Senior captain Senior captain is a rare military rank which is used in some countries armed forces , navies and merchant marines . Army . In some armies of the world , the " senior captain " is a rank between a regular captain and a major . The rank is often only found in armies and air force s . A similar position to that of senior captain is the rank of senior colonel . Asian armies . The rank of " taewi " ( 대위 ) ) in the military of North Korea and the rank of " da wei " ( 大尉 ) used by the People ' s Liberation Army between 1955 and 1965 , are often translated as senior captain . However , the ranks and insignia derive from the practice of the Soviet Army , which has , like the Red Army before it and the Russian Army today , four company - grade officer ranks , one captain rank and three lieutenant ranks . The literal translation of those four ranks in Chinese and Korean are junior ( - grade ) officer , mid ( - grade ) officer , upper ( - grade ) officer , and senior ( - grade ) officer . Since the PLA today uses only three - company grade officer ranks , it has become conventional to translate " shang wei " ( 上尉 ) which originally corresponded to the Soviet rank of senior lieutenant , as captain , and hence " da wei " , which corresponded to the Soviet rank of captain , as senior captain . The corresponding fourth junior office rank of the Vietnamese Army , " đại úy " , is usually translated as captain . In the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police , between the ranks of " turan " ( captain ) and " Jagran " ( major ) is the rank of " jag turan " . In the case of the Afghan National Police , the rank of " jag turan " is most commonly translated as " staff captain " . European armies . The rank of senior captain is rare in Western militaries , but can be found in the German military , where the rank of " Stabshauptmann " ( " Stabskapitänleutnant " in the Navy ) was created in 1993 for officers of the " Militärfachlicher Dienst " ( former NCOs in specialist positions ) who could not be promoted to field grade . The Belgian Armed Forces use the rank of " captain - commandant " as a standard rank . Italy uses a title of " primo capitano " for captains that have held the rank of captain for a long time , currently nine years or longer . In the Czechoslovak Army ( and the Czechoslovak People ' s Army ) until 1954 , the rank of " štábní kapitán " ( staff captain ) was the equivalent rank . Navy . In some navies of the world , there is the notion of a senior captain . This is sometimes called " commodore " or " flotilla captain " . When similar rank existed in Imperial Russian Navy it was called not commodore , but rather captain - commander . A naval senior captain is similar to the army ' s senior colonel rank . Merchant marine or merchant navy . In some merchant marines or merchant navies of the world , some captains or shipmaster s , with particular and recognized seniority in terms of true and effective ocean - going ship ' s command , they are named senior captain , senior shipmaster , master mariner senior grade or master mariner highest rank . The most senior , among others senior captain , is named first senior captain or , conforming to British tradition , commodore .