The Merchant Navy is a non-combatant commercial fleet, which deals with transporting cargo and occasionally, passengers, by sea. Its fleet is therefore composed of passenger vessels, cargo liners, tankers, carriers, as well as other special types of vehicles. A career in this field is full of adventure and long voyages to exotic places. Above all this, the excellent pay and promising promotional opportunities make the career lucrative and exciting in spite of all the hard work life and long absence from family and home.


The main positions open in the merchant navy are for navigating officers, and marine engineers. They are usually employed by shipping companies on a contractual basis, which is generally of six months' duration. Earlier a career in this field was considered purely for men. Women were not generally known to take up jobs in merchant navy but the past few years have seen a positive change with many women taking up jobs as OFFICERS on-board .

In Merchant Navy, major tasks performed are in three basic areas of a ship. The Deck, the Engine and the Saloon Department. There are thus, many career options that are available for any youngster who has dreams to join the merchant navy. The deck officers include the Captain, Chief Officer, Second Officer, Third Officer and other junior officers. The engine department consists of the Chief engineer, Second engineer, Third engineer, Fourth engineer, Electrical officer and junior engineers. The service department manages the kitchen, laundry and other services. Jobs are available with shipping companies in India and other countries.

Courses :

B.Sc. NAUTICAL SCIENCE { FOR DECK CADETS }

B.E. MARINE ENGINEERING { FOR ENGINE CADETS }

GENERAL PURPOSE RATINGS COURSE { 6 MONTHS DURATION }

WHAT ARE THE VARIOUS JOBS ???

(a) Deck Officer - The officers from this branch primarily look after the ships navigation, loading/unloading of cargo and the general maintenance and administration of the ship. The officer joins in the rank of 3rd officer and is subsequently promoted to the rank of 2nd officer, Chief Officer and finally the Master of the ship. Of course, the promotions are subject to the individual passing his competency exams and his performance onboard the ship. In addition to navigation duties, normally a 3rd officer looks after the life saving appliances, 2nd officer the passage planning and the navigation equipment, the Chief Officer looks after the cargo work and the Master is the overall in-charge of the ship.


(b) Engineering Officer - These are the officer who are qualified in Marine Engineering. They join as 4th Engineer and step by step, get promoted to 3rd, 2nd and Chief Engineer, subject to their passing the competency exams and performance onboard the ship. The Engineering department in addition to looking after the main engines, are also responsible for associated equipment like power generation equipment, cargo pumps and air - conditioning etc. The4the Engineer is responsible for operation and maintenance of engine room auxiliaries. The 3rd engineer for fuel, water and the boiler room equipment. The 2nd engineer for lubricating the system, engine room auxiliaries, and electric equipment. In addition, there is an electrical officer, who is responsible for the electrical equipment.

WHAT ARE THE PAY AND PERKS ?

The pay and perks depend upon the type of the ship, experience and competency of an individual. Among officers a 3rd Officer/4th Engineer gets about 2500 - 3000 US $, 2nd Officer / 3rd Engineer - 3000-4000 US $, Chief Officer/2nd Engineer - 5000-6000 US $ and a Chief Engineer / Master - 12000-15000 US $ PER MONTH .
An individual can attain the rank of 3rd officer at the age of approx. 21 yrs and Master by the age of about 32 yrs.




Since time immemorial, ships at sea have beckoned the brave and adventurous. The attraction of riches in this profession has been subject of many a folklore. Even today, the situation remains more or less the same, except that today the ships are far more safer than they were in the times of Vasco-da-Gamma and Columbus. Today, there is hardly any career which can fetch such high salaries at such a young age that the Merchant Navy offers. Unfortunately, the knowledge on the subject of "What is Merchant Navy & How do i join it ?" still remains the privilege of very few people who already have relatives and friends in this industry. With this in background, in this section we wish to tell you all about career in Merchant Navy. The ships today are highly sophisticated and technology intensive. Safety and efficiency of the ship are crucial and depends upon the professional ability, competence and dedication to duty, of a seafarer, on board ship. Naturally, a seafarer is expected to be highly professional for the safe and efficient operation of the ship. The training in India is of exceptionally high standards and the Indian seafarers are one of the most sought after commodity in the shipping industry worldwide. Needless to say that an Indian seafarer demands and does gets highly paid

Few important links are :

Indian Maritime University:
http://www.imu.tn.nic.in/ { BNS, MARINE ENGINEERING & NAVAL ARCHITECTURE COURSES }

Directorate General Of Shipping
http://www.dgshipping.com/



YOU CAN ALWAYS LOOK FOR A SPONSORSHIP FOR YOUR ONBARD TRAINING AND JOB FROM VARIOUS INDIAN AND FOREIGN FLAGGED SHIPPING COMPANIES.

SOME MAJOR SPONSORING COMPANIES ARE :


1. ANGLO-EASTERN SHIP MANAGEMENT (INDIA) PVT. LTD.
2. THE SHIPPING CORPORATION OF INDIA LTD.
3. BARBER SHIP MANAGEMENT LTD. [ WILHELMSEN SHIP MGT. ]
4. WALLEM SHIP MANAGEMENT LTD.
5. TORM SHIPPING (I) PVT. LTD.
6. MSC SHIP MANAGEMENT (INDIA) PVT. LTD.
7. V. SHIP
8.. A.P. MOLLER - MAERKS
9. MITSUI O.S.K. LINES
10. FLEET MANAGEMENT LTD.
11. THE GREAT EASTERN SHIPPING COMPANY LTD.
12. BERNHARD SCHULTE SHIP MANAGEMENT LTD.
13. PRATIBHA SHIPPING COMPANY
14. ESSAR SHIPPING, PORTS AND LOGISTICS
15. APL-NSSPL LTD. SINGAPORE
16. UNIVAN SHIP MANAGEMENT
17. ELITE MARINERS
18. VARUN SHIPPING
19. NYK SHIPPING LINE
20. AMERICAN EAGLE TANKERS
21. PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL LINES
22. DOCKENDALE SHIPPING COMPANY
23. WORLD-WIDE SHIP MANGEMENT
24. WORLD TANKERS
25. CHELLARAM SHIP MANAGEMENT HONGKONG LTD.
26. NORTANS
27. FIVE STAR SHIPPING COMPANY
28. TANKER PACIFIC MANAGEMENT [INDIA] PVT. LTD.