Ship Captain Salary

The average salary for a Ship Captain is $92,630.

10%

50%

90%

MEDIAN $92,630

Salary

$48k - $169k

Bonus

$2k - $41k

Profit Sharing

$2k - $12k

Total Pay

$41k - $170k

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Job Description for Ship Captain

A ship captain is the person in charge of everything that happens on a commercial boat, whether that vessel is involved in commercial freight work, passenger transport, or pleasure cruises for sightseeing or fishing. On a boat of any commercial size, the captain typically supervises a crew and helps to ensure the seaworthy nature of the ship until it reaches its destination. Because of the dangers and damages that can result if a ship is mishandled, typically a ship captain is given extraordinar…Read more

Ship Captain Tasks

Command and navigate naval vessels through the transportation of personnel and goods.
Keep crew and ship prepared for crisis situations.
Track and evaluate records for cargo, crew, and ship maintenance.
Coordinate crews for all ship duties in harbor and at sea.

Career Paths

Explore the most common career paths for Ship Captain. Thickness and color of lines indicates popularity of movement from one job to the next. Visit our career path planner to research other job paths.

Ship Captain

Tug Boat Captain

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Captain, Mate, or Pilot of Water Vessels

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Operations Manager

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More common (> 20%)

Somewhat common (8 - 20%)

Less common (< 8%)

Ship Captain Job Listings

Popular Skills for Ship Captain

Team Leadership

$92,903

27 responses

Operations Management

$100,896

23 responses

Risk Management / Risk Control

$102,655

16 responses

Maintenance

$90,000

13 responses

Shipping

$95,000

9 responses

Skills in Team Leadership, Operations Management, Risk Management / Risk Control and Shipping are correlated to pay that is above average. Skills that pay less than market rate include Maintenance.

Pay by Experience Level for Ship Captain

An early career Ship Captain with 1-4 years of experience earns an average total compensation (includes tips, bonus, and overtime pay) of $65,003 based on 27 salaries. A mid-career Ship Captain with 5-9 years of experience earns an average total compensation of $85,964 based on 43 salaries. An experienced Ship Captain with 10-19 years of experience earns an average total compensation of $98,444 based on 81 salaries. In their late career (20 years and higher), employees earn an average total compensation of $100,688.

Pay Difference by Location

Learn more about cost of living by city.

Los Angeles, California

▲38%

▲6%

▲4%

▲1%

▼8%

▼23%

▼49%

Employees with Ship Captain in their job title in Los Angeles, California earn an average of 37.6% more than the national average. These job titles also find higher than average salaries in Houston, Texas (6.1% more) and New York, New York (4.4% more). The lowest salaries can be found in Chicago, Illinois (49.4% less), Miami, Florida (23.1% less) and Florida, Florida (8.2% less).