If you’re serving in the Indian Navy, or you’ve left it, and you’re considering a Merchant Navy career, the good news is: you don’t start from zero. There’s a formal, government-recognized pathway that converts your Navy training and sea service into Merchant Navy certification — you don’t repeat DNS or GME pre-sea training from scratch. The framework governing this is DGS Order No. 17 of 2022, issued by the Directorate General of Shipping on 20 June 2022.
Here’s exactly how it works, who qualifies, and what the process actually looks like.
The Legal Basis: Article IX of STCW
This isn’t a shortcut or a workaround — it’s built into international maritime law. Article IX of the STCW Convention (the international treaty governing seafarer training and certification, in force since 1984) explicitly permits member states to issue Certificates of Competency to naval personnel, provided the country establishes genuine equivalence in seagoing service, knowledge, and efficiency compared to standard STCW requirements.
India has done this twice: first in 2004-2006 (a scheme showing its age after nearly two decades), and again via DGS Order 17/2022, which followed a fresh joint assessment between the Indian Navy and DGS to close gaps that had opened up — including the 2010 Manila amendments to STCW that the older scheme never accounted for.
Who Actually Qualifies
DGS Order 17/2022 covers two full streams — Part A for Engineering and Part B for Nautical — but the Engineering stream, which the published order details most extensively, breaks eligible personnel into six categories:
- B-Tech Marine/Mechanical Engineers serving as Engineer Officers on Navy ships, doing independent watchkeeping → eligible for Class IV, Class II, or Class I (FG) CoC under STCW Regulation III/1 and III/2
- Diploma in Mechanical Engineering / CHERA-qualified Artificers working as Mechanical (Engine Room) Artificers → eligible for Class IV-NCV, Class III-SEO-NCV, or Class III-CEO-NCV (restricted to ships under 3,000 kW propulsion)
- B-Tech Electrical/Electronic Engineers on Navy ships → eligible for Electro-Technical Officer (ETO) CoC under Regulation III/6
- Diploma in Radio/Power or CHEA-qualified Electrical Artificers → also eligible for ETO CoC
- Mechanical Ratings on Navy ships → eligible for Certificate of Proficiency (CoP) under Regulation III/4 and III/5
- Electrical Ratings → eligible for CoP under Regulation III/7
If you’re from the Nautical (executive/deck) branch, Part B of the same order covers your conversion — the published framework focuses its detailed tables on the Engineering stream, so nautical-branch applicants should confirm current Part B specifics directly with DGS or their jurisdictional MMD.
The Four-Stage Process
Stage 1: Get your INDoS number and CDC. Before anything else, you need an Indian National Database of Seafarers (INDoS) number and a Continuous Discharge Certificate — the same starting documents every Merchant Navy seafarer needs.
Stage 2: Basic and Advanced Safety Course certification. Courses like Personal Survival Techniques, Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting, Elementary First Aid, and Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities may already have Navy equivalents. If the Indian Navy certifies you completed equivalent training, you don’t repeat it at an approved Maritime Training Institute (MTI). If not, you complete it at an MTI like any other candidate.
Stage 3: Upload your Navy certification for gap assessment. Your education, training, and approved sea-going service get formally assessed against STCW requirements to determine your eligibility for a specific CoC/CoP grade — and, more importantly, to identify exactly what’s missing.
Stage 4: Complete bridge courses, then sit the exam. This is where the real work happens.
Bridge Courses: What “Filling the Gap” Actually Means
The order defines eight specific Bridge Courses, each targeted at a specific CoC gap. To give you a sense of scale: Bridge Course 1 (closing gaps for Class IV FG CoC under Regulation III/1) runs 77 hours covering marine electro-technology, deck machinery, and ship safety/environmental law. Bridge Course 2 (Class II FG CoC under Regulation III/2) is far more substantial — 292 hours spanning marine engineering knowledge, motor and electro-technology systems, engineering practice, ship construction and naval architecture, and safety/legislative requirements. Every bridge course ends with a written paper and an oral exam — this is not a formality.
For B-Tech Electrical/Electronic officers converting to ETO, the order specifies a minimum of 36 months of combined workshop training and sea service, of which at least 30 months must be sea-going service in the engine department, per STCW Regulation III/6 requirements.
The point of all this structure: your Navy service counts for real, substantial credit — but it doesn’t eliminate STCW’s actual competency requirements. You’re filling documented gaps, not gaming a loophole.
Practical Next Steps
- Identify your category from the six listed above based on your Navy qualification and current rank/trade.
- Apply for INDoS and CDC if you don’t already hold them.
- Request your Navy service and training certification in the formats DGS specifies (Sea Service Testimonials, Certificates of Completion of Education and Training, and Bridging Course completion certificates — all standardized annexures under the order).
- Contact DGS or your nearest MMD directly to confirm current procedural details before applying — this order is from 2022, and while it remains the active governing framework, digitized systems like e-Samudra have evolved since (see our coverage of the DGMA Circular 21/2026 exam module migration), so always verify the current online application process before assuming the 2022 procedure is unchanged.
- Budget real time for bridge courses. These range from tens to several hundred hours depending on your target CoC — this is a genuine training commitment, not paperwork.
Why This Matters
For a Navy officer or artificer weighing a move, this scheme is the difference between a multi-year restart and a genuine lateral transition that respects the skills you’ve already built. It won’t be effortless — Bridge Course 2’s 292 hours alone tells you that — but it’s a real, internationally recognized (STCW Article IX-backed) pathway, not an informal arrangement that could unravel under audit.
FAQs
Can Indian Navy officers directly join Merchant Navy? Yes, through a structured conversion process under DGS Order 17/2022 — not by simply switching employers.
What is DGS Order 17 of 2022? A DGS order (20 June 2022) under STCW Article IX establishing how Navy training and sea service convert to Merchant Navy CoCs, replacing schemes last updated in 2004-2006.
Do I need to redo pre-sea training if I’m ex-Navy? No — you complete targeted bridge courses covering only the gaps between your Navy training and STCW requirements.
Does this cover both engineering and nautical branches? Yes — Part A (Engineering) and Part B (Nautical) both exist under the same order.
Have your Navy service details ready and want to know which category you fall into? Share your branch, rank, and qualification:
— Sailor Success Team | helpme@sailorsuccess.online