also: こうはんいん
deck hand; deckhand
A crew member who works on the deck of a ship, handling tasks such as maintenance, mooring, and cargo operations.
He works as a deck hand on a cargo ship.
航海士 is a navigating officer, a higher-ranking position than a deck hand.
Standard kanji spelling. The reading こうはんいん is also possible but less common.
Alternate reading; かんぱんいん is the usual pronunciation.
Compound of 甲板 (かんぱん, 'deck') and 員 (いん, 'member, personnel').