Ship
Captain (a.k.a. Master) is the person in charge of the ship responsible for the
navigation, discipline, safety of passengers, crew and cargo. Captain falls under the Deck department of
the Ship.
A
Day in a Ship Captain’s Life
- Steer and operate ship vessels, using radios, radars, lights and buoys
- Compute positions, courses, speed using charts, plotters etc.
- Direct and co-ordinate with crew members or workers
- Maintain boats & equipments on board e.g. engines, navigation devices
- Inspect vessels to ensure efficient and safe operation
- Measure depth of water using depth-measuring equipment
- Monitor loading and discharging of cargo and passengers
- Signal passing vehicles
- Watching gauges/indicators to make sure machine is working correctly
- Guide, direct and motivate subordinates
- Getting information, making decisions and problem solving
Technical Skills Required
- Navigational and spatial orientation
- Depth perception and far vision
- Judgment and decision making
- Management of Personnel resources
- Monitoring and Supervising
Personal attributes Required
- Good physique with sound health
- Sporting, adaptive and adjustable attitude
- Love for adventure and challenges
- Urge to strive for higher positions
- Intelligent, intuitive and team worker
- Not be sea sick and work for long hours
- Long periods of solitude and away from family
Types of Merchant Navy fleet (Non-combatant
commercial)
- Cargo ships
- Container ships
- Barge carrying ships
- Tankers & Roll on/off ships
- Bulk carriers
- Refrigerator ships
- Passenger ships
Job Avenues
- Govt. Shipping companies
- Private Shipping companies
- Foreign Shipping companies
- After retirement you can work as Surveyors of Ships, Marine
- Superintendent, Lecturer in Training Academies
Career Map
Govt. Training Institutes (For
pre-sea and post-sea training)
- Training Ship Chanakya, Navi Mumbai.
- Marine Engineering & Research Institute (MERI), Kolkata. And Mumbai
- Lal Bahadur Shastri College of advanced Maritime Studies and Research, Mumbai.
Growth Chart
- Ship Captain a.k.a. Master: Responsible for safe navigation of ship, safety of passengers, crew and cargo
- First Mate a.k.a. Chief Officer: Oversea all cargo planning, assists in navigation, allocate duties to cadets
- Second Mate a.k.a. Second Officer: In-charge of checking all mails, maintenance of navigation equipment and charts
- Third Mate a.k.a. Third Officer: Keeping safety equipments like lifeboats, firefighting, signaling in top condition
- Deck Cadet / Boatswain / Seamen: Assist in security of ship, cleaning, docking at ports
Promotion
- Process of rising from a Deck Cadet to Ship Captain takes minimum of at least 10 to 12 years
- Deck Cadet can apply for Second Officer Exam after 36 months of sailing
- Third Officer can apply for First Mate Exam after 18 months of sailing
- Chief Officer has to have 18 month sailing experience before applying for Ship Captain position
Salary Expectation
- Depends of type of ship, seniority and experience level
- Salary ranges from Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 2,00,000 per month
- Free meals, accommodation, family trips, other perks like duty free, NRI tax benefits, four month leave per year
Farzad Minoo Damania
Career Counsellor and Corporate Trainer
Career Nurturer
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