Nautical Term: Able bodied seaman
Definition of Able bodied seaman
An able bodied seaman (AB) is a rank above that of an ordinary seaman (OS) in the deck department of a merchant vessel. The AB is expected to perform a wider range of deck duties than an OS.
For example: Once the apprentice seaman had completed his required training, he was promoted to the rank of able bodied seaman. As an AB, he was responsible for various deck duties such as setting up and maintaining the ships’ rigging, assisting the boatswain in performing ship maintenance tasks, and helping to navigate the ship by assisting the navigation team with tasks such as taking bearings and plotting ship’s positions on navigational charts.
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