Merchant Navy Introduction

The Merchant Navy mainly deals with transportation of cargo and passengers, by sea on the merchant ship. On these ships, Seafarers of certain ranks are required by the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watch keeping for Seafarers (STCW) to carry Merchant Mariner's Documents.

In merchant Navy different types of ship are used like luxurious passenger vessels, cargo liners, oil tankers, Bulk carriers, Car carrier, containers carriers as well as the other special types of vessels. These days 80 to 90 % of cargo transport is carried out by the sea on merchant ships hence Merchant navy is acting as the back bone of the international trade.

People involved in the merchant marines get to experience exotic destinations across the whole world. The merchant navy offers extremely high payment scales. The payment scales are set as per the existing IMO (International Maritime Organization) and ILO (International Labour Organization) laws.

(Watch a brief introduction of Merchant Navy in this video.)

The Merchant navy mainly includes the following categories of seafarers on board.

1. Navigating officers

2. Marine engineering Officers

3. Crew members

4. Specialized officers (Electrical officer, Radio officers)

5. Hospitality staff (Cook & stewards)

Various Shipping companies offer the contracts to seafarers for a period of 6 to 9 months to work on board. After completion of the contract period, the seafarers can enjoys leave & whenever they want to join back. Presently the demand for Marine Engineers & Deck officers are high worldwide. The shipping companies are facing great shortage for the Deck & Engine officers. Hence the trained persons are getting immediate job opportunities all over the world.

Navigation Officers are responsible for the navigation & stability of the Ship, the loading & discharging of cargo, radio communication and the control/ safety of the crew, and passengers. The master of ship has the command who decides the course of the voyage and maneuvers of the vessel. Following are the ranks of Navigation officer’s team.

1. Captain

2. Chief Officer

3. Second Officer
4. Third Officer

5. Deck Cadets

Promotion in ranks are according to sea service and experience followed by certificate of competency examination.

Marine Engineer officers team have complete responsibility of the ship's engine room i.e., the main engine, boilers, pumps, hydraulic fuel systems the ship's electrical generating plant and distribution system. Chief Engineer is the head of department of Engineer officer’s team. Following are the ranks of Engineer officers.

1. Chief Engineer

2. Second Engineer

3. Third Engineer

4. Fourth Engineer

5. Junior Engineering cadets

Promotion in ranks are according to sea service and experience followed by certificate of competency examination.

Crew or ratings carry out all kind of day to day activities on deck and in engine room. One can get Promotion from GP crew position to Captain Level or Chief Engineer level with proper certificate of competency examinations and sea experience. The catering crew will perform the food preparation and kitchen activities. The specialized fitters & welders are very much needed for various types of vessels.

A career in merchant navy is a unique blend of variety encompassed in a single domain. Acquiring merchant navy as a career, individuals can combine a lot of different facets and gain a lot of exposure which would be difficult to gain otherwise.