoustically quiet, and much more. The demands are uncommon and therefore, the training to enter these fields is very specialized. Marine structures, vehicles, and systems are unique and often expensive because they are large and complex, and only a few of each design are built. Anything that operates in or on the ocean has special design requirements for seakeeping, staying upright, capsizing, station-keeping, and enduring the random motions and loads of rogue waves and intense winds. Due to these unique requirements, manufacturing is often more challenging. David Helgerson, the technical director for CSC’s Advanced Marine Center says, “Ships are large complex integrated systems; they require large teams to design, and it can take a long time. At the same time, the rewards are in proportion to the challenges.” As with most things in life, the more heart and soul you put into a project, the more rewards you may get out. It’s very important that you choose a career field that you are naturally interested in. If you love being by or in the water, going to the beach, sailing, swimming, scuba diving, paddleboarding, surfing, kayaking, canoeing, or fishing, then maritime engineering might be a great fit. If The Deadliest Catch is your favorite television show, or if you like to watch boats come in and out of the harbor, or dream of taking a cruise to an exotic destination, this may be the career for you.

Celeste Baine is a biomedical engineer and the director of the Engineering Education Service Center in Eugene, Oregon. She has authored over 20 books on engineering education and careers and has won several awards for this effort. In 2005, she won the Norm Augustine Award for Engineering Communications. The award is given to an engineer who has demonstrated the capacity for communicating the excitement and wonder of engineering. It was the same award given to Neil Armstrong, the astronaut, a few years earlier! She also won the American Society for Engineering Education's Engineering Dean Council's Award for the Promotion of Engineering Education and Careers. And, she is listed on the National Engineers Week Web site as one of 50 engineers you should meet!