Ship (or marine) Engineering Officers or, simply, Ship Engineers are responsible for operating the propulsion plants and support systems on board crew, passengers and cargo seafaring vessels or other watercraft. Alternative terms commonly employed to collectively refer to the profession are seagoing or seafaring engineer officers. In the United States they are usually trained via cadet ships sponsored by a variety of maritime organizations. Engineering Officer Cadets of most countries are sponsored during training by a shipping company, serving their time on board ships owned by that company. Many go on to work as Engineering Officers with their sponsoring company once training is complete.