| Sr No | Name of the merchant navy course |
| 1 | GP Rating |
| 2 | Deck Rating |
| 3 | Engine Rating |
| 4 | Saloon Rating |
| 5 | NCV course |
| 6 | Diploma in Marine Engineering |
Let us analyze each course and find out details about them in the next section-
Table of Contents
1 GP Rating course
It is a 6 months long pre sea training program. GP Rating stands for General Purpose Rating. Students who have passed 10th standard with mathematics, science and English subjects are eligible to pursue this course. Age of the candidate must be between 17½ to 25 years. You may also check – Merchant navy colleges in India.
Candidate must also be physically and mentally fit as per Merchant Shipping rules. Eyesight requirement is 6/6 with no color blindness. GP Rating program focuses on subjects and topics related to deck/engine roles and tasks. After completing the course, sea service and gaining required certificates, candidates may work as deck/engine crew aboard merchant navy ships. For detailed guide, check this article out- GP Rating after 10th.
2 Deck Rating course
Though GP Ratings course covers aspects of deck crew training, separate deck crew training courses are also available. The pre sea training course lasts 6 months. Students who have passed 10th standard (with mathematics, science and English subjects) are eligible to pursue this course. Age of the candidate should be between 17½ to 25 years of age.
Candidate should be fit as per Merchant Shipping rules. Eyesight requirement is 6/6 with no color blindness. This program focuses on deck training only. After course completion, sea service and gaining required certificates, one may join merchant navy ships as part of their deck crew.
3 Engine Rating course
Though GP Ratings course covers aspects of engine crew training, separate engine crew training courses are also available. The pre sea training course lasts 6 months. Students who have passed 10th standard (with mathematics, science and English subjects) are eligible to pursue this course. Age of the candidate should be between 17½ to 25 years of age.
Candidate should be fit as per Merchant Shipping rules. Eyesight requirement is 6/6 with no color blindness. This program focuses on engine training only. After course completion, sea service and gaining required certificates, one may join merchant navy ships as part of their engine crew.
4 Saloon Rating course
It is a 6 months long pre sea training course. Saloon course focuses on the catering department of a merchant navy ship. It trains students and makes them capable of taking up responsibilities in the catering department aboard merchant navy ships.
Many Maritime Institutes offer admission to 10th passed students. Age of the candidate should be between 17½ to 25 years of age. Candidate should be fit as per Merchant Shipping rules.
5 NCV Course
NCV stands for Near Coastal Voyage. It is a 6 months long training program. The initial training program will be followed by 24 months offshore training or 18 months with distance learning program.
Candidates who have passed 10th standard are eligible to pursue NCV course. Candidate should be aged between 17½ to 25 years. Candidate should also be fit as per Merchant Shipping rules.
6 Diploma in Marine Engineering
Most institutes have 10+2 Science stream (mathematics group) as the minimum educational qualification required. Still, some institutes do give admission to 10th passed students too!
Diploma in Marine Engineering is a 3 years long Diploma certificate program. After completing Diploma in Marine Engineering, one may go for 2 years long pre sea training course for Diploma holders.
This pre sea training course is called the DME course. After completing pre sea training course and going through qualifying examinations and sea service, one will be able to work as an Engineer aboard merchant navy ships!
Diploma Marine Engineering holders may also secure admission in 2nd year of B.E./B.Tech. Marine Engineering program. This process is called the ‘lateral entry’.
Note: After joining merchant navy after completing any of the above mentioned courses, one may gain sea service experience. At regular periods, one may appear for advanced qualifying examinations and rise through the ranks (after clearing the examination).
Other than the above mentioned courses, maritime institutes also offer short term technical courses, like- fire safety and fire fighting, welding, electrical certification etc. But the courses I’ve listed are the better ones (and well known).
After 10th, if you are willing to go through 11th and 12th schooling in Science stream (mathematics group), you will be eligible to pursue even better maritime courses. Let me mention some of the well known courses, which you may pursue after 10+2 Science stream (mathematics group) schooling.
- B.E./B.Tech. Marine Engineering
- B.Sc. Nautical Science
- Diploma in Nautical Science
- B.Sc. Maritime Science
- B.E./B.Tech. Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
- BBA in Shipping Management
- B.Sc. Ship Building and Repair
After completing UG course after 12th (any of the above), one may go for relevant PG and advanced courses. Some of the well known advanced courses are-
- M.E./M.Tech. in Marine Engineering
- M.E./M.Tech. in Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
- M.Sc. Nautical Science
- M.Sc. Maritime Science
- PG Diploma in Marine Engineering
- MBA (Shipping Management/Logistics Management)
- LL.B. (Maritime Law)
- Pre sea training courses (GME, DME etc)
In short, if landing a merchant navy job after 10th is your ultimate aim, you may go for the Rating courses mentioned in this article or Diploma in Marine Engineering (follow it up with pre sea training). If you are willing to undergo Science stream schooling (11th and 12th with PCM subjects), you will have access to even better maritime courses!
- Business Analytics Degrees & Programs in the US - January 22, 2025
- Actuarial Science Degrees & Programs in the US - January 22, 2025
- Robotics Degrees & Programs in the US - January 22, 2025
