merchant seaman
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary EnglishRelated topics: Occupations, Watermerchant seamanˌmerchant ˈseaman noun [countable] BOTTWa sailor in the merchant navyExamples from the Corpusmerchant seaman• Meale, who began working life as a merchant seaman and was later an Aycliffe councillor, is unamused.• When he earned his law degree in 1933, he had already worked as a merchant seaman.