I was on a riverboat casino (back in the days when riverboat casinos actually floated on rivers) and saw the licenses for the master and the engineers posted.
Both the Coast Guard and individual states require commercial ships to have safety inspections.
I think it would be only the Coast Guard. That is unless it was behind a some sort of coffer dam where it could not go up and down the river.
Snnipe_70E:
Ships under US flag if large enough licensed deck and engineering officers. They are licensed by the US Coast Guard. There will be at least 4 deck and 4 engineering officers.
To get a thirds license A sailor has to sail in the different unlicensed positions for a minimum of 3 years or attend a Maritime Academy for at least 3 years. At the end of the 3 years the sailor has to take and pass a through 3rds test. It is a hard test. I started mine on Monday at 8 AM to 4 in the afternoon, and finished Friday about 3:00 PM.
To be eligible to take the 2nds test a third has to have sailed as a 3rd for 365 days.
To be eligible to take the 1sts test a 2nd has to have sailed as a 2nd for 365 days.
To be eligible to take the masters test a 1st has to have sailed as a 1st for 365 days.
For the deck officers each day sailing on a cruise ship only counts as a half day.
I do not know of any cruise ships under US flag.
Ships that are smaller than the unlimited level may have fewer officers and restricted licenses.
Size matters; does method of propulsion? I heard of someone whose license was “unlimited master; motor, steam, or sail”. He’s Canadian, so they may do it differently there.
Broomstick:
I do know that with planes the “lower level” airplanes only require a license to be able to fly pretty much all of them, with add-on certifications for tail wheel or high performance airplanes. On the “higher” levels, like Boeing 7x7’s or Airbus you get “type certified” for a particular model of them. So for example all pilots for Southwest Airlines have to be type certified for the Boeing 737.
When I did, you’d start with “airplane, single-engine, land”. There was an endorsement for high-performance airplanes (retractable landing gear, adjustable-pitch propeller), and licenses for multi-engine, seaplanes, hot-air balloons, and airships. You also needed extra training and tests for flying in bad weather or to get paid for it.
Robot_Arm:
Size matters; does method of propulsion? I heard of someone whose license was “unlimited master; motor, steam, or sail”. He’s Canadian, so they may do it differently there.
When I did, you’d start with “airplane, single-engine, land”. There was an endorsement for high-performance airplanes (retractable landing gear, adjustable-pitch propeller), and licenses for multi-engine, seaplanes, hot-air balloons, and airships. You also needed extra training and tests for flying in bad weather or to get paid for it.
My license is “Steam and Motor Vessels any Horsepower” It is possible to fail the one section of the test and get a license for only steam or motor.