What you need to perform it
Primary qualification
- Accredited trade: Welding and Boilermaking vocational diploma (RD 1692/2007) or Naval Mechanic, with welder qualifications to UNE-EN ISO 9606-1 per process (2-3 year revalidation — indicative).
- Sign-on aboard Spanish fishing vessels: seaman's book, Basic Safety Training certificate and a valid ISM (Instituto Social de la Marina) medical.
- To take engine watches or an engine-room billet: Naval Mechanic / Senior Naval Mechanic title by power (RD 36/2014 — indicative).
Basic STCW
- Basic Safety Training applicable to boarding
Specific courses
- Hot work aboard: permits, fire watch and energy isolation
- Deck hydraulics: pumps, hoses, valves and safe pressurising
- Winch, hauler and wire maintenance; enclosed spaces
Indicative experience
Indicative: 2-4 years' workshop experience (boilermaking/welding or heavy mechanics) plus embarked campaigns on trawlers or seiners, until mastering repairs in a seaway with the gear working.
Observations
There is no dedicated STCW certificate for the billet: it is a seagoing trade whose real bar is set by owner and chief engineer. Natural progression: fishing greaser/mechanic → caldereta → Senior Naval Mechanic or fishing chief engineer (RD 36/2014 — indicative).
What this role does
An essential trade profile in distant-water fishing: maintains and repairs at sea the deck machinery —winches, haulers, trawl doors, blocks— and the structure supporting it. Welds, plates, tunes hydraulics and fabricates the part the ship doesn't carry; mid-campaign, the ability to improvise safely decides between fishing on or returning to port.
Typical watches
- Day work with emergency interventions during maneuvers
Key responsibilities
- Perform emergency welding and repair of structures subjected to heavy wear.
- Maintain winches, trawl doors, hydraulics and metal deck elements.
- Manufacture or adapt parts when there is no immediate replacement.
- Support machines and deck in breakdowns that compromise the continuity of fishing.
Operational scope
- fishing cover
- Taller
- Hydraulic and metallic systems
Profile reviewed by HydroAbyss (2026). Cited rules and timeframes are indicative: the final requirement is set by the flag State, the Administration and each company.