What you need to perform it
Primary qualification
- No nautical qualification: industrial service personnel under the MODU Code, usually employed by the catering contractor rather than the unit operator. Secondary education as base (as a guide).
- Offshore safety training: OPITO BOSIET with CA-EBS and a valid offshore medical (OEUK or equivalent).
- Food handler certificate under the applicable regime (in Europe, training per Regulation (EC) 852/2004; in the UK, Level 2 Food Safety — region-dependent as a guide).
Basic STCW
- OPITO BOSIET/FOET (four-yearly refresher) and MIST or the contractor's equivalent induction.
- Depending on flag and unit type, STCW A-VI/1 basic training (verify per unit).
Specific courses
- HACCP applied to volume catering and allergen control.
- Safe handling of cleaning chemicals (safety data sheets, COSHH as reference).
- Manual handling and slip/fall prevention in wet areas.
- Gastrointestinal outbreak protocols and enhanced cleaning (norovirus).
- Laundry safety: hydrocarbon-soiled loads and textile self-ignition risk.
Indicative experience
Entry position with no mandatory minimum experience; as a guide: 1-2 years in hospitality, professional cleaning or volume catering ease entry. Typical rotations 14/14 or 21/21 with 12-hour shifts (region- and contractor-dependent).
Observations
Offshore catering progression ladder (contractor-dependent — as a guide): steward/galley hand → assistant or second cook → cook → chief cook → camp boss, who runs the whole camp and reports to the OIM. Although they do not drill, these personnel count towards POB and hold emergency duties (muster points, headcount). The catering contractor answers to the operator through periodic hygiene audits.
What this role does
It is the entry position of offshore catering and the invisible backbone of life on board: on an installation with 12-hour rotations, hot-bunked cabins on some units and 100-200 people eating four times a day, hygiene is not comfort but a sanitary barrier — a gastrointestinal outbreak can stop a drilling campaign as effectively as a breakdown. Catering is usually subcontracted to specialist companies with their own progression ladder.
Typical watches
- 12 hour shifts
Key responsibilities
- Clean and disinfect cabins, bathrooms and common areas per the installation's hygiene plan.
- Run the laundry: workwear (including hydrocarbon-soiled garments) and cabin linen.
- Serve the mess line and replenish the round-the-clock service of an installation eating across two 12-hour shifts.
- Wash dishes and support basic food preparation and store stowage.
- Apply HACCP and the camp's waste segregation, and report signs of gastrointestinal outbreaks.
Operational scope
- Cabins and accommodation
- Mess room
- Laundry and galley
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.