A marine rigger is someone who works with the rigging on a ship, which is the system of ropes, cables, and other equipment like winches and pulleys that a ship carries. Riggers on a ship use the rigging to move heavy loads, such as when cargo is loaded or unloaded at port, and they also use it to adjust the ship’s sails to control course and speed while at sea in the case of a sailing vessel. They are also in charge of inspecting and maintaining the ship’s rigging in order to keep it operational.
Riggers who work on ships are distinguished from those who use cables, pulleys, and similar equipment in other settings, such as construction sites or theaters, by the term marine rigger. In this context, “marine” simply refers to a job that involves the sea and does not refer to the United States Marine Corps or other military organizations that use the term, though such organizations may employ personnel known as riggers; in the USMC, for example, “rigger” refers to a person who prepares and maintains parachutes and other air-drop equipment. The majority of today’s marine riggers are civilians employed in the commercial shipping industry.
The primary function of a marine rigger for the majority of nautical history was to operate the ship’s sails. While the term “rigging” is commonly used outside of the maritime context to refer to ropes, cables, pulleys, and other related equipment, it was historically used to refer to the ship’s sails and masts, and the term “rigger” to describe someone who uses specialized equipment to move heavy objects stems from this. With the replacement of sails with engines in modern cargo and military vessels, this aspect of rigging has faded in importance, but it is still necessary on modern sailing vessels and sailboats, such as those used for recreational trips.
The ship’s rigging is used by the ship’s rigger to adjust the sails and hold them in their new position to keep the ship under control when the wind conditions change. Today, marine riggers frequently use motorized equipment such as winches to assist them in this task, but for the majority of sailing history, riggers did not have such devices and had to position the sails by sheer muscle power. Because in high winds and rough seas, failure to adjust the sails appropriately for these conditions can cause the entire ship to capsize, the work of a maritime rigger can mean the difference between a ship’s survival and destruction.
A marine rigger’s primary responsibility on a modern commercial or military vessel is to use the rigging to assist in the movement of heavy loads, such as cargo. Riggers erect a system of ropes or cables, as well as other tools like winches, pulleys, and cranes, that they attach to the objects to be moved. This is not a simple process because it necessitates a thorough understanding of the cargo being moved, the rigging’s capabilities, and techniques for suspending and moving objects weighing hundreds of pounds, and mistakes in planning or execution can result in potentially fatal accidents.