How shipboard watches keep command available

How do shipboard watch rotations work when something unusual happens or the captain is asleep?

Watch officers manage normal events, wake the relevant specialist first, and keep senior command close enough to intervene quickly.

Officers of the watch and deck rotate through duty and can handle most events. An engineering problem would normally prompt them to wake the chief engineer before the captain or executive officer. Usually, the captain, executive officer, or another senior officer is already awake somewhere aboard. A Red October example gives junior officers responsibility while the senior officers meet beside the bridge. The doctor circulates to check on them without making them feel closely supervised, and the senior officers remain only seconds away.