The phrase “lowest position on a ship” can mean two different things: the lowest place on the vessel, or the lowest rank in the crew, and both are answered differently.

Physical lowest part of a ship

If you’re talking about the ship’s structure, there are a couple of closely related terms people use.

  • Bottom of the ship (hull bottom) – This is literally the lowest part of the hull that sits in the water.
  • Hold – The lowest internal space in many ships where cargo, ballast, and supplies are stored; it’s below the main decks and often below the waterline.
  • Orlop deck – On many larger or older ships, the very lowest deck is called the orlop; it often sits below the waterline and is used for storage such as cables.

So if someone on a forum asks “what is the lowest position on a ship?” and they mean place, a precise answer would be: the hold or, in deck terms, the orlop deck , forming part of the bottom of the hull.

Lowest crew rank on a ship

If they mean job position rather than location, they’re asking about rank in the hierarchy.

On merchant or cargo ships, crew ranks are usually grouped into departments (deck, engine, catering). At the bottom of that hierarchy you typically find:

  • Ordinary Seaman (OS) – An entry‑level deck position, below Able Seaman; commonly treated as the lowest standard rank among deck crew.
  • In other departments, there are similarly junior roles (e.g., trainee ratings or basic catering staff), but in many textbook or exam questions, Ordinary Seaman is explicitly identified as the “lowest position on a ship” among listed options.

So if the question is about rank, the usual answer is Ordinary Seaman , the basic deckhand-level job.

Quick HTML summary (for SEO-style post)

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<h1>What is the lowest position on a ship?</h1>

<h2>Quick Scoop</h2>
<p>People use the phrase “lowest position on a ship” in two main ways: the lowest physical part of the vessel, and the lowest crew rank.</p>

<h2>Lowest physical place on a ship</h2>
<ul>
  <li><strong>Bottom of the hull</strong> – The lowest part of the ship’s structure, sitting in the water.</li>
  <li><strong>Hold</strong> – The lowest internal space, used for cargo, ballast, and stores, usually below the main decks and often below the waterline.</li>
  <li><strong>Orlop deck</strong> – On many ships, especially larger or older designs, this is the very lowest deck, often used for storing cables.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Lowest crew rank on a ship</h2>
<ul>
  <li><strong>Ordinary Seaman (OS)</strong> – The typical entry-level deck rating and often regarded as the lowest position in the ship’s rank structure.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Forum-style angle & trending context</h2>
<blockquote>
“Depends what you mean, mate – lowest <em>deck</em> or lowest <em>paygrade</em>? Physically it’s the hold/orlop, career-wise it’s the ordinary seaman just starting out.”
</blockquote>
<p>On Q&amp;A and forum sites, users often ask this as a short quiz-style question, with answers pointing either to the <strong>hold</strong> as the lowest physical part inside the hull or to the <strong>Ordinary Seaman</strong> as the lowest rank among the crew. Recent online guides to ship hierarchies still describe Ordinary Seaman as an entry-level role beneath Able Seaman and well below officers like the Chief Engineer or Captain.</p>

<h2>TL;DR</h2>
<ul>
  <li>Lowest <strong>place</strong> on a ship: the hold / orlop at the bottom of the hull.</li>
  <li>Lowest <strong>rank</strong> on a ship: Ordinary Seaman (entry-level deckhand).</li>
</ul>

<p><em>Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.</em></p>