India Admissions

Merchant Navy Course and Careers

Services of Merchant Navy are crucial in Navy and so the candidates who study this course can obtain job opportunities without much difficulty. Here is the special focus on merchant navy courses and career.

Merchant Navy-Divisions

There are three important divisions in Merchant Navy. These are Deck, Engine and Rating. A ship is run by a master or the captain. Master is the most senior officer in a ship. He belongs to deck section. There will be chief officer, second officer and third officer after him. In the engine section there will be chief engineer, second engineer third engineer and Electrical officer. In the rating section there will be staff to look after the daily works in the ship.

Duties of staff on a ship

The main responsibility of Deck officer is to see that the journey in ship is safe and orderly. Engineer is the person who supervises the matters related to the engine in the ship. The staff that provides assistance for various departments in the ship is called Ratings. The staff on the deck work under Captain or Master. Based on the experience and the qualification, candidates who begin their career as merchant engineers can reach to the position of Chief Engineer/Master. Candidates who studied graduation in nautical science or those who completed marine engineering can reach higher positions in five to six years.

Various positions in Merchant navy are Master, Chief Officer, Second officer, Third officer, Chief engineer, second engineer, third engineer, fourth engineer or Radio officer.

To enter into navigation field, candidates have to complete the Diploma in Deck Cadet Course which is of one year duration. Engineers who are eligible to enter into the engine section will have to complete Graduation in Mechanical Engineering course which is also of one year duration. After completing the above courses, candidates can obtain full time degrees in nautical sciences and Marine engineering. Few institutes offer four year marine engineering BE with intermediate qualification for intermediate MPC passed candidates. Duration of the course is four years. Apart from these, various institutions in India are offering nautical sciences and Marine Engineering courses for candidates who are desirous to join Merchant navy.

Courses in Marine science

BE in Marine Engineering: Duration of the course is four year. Marine Engineering Research Institutes in Mumbai and Kolkata are offering these courses. Candidates who scored 60% marks in Intermediate with Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry subjects are eligible to apply for this course. They should have scored 50% marks in English. Admission will be given through common entrance test. Age of the candidate should not be more than 25 years.

BSc Nautical Science: BSc nautical science is a course that completes in three stages and has six semesters. Candidates who complete the first two semesters will be given Diploma in Nautical Science certificate. After this there will be one and half year or three semester training on the ship. After completion of this, the candidates will be awarded Advanced Diploma in Nautical Science. In the sixth semester Director General of Shipping gives ‘Second Mate Certificate of Competence’ certificate and BSc Nautical science degree is awarded to Indian Maritime University.

DME: DME is a two year duration course and candidates who have studied diploma in Mechanical/Marine/Ship building/Naval Architecture/Electrical are eligible.

Pre-Sea training: Candidates who completed Mechanical Engineering/Naval Architecture course are eligible to join Pre-sea training course.

After completion of any of the above courses, Ministry of Shipping, India awards Class-4 Engineer Certificate Officer degree. After gaining six months experience, these candidates can work as marine engineers in any part of the world.

Indian Maritime University conducts common entrance test based on which, the candidates are given admission in four campuses of IMU along with nearly 120 maritime training institutes in India. Most of these institutes are located in Mumbai and Chennai. Course fee is Rs. 2.5 lakh for one year.

Skills: Candidates who want to begin their career in Merchant Navy have to be strong physically and mentally. They should have the capacity to face challenges and they should be hard working also. They should enjoy outdoor life and also journeys.

Government Maritime colleges

• National Maritime Academy, Chennai
• T S Chanakya, Mumbai
• Lal Bahadur Shastry College of Advanced Maritime Studies Research, Mumbai
• Maritime Engineering Research Institute, Mumbai
• Maritime Engineering Research Institute, Kolkata
• Indian Institute of Port Management, Kolkata
• National Ship Design and Research Centre, Visakhapatnam

Private Maritime Institutes

• Orissa Maritime Academy, Jagathsinghpur trident College of Maritime Technology, Kolkata
• Asha Institute of Maritime Technology, Varanasi
• Sri Ram Institute of Maritime studies, Delhi
• Aquatech Institute of Maritime studies, Delhi
• Euro Tech Maritime Academy, Cochin
• Commander Ali Academy of Merchant Navy, Secunderabad
• Sri Chakra Maritime College, Puducherry
• Balaji Seamen Training Institute, Chennai
• Maritime Training Academy, Goa