Wiper (occupation)

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A wiper is a position responsible for both cleaning the engine spaces and machinery of a ship and assisting the ship's engineers as directed. Railroad workers who performed similar jobs were also known as wipers,^[1] or in the UK as "cleaners".

The most junior rate in a ship's engine room, the wiper position is an apprenticeship to become an oiler. In modern times, a wiper is required to work on a ship for a specific amount of time, gaining what is referred to as "sea time."

In the United States Merchant Marine, in order to be occupied as a wiper a person has to have a Merchant Mariner's Document and STCW certificate issued by the United States Coast Guard. Because of international conventions and agreements, all wipers who sail internationally are similarly documented by their respective countries.