On a ship where a person has officer privileges one can give an order to another person or swabbie on the ship through the vessel menu. When a pirate recieves an order, a whistle alert is given, and a red alert message is displayed in the chat box (e.g. "Alice has given you an order to bilge"). For puzzles such as gunnery and navigation, where access is restricted, players with insufficient rank require an order before they can do this puzzle.

Swabbies on player owned ships can be given orders to do carpentry, bilge, or sail. On a navy battle nav mission, a swabbie can be given the order to do gunnery also.

The permission granted by an order stays in effect until a new permission related order is given, or the player leaves the ship.

It is possible to have a person who does not have permission to do gunnery or navigation, to do both.

1. Order for navigation
2. Take the helm
3. Order for gunnery
4. Do gunnery

In this way the person will have the battle nav screen available in gunnery as long as no one else takes the helm of the ship.