Maritime career guides
Expert guides for seafarers — certificates, ranks, salaries and how to build a career at sea.
Your first cadet contract: everyone has the diploma, not everyone has the sea time
There's something the academy doesn't tell you straight, and should, in the first year. The diploma is not the problem. Everyone who sits…
Mental health and wellbeing at sea: staying healthy on long contracts
Life at sea is rewarding, but it is demanding: long contracts, time away from family, fatigue and isolation all take a toll. Looking after…
Life after sea: shore-based maritime careers for former seafarers
Sea time is one of the most valuable assets in the maritime industry — and it does not only pay off at sea. Sooner or later many seafarers…
Money management for seafarers: allotments, tax and saving your salary
A sea salary is good money — but it arrives in bursts, in foreign currency, while you are away from home for months. Managing it well is…
Crew change explained: signing on and off, flights and joining agents
Every contract begins with a sign-on — joining the ship — and ends with a sign-off — leaving it. Between those two moments sits a chain of…
The seafarer medical certificate (ENG1): how to pass and what can fail you
Every seafarer needs a valid medical certificate before joining a ship. It confirms you are fit for the physical demands of life on board…
The engine department explained: from wiper to chief engineer
The engine department keeps a ship alive — propulsion, power, fuel, fresh water and every system on board. If you are mechanically minded,…
Working on cruise ships: departments, life and how to get hired
Cruise ships are floating towns, and they need three very different kinds of crew: the mariners who run the ship, the technical teams who…
Understanding your seafarer contract: salary, overtime, leave and MLC rights
A job offer at sea is only as good as its contract. Two offers with the same headline salary can be very different once you read the…
Maritime English and SMCP: why it matters and how to improve
On an international crew, English is the working language of the ship. It is how the bridge talks to the engine room, how you coordinate…
Dynamic Positioning (DP): careers and how to become a DPO
Dynamic Positioning is the technology that lets a vessel hold its exact position and heading automatically, using thrusters and computer…
Documents and visas every seafarer needs
A ready seafarer is one whose papers are complete and valid. Many contracts are lost at the last minute because a single document has…
How to choose a reliable crewing agency
The agency you sail through shapes your whole career — timely joining, correct wages, and support if something goes wrong. Choosing well is…
Life on board: contracts, rotations and daily routine
For anyone new to the sea, the biggest unknown is not the work itself but the rhythm of life on board. Understanding contracts, rotations…
Tanker, bulk or offshore: choosing the right fleet
The type of vessel you work on shapes your pay, your certificates and your daily work. Many seafarers build a whole career in one segment.…
Getting your first contract: a guide for cadets and juniors
The hardest contract to get is your first one — everyone wants experience, and you are trying to earn it. The good news: with an officer…
Maritime career path: from cadet to captain
A career at sea is one of the few where a motivated person can climb from an entry-level trainee to command of a multi-million-dollar…
STCW and seafarer certificates explained
Before a crewing manager will consider you, your certificates have to be in order. For newcomers the alphabet soup — STCW, CoC, GMDSS, BST…
How much do seafarers earn? Salaries by rank and vessel type
"How much does the job pay?" is the first question every seafarer asks — and too often the answer is a vague "negotiable". This guide…
How to avoid crewing scams: never pay to get a job at sea
Where there are seafarers looking for contracts, there are scammers pretending to be crewing agencies. The scam is almost always the same:…
How to write a maritime CV that gets you hired
A crewing manager may open dozens of CVs for a single vacancy. Yours has a few seconds to show that you are qualified, available and easy…
How to Write a Seafarer CV That Gets You Hired
A crewing manager spends seconds on each CV. Yours has to show the essentials instantly: your rank, your certificates and your sea service.…
How to Get Your First Maritime Job Without Experience
Landing your first ship without sea time feels impossible — every vacancy seems to ask for experience. It isn't impossible. Thousands of…
Seafarer Salaries 2026: What Different Ranks and Vessels Really Pay
How much do seafarers earn? It depends on your rank, the type of vessel, the company and the trading area. Below is a realistic overview of…
STCW Certificates Explained: What Every Seafarer Needs in 2026
The STCW Convention — Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping — is the international rulebook that decides who is allowed to…