Merchant navy stands as the backbone of the international trade which is known to carry the cargo ships all over the world. The entire trading process requires a lot of workers to transport and deliver goods across different countries. Thus, the merchant navy also plays a significant role in improving the financial conditions of the country and reducing unemployment. Most of the import and export business will halt if the merchant navy disappears.
The merchant navy offers career and lifestyle which is a dream of many students of the country. A job in this field will give ample opportunities to travel around the world and live an adventurous sea life. They offer different courses to join the merchant navy depending on the candidate’s performance. Any student who is willing to be a part of this community can join after 12th or graduation. Merchant navy offers courses in different fields, such as B.Tech Marine Engineering, B. Sc. Nautical Science, B. Tech Naval Architecture and Offshore Engineering, Marine Catering, etc.
Table of Contents
- List of Prominent Merchant Navy Courses in India
- 1 B.E / B.TECH. MARINE ENGINEERING
- 2 GME COURSE
- 3 B.SC. Nautical Science and Diploma in Nautical Science
- 4 Diploma in Marine Engineering (DME Course)
- 5 GP Rating Course and Deck Rating Course
- 6 NCV Course
- 7 Commercial Diving
- 8 Electro Technical Officer (ETO) Course
- Job Profiles in Merchant Navy
- Admission Process in Merchant Navy:
- Admissions Via Entrance Examinations and Merit:
- Sponsorship Based Entry
- Lateral Entry into 2nd Year of Marine Engineering
- Merchant Navy Syllabus
- Pay Package- Merchant Navy
- Merchant Navy Institutes:
The merchant navy gives enormous benefits in your career and offers job satisfaction which is hard to find in today’s world. Before starting the tips to enter in this field or be a part of the merchant navy committee, let us enlist some of the advantages of these jobs:
Better Pay Package
The pay scale in the merchant navy is entirely satisfactory, and no doubt, it is better than most of the fields at the starting level. The employees and workers in the merchant navy are hired with a decent salary package t to meet their daily needs, and apart from the in hand salary, they even get many other perks and bonuses.
Ample Opportunity to Travel Around the World.
Being a backbone of the international trade market, the merchant navy folks get many opportunities to travel around the world. Thus, it is like a dream come true for those candidates whose main interest is to visit different parts of the world.
Action and Adventure in Jobs
If you are a kind of person who loves action and adventure in your life, then merchant navy jobs are the perfect match for you. Traveling along the sea is full of thrill and adventure, and you are surely going to love this.
The benefits of being an employee in the merchant navy lure any candidate, but an easy life only comes after facing the hurdles. There are many prominent merchant navy courses which allow a candidate to join this field after the successful completion of the course.
Some of the best courses to join the merchant navy are as follows:
1 B.E / B.TECH. MARINE ENGINEERING
Marine engineers are responsible for creating and maintaining cruise ships, harbours and oil platforms. Their engineering technology involved the technology of design, construction and maintenance of vehicles used on or around water.
Marine engineering is a four-year-long undergraduate program in which candidates get class 4 marine engineer officer certificate of competence after the successful completion of the course. It is a big honour to achieve such certificate as this is awarded by the Ministry of Shipping itself. A candidate is offered a job of marine engineer on the ship after the six months of sea service.
There is an age criterion for taking admission in the merchant navy. A candidate must be between 17-25 years old during the start of the course. Apart from the age criteria, there is a parameter of education qualification to select candidate. Only those candidates are allowed for admission who have secured at least sixty percent in intermediate with physics, chemistry and mathematics as their main subject.
2 GME COURSE
GME course is one year long pre-training course for the graduates only. All the candidates after one year of successful training are awarded the certificate of competency of class from marine engineer officer, and they can become marine engineers on merchant navy ships after six months of sea service.
It is to be noted that a candidate must be below 28 years of age during the starting of course, and only Mechanical Engineering or Naval Architecture candidates are allowed for this course. Also, these candidates should have at last scored a 50% score in the final year.
3 B.SC. Nautical Science and Diploma in Nautical Science
B.SC. Nautical Science is a three-year-long duration course in which a candidate is awarded second mates foreign going certificate which is awarded by the Ministry of Shipping, India after successful completion of the course. Those candidates who have completed their intermediate with PCM (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics) as their main subject with a minimum aggregate of 60% are eligible for this course. Apart from the academic barriers, a candidate must be aged between 17 to 25 years of age during the starting of course.
Apart from the B.SC. in nautical science, the merchant navy also provides a course of diploma in the same subject. The eligibility criteria related to academics and candidate’s age for diploma course is quite similar to as of B.SC. course. However, this course also demands that a candidate must have scored at least 50 % in the 10th and 12th exam.
Both of B.SC. and diploma in nautical science courses opens the passage of merchant navy to join as a deck officer.
4 Diploma in Marine Engineering (DME Course)
DME course is for the diploma holders candidate from the branches of Mechanical, Electrical, Naval Architecture, Electrical & Electronics branches only. This is a two year long pre-sea training course in which the candidates are awarded class 4 marine engineer certificate of competency from the ministry of shipping India. This course has a benefit that after the six months of six service, the candidate might be promoted to the marine engineer on merchant navy ships in any part of the world.
During the starting of the course, a candidate must be aged within 28 years and must have secured at least 0% in diploma to meet the eligibility criterion.
5 GP Rating Course and Deck Rating Course
General Purpose or GP rating course is a six-month-long duration course through which a candidate can join as a deck or engine crew after the completion of the course. The promotions of the rank of a candidate are based upon the parameters of his/her performance.
Deck rating course is an extension of the GP course in which candidates are provided with separate deck crew training courses. The age criteria for GP rating course is between 17 to 25 years, and for the Deck rating course is from 17 ½ years to 25 years.
The candidate must have cleared his matriculate from a recognized board with mathematics, English, and science as main subjects.
6 NCV Course
NCV course is a thirty-month training course in which six month is academic course while the other 24 months are offshore sea training course. Near Coastal Voyage or NCV course is the best fit for the candidates who are a merchant navy enthusiast.
A candidate can join this course after passing matriculate from a recognized board. The age criterion for this field is between 17 ½ years to 25 years, and the candidate must be physically fit and have good eyesight and meet all the physical requirements as per the merchant shipping rules to join this course. You may also check – merchant navy after 10th.
7 Commercial Diving
A commercial diver dives under the sea water to perform different activities, such as surveying, welding the ship, cable laying, underwater cutting, removing the obstacles, etc. Basically, commercial divers are needed to handle any barriers under water. This is a two months training in which even 10th passed students are eligible to join the course. If you are an expert in swimming, then it will prove as an added advantage for getting admission.
8 Electro Technical Officer (ETO) Course
ETO or Electro Technical Officer course is a blessing for that candidate who wants to join merchant navy after their diploma or bachelor’s degree. ETO course is a pre-sea training course, and after six months of sea service, an ETO certificate is provided to the candidates. An ETO officer is responsible for maintaining and supervising all the electrical and electronics equipment present in a ship.
The maximum age to be eligible for this course is thirty-five years.
The educational qualification required for this course are:
- Passing certificate of 10 + 2 with physics, chemistry, mathematics, and English as main subjects.
- Diploma or Bachelor’s degree in Electrical / Electronics / Electrical and Electronics / Electronics and Telecommunication / Communication / Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering.
There are a few other courses through which a candidate can join the merchant navy and fulfil his/ her dreams. These courses are listed as per the posts in the merchant navy.
List of Merchant Navy courses after 12th
- B. Sc. Nautical Science
- B.E. Marine Engineering
- B.E. Naval Architecture and Offshoe Engineering
- B.E. Petroleum Engineering
- B.E. Mechanical Engineering
- B.E. Harbour & Ocean Engineering
- B.E. Civil Engineering
- B.E. Electrical & Electronics Engineering
- Electro Technical Officer Course
List of Merchant Navy courses after 10th
- Near Coastal Voyage (NCV)
- Diploma in Nautical Science (DNS)
- Commercial Diving
- G.P. Rating
- Deck Officer (Navigation Officer)
- Electro- Technical Officer (ETO)
- Engineer
- Catering and Hospitality Crews
Just like any other institutes, the admission process in the merchant navy is done via entrance examinations, such as IMU CET. MERI Entrance Exam, TMISAT, etc. All the institutes offering the merchant navy courses are centralized and come under the purview of the Indian Maritime University.
However, there are few other processes to get admission in this field which will be discussed below –
Admissions Via Entrance Examinations and Merit:
The best part of the merchant navy is that it is very professional and competitive line of work in which the performance is the key parameter for getting a promotion. A candidate can prove his credibility to the senior officers by clearing the government regulated examinations, or performance onboard a vessel.
We are listing some of the important entrance exams to get admission in the merchant navy:
IMU CET
Indian Maritime University Common Entrance Test (IMU CET) is conducted every year by the Indian Maritime University. This is a common entrance test for those who wish to join the merchant navy.
Age Limit
The candidate needs to be minimum of 17 years and maximum of 25 years at the time of applying. However, five years age relaxation is provided to all SC/ST candidates.
Academic Qualifications
It is necessary for a candidate to pass the 12th standard exam with a minimum aggregate of 60% score in PCM (Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics). Apart from that, it is required to score at least a 50 percent score in English. SC/ST candidates are given certain relaxation in the PCM scores.
JEE ADVANCED
Some of the institutes also offer admission through the JEE entrance exam conducted by IITs. The candidate has to fill the application form for IIT-JEE and also other application form issued by Indian Maritime University. Those candidates who have secured Minimum Qualifying Marks For Ranking (MQMR) in individual subjects are called for the counseling.
Sponsorship Based Entry
The direct admission into the merchant navy is also possible by directly applying to either of the popular maritime institutes for maritime programmes. You can apply for sponsorship based entry for potential candidates if only you have completed a course from their institutes.
Lateral Entry into 2nd Year of Marine Engineering
Direct Admission into the marine engineering is also possible through the lateral entry into the second year of the session. This lateral entry is approved by the Directorate General of Shipping.
The lateral entry into 2nd year is possible in two ways:
- After completing the first year of engineering with a minimum of 60% through either electrical or mechanical stream.
- After pursuing diploma with a minimum of 60 % through either electrical, mechanical, marine, or ship- building courses.
Merchant Navy has a wide syllabus which includes the combination of several subjects. The complete syllabus is the hybrid of mechanical and marine engineering. In this section of the article, I am going to enlist some of the very popular subjects:
- Mechanics of Fluids
- Voyage Planning and Collision Prevention
- Marine Electrical Technology
- Nautical Physics and Electronics Paper
- Electrical Machines
- Ship Operation Technology
- Marine Auxiliary Machine
- Principles of Navigaton
- Marine IC Engineering
- Shipping Management
- Marine Boiler and System Engineering
- Maritime Law
- Naval Architecture
- Cargo Machine and Marine Communication
- Marine Heat Engines and Air Conditioning
- Marine Machines and System Design
- Environmental Science
- SCTW and Ship Fire Prevention.
This field offers the lucrative package to their employees with many other allowances. The package of the employees varies between Rs. 12,000 to Rs. 8,00,000 per month from company to company, export-import needs, city to city, etc.
Comparatively to other employees, engineers are paid quite good for their jobs. As a Junior Engineer, the candidate starts his job with a package of Rs. 30,000 per month while a chief engineer at sea gets a payment of Rs. 1.5 lakhs per months or more net of taxes. However, it takes up to five to six engineers for a junior engineer to get promoted to chief engineer ranks. The promotion varies from individual to individual depending on the person’s capabilities.
The salary increases for the higher rank officers. A third officer in the merchant navy is paid up to Rs. 50,000 per month with free boarding and lodging facilities. The package varies from lower ranks to higher ranks. In the merchant navy, ranks above the third officer are the second officer, chief officer and captain of a ship. A captain of the ship is paid up to Rs. 2 lakhs per month or more excluding taxes.
Merchant Navy institutes focus on providing skills training to the candidates who are wishing to join this field. All of the training institutes of the merchant navy are accredited by the Directorate of Shipping, and it is approved for the training of personnel by the Ministry of Surface Transport of the Government of India.
These are some of the top listed colleges which offer the training courses to the candidates:
- C.V. Raman College of Engineering: Bhubaneswar
- AMET University: Chennai
- Balaji Seamen Training Institute: Chennai
- Chennai School of Ship Management: Chennai
- Chidambaram Institute of Maritime Technology: Chennai
- CMC Maritime Academy: Chennai
- School of Seamanship and Nautical Technology: Kancheepuram (Tamil Nadu)
- GKM College of Engineering and Technology: Chennai
- Indian Maritime College: Chennai
- Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Institute of Maritime Science & Engineering: Chidambaram
- Southern Academy of Maritime Studies: Chennai
- Coimbatore Marine College: Coimbatore
- Park Maritime Academy: Coimbatore
- Seaskills Maritime Academy: Coimbatore
- Marine Training Academy: Daman
- Centre for Maritime Education and Training: Dehradun
- Mumbai Maritime Training Institute: Dehradun
- Oceanic Maritime Academy: Dehradun
- Angel maritime Academy: Goa
- Francon’s Maritime Academy: Goa
- Institute of Maritime Studies: Goa
- Natcom Education and Resarch Foundation: Gurgaon
- Haldia Institute of Maritime Studies and Research: Haldia
- College of Maritime Studies and Research: Kolkata
- Garden Reach Ship Builders and Engineers Ltd. : Kolkata
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