BackMerchant navy as a career is the right choice for those who wish to explore the
sea and visit new and exotic places all over the world. It is one career which has always
been famous for its handsome pay packets and never-ending adventures. Merchant navy as a
concept means carrying cargo and passengers from one country to other via sea. Its fleet
includes cargo ships, container ships, barge carrying ships, tankers, bulk carriers,
passenger ships etc.
CAREER PROSPECTS
There are three main areas in merchant navy
deck department,
engine department
service department.
The deck department has captain, chief officer, second officer, third officer and
other junior officers mainly involved in navigation, loading and unloading of the cargo.
The second department is the engine department responsible for installation or repairing
of ship engines, supervising and the mechanical and electrical work. This department
consists of the chief engineer, radio officers, electrical officers and junior engineers,
who also coordinates the activities of the engine and the room crew. The main work of the
service department is to look after the kitchen, laundry, medical facilities etc.
COURSE DETAILS
Appointments are made at different levels in merchant navy. Minimum qualification required to enter the maritime education is 10 + 2 with PCM. One should have a 6/6 eyesight and should be in excellent health for the job requires long stretches of hard work. Maritime training institutions come under the administrative control of Directorate General of Shiping. T.S. Chanakya (Mumbai) conducts a three year degree course - B.Sc. in Nautical Science. It also involves a one year on-board training after the completion of the degree. The 4 year Engineering degree for becoming a marine engineer is provided by the Marine Engineering Reseach Institute(MERI). This degree from MERI is recognized by the Ministry of Human Resources Development (Education). For selection in T.S. Chanakya or in MERI one has to give a common entrance examination of IIT-JEE. The total number of seats is, however, not fixed and depends on the number of vacant seats each year.