Chief Operations Officer: The Chief Operations Officer has the primary responsibility of ensuring that ship functions, such as the use of the lateral sensor array, do not interfere with one and another. S/he must prioritise resource allocations, so that the most critical activities can have every chance of success. If so required, s/he can curtail shipboard functions if s/he thinks they will interfere with the ship's current mission or routine operations.

The Chief Operations Officer is a Department head, and a member of the Senior Staff.