Jobships.com gets numerous queries from career aspirants seeking guidance on joining merchant navy. They are mostly students and it is almost a task for them to access the required information from the numerous government circulars and orders on the subject. The literature available in the market currently does not include the revised training pattern that is effective from 01 Jan 2006. Keeping this in mind, this section has been developed and readers are requested to check the latest amendments from the concerned government departments.

To improve the competency, efficiency and employability of Indian Seafarers, the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS), India has introduced several changes in the training pattern that is effective from 01 Jan 2006. The salient features are:-

• The Maritime Training Institutes should have a quality certification for each course from CRISIL, ICRA or CARE for approval by the DGS.
• Deck Cadet Courses can be culminated to Diploma in Nautical Science (DNS), Advanced Diploma in Nautical Science (ADNS) and Bsc (Nautical Science) from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU).
  

A person must choose his career that suits his taste, aptitude, physical ability, mental ability etc. If the career selected is not satisfying, it could turn out to be a disaster. The job at sea demands physical labour, alertness, intelligence, high professional knowledge, ability to work under severe stress etc. So speak to yourself and understand your aptitude. Very few get an opportunity to pursue a career at sea and therefore, the general public has limited knowledge about it. It will be in your interest to fully understand the career and life at sea before joining any pre-sea training courses. The literature available in the market on the subject may not project the right picture about the merchant navy.

There is a general belief that the naval profession is forbidden for the women. The stronger brain sex is making our country proud and the Merchant Navy is open to them also. For women, there is an age relaxation of two years for all the pre-sea courses and other parameters are common.

The comprehensive information on the merchant navy career is available in this section. To read the full text, login as a member of jobships.com. Membership is free for those who have a Certificate of Competency (COC) or atleast five post training sea experience. Other seafarers who wish to become a member may remit a sum of Rs. 500/- by Demand Draft/ Pay order, drawn in favour of M/s Deepraj Marine Systems Pvt Ltd, payable at Mumbai. To know about careers in the Indian navy, you may log on to www.nausena-bharti.nic.in and for careers in the Coastguard www.indiancoastguard.nic.in . Best wishes for a bright career.