For those of you who are interested, as it appears some are, I'll try to explain the Coast Guard licensing system as I spent about nine years in the Merchant Marine before I became a professional pilot.
It is actually very similar to the FAA way of certifying pilots except that mariners time is measured in days, not hours. To qualify for a license, an individual must have a certain amount of seatime and then pass a written exam. How an individual gets this is varied. An individual can start working as a deckhand (on yachts, etc) or start working as an Ordinary Seaman on commercial/merchant vessels. Or you can go to a Maritime Academy, which is the route I took. This would be very similar to Embry Riddle. You graduate with a four year degree and the ability to sit for your third mates examination. I will say, though, that the cost of the education is much more reasonable, and often times free of charge thanks to Uncle Sam. After you graduate you are able to go to work on any size ship on any ocean of the world in a third officers capacity. Or you can also sail in an unlicensed capacity, sort of like being enlisted in the Navy. When I graduated, jobs were scarce so I went to work on ocean-going tugboats as a mate. This is also a licensed position but since tugs are much smaller than deep- sea ships, you do not need an unlimited tonnage license. After I did that for a couple years, I went to work on a ship which lasted for about three years. To upgrade your license, it is simply a matter of meeting the seatime requirements and then passing the required examination.
The lifestyle between mariners and pilots is very similar but with some distinct differences. As a merchant seaman, you can expect to be gone sometimes for three or four months, not days. When you are done, though, you can have three or four months off. That is how I started flying for recreation. I never thought it would become an occupation. Before I knew it, I had a commercial pilots license and I wondered what I could do with that . Before I knew it I was working for Comair.
As for yachts, it is correct that they do not require a license as they are not a commercial vessel. Most insurance companies require it though, and many owners put their boats on the charter market when they are not using them. What kind of license that you need varies, and when you add in the factor that many yachts are registered in Bermuda and other offshore tax havens, it becomes quite diverse as many countries have different licensing systems. Many countries will recognize a U.S. license, many will not.
Naval surface warfare officers aboard naval ships do not require a license. It is just like military pilots do not need an FAA license to fly military aircraft. If they leave the military and want to pursue a career in the merchant marine , then some of their seatime will count for a license. For some reason, you don't see a lot of ex- naval officers going to sea after they get out like you see in the airlines. There is a much different culture between the navy and merchant marine that does not blend well. As an officer in the naval reserve, I can say that it can be quite difficult at times. I will say, though, that the U.S. Merchant Marine was around long before the U.S. Navy. In fact, the first naval ships were merchant ships fitted out with guns and manned by merchant seaman. Also, during WW II, a higher percentage of merchant seaman lost their lives than any other branch of the service, including the Marine Corps. To top it all off, many of these people had been rejected by the military for various reasons. Then to make matters worse, WW II merchant seaman were not granted Veteran status till over forty years after the war ended.
O.K, I seriously diverged here, sorry. Hope this answers some questions. As for the comment about ships only going 15 knots, remember that some tankers are over 1,000 ft long and draw over 70 ft of water. There cargo capacity can be upwards of 400,000 tons! That is a lot of mass to be going 15 knots through the water. Look at the Exxon Valdez and see what kind of damage that did when it made a navigational boo boo. Like flying, navigating a ship that size takes a great deal of skill and experience.
