How to become a ship’s oiler or greaser

Official title: Ship’s oiler/greaser

Also called: Ship motorman, Ship's greaser, Ship's oiler, Ship's oiler and greaser, Ÿ Ship motorman

Ship’s oiler/greaser lubricates bearings and moving parts of engines and other mechanical equipment on vessels afloat. He/she makes regular rounds of machinery, checks gauges and thermometers and adjusts pressure and flow of lubricants to working parts of machinery. He/she also pours oil and applies grease with grease-guns at specified points of machinery not automatically lubricated. He/she assists engineers and engine-room mechanics in overhauling and repairing engines and other shipboard machinery.

Main tasks

• Operating, cleaning, lubricating and monitoring steam engines, boilers and auxiliary equipment such as pumps, compressors and air-conditioning equipment to supply and maintain steam and power for buildings, marine vessels or pneumatic tools
• Analysing and recording instrument readings, troubleshooting and performing minor repairs to prevent equipment or system failure
• Monitoring ship’s engine, machinery and equipment indicators, recording variables and reporting abnormalities to the ship engineer officer on watch

Ways in

• Apprenticeship: Work-study diploma. Related ITE work-study diplomas: Work-Study Diploma in Marine & Offshore Engineering - Production (Repair & Maintenance). You are employed by a company and study at ITE at the same time. Peernovo matched these from course names.
• Polytechnic or ITE: ITE course (Nitec or Higher Nitec). Related ITE courses: Higher Nitec in Marine & Offshore Engineering. Peernovo matched these from course names; ITE does not publish which jobs each course leads to.; Polytechnic diploma. Related diplomas: Diploma in Environmental & Marine Science (Republic Polytechnic). Peernovo matched these from course names; polytechnics do not publish which jobs each course leads to.

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

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Questions people ask

How do I become a ship’s oiler or greaser?

Ways in include: ITE course (Nitec or Higher Nitec); Polytechnic diploma; Work-study diploma.

Will AI change the work of a ship’s oiler or greaser?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

• International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Updated 4 October 2026