Merchant Navy Physical Fitness Test Guide 2026

The merchant navy physical fitness test (also called the INS Hamla test at some institutes) assesses running, swimming, and basic strength alongside the separate mandatory DG Shipping medical examination. The two are often confused because both happen around admission time, but they test different things and are conducted differently.

The fitness test vs. the medical exam

The DG Shipping medical examination is a clinical checkup — vision (correctable to a defined standard, no color blindness for deck ranks), hearing, cardiovascular health, and a general physical exam done by an approved doctor at a DG-empanelled hospital. It’s a pass/fail clearance, not something you train for beyond basic health maintenance. The physical fitness test, by contrast, is a genuine skill and endurance assessment — usually run at the training institute itself as part of admission or pre-sea induction — and preparation makes a real, measurable difference to whether a candidate clears it comfortably or struggles.

What the test actually covers

Most institutes running an INS Hamla-style test structure it around three components: a timed run, typically 1.6km, with a cutoff time that varies by institute but generally expects a pace most reasonably fit 18-22 year olds can hit with a few weeks of training; a swimming component, which can range from a basic ability check to a timed distance, since swimming ability matters for safety training and sea survival later; and basic strength exercises — push-ups, pull-ups, and sit-ups in set repetitions within a time limit. None of these are elite-athlete standards, but they do assume a baseline of regular physical activity, which many candidates coming straight from Class 12 board exam preparation simply don’t have.

Building a realistic prep plan

Four to six weeks of consistent training before the test date is enough for most candidates starting from an average fitness level to see real improvement. A workable structure: three to four days a week of running, building distance and pace gradually rather than trying to hit the full 1.6km at speed from day one; two sessions a week of bodyweight strength work — push-ups, pull-ups (even assisted, using a resistance band, if pull-ups aren’t yet possible), and sit-ups, done in sets with short rest; and swimming practice if pool access is available, since swimming technique under fatigue is different from casual swimming and benefits from actual practice rather than assumption. Candidates who can’t swim at all should flag this early — some institutes offer basic swimming orientation before the formal test, and starting from zero a week before the test date isn’t realistic.

Why this isn’t optional prep

Unlike the medical exam, where the outcome is largely determined by existing health rather than short-term effort, the fitness test rewards genuine preparation. Candidates who show up untrained often don’t fail outright but perform poorly enough to affect their standing in a competitive admission process, or need a re-test that adds delay to an already time-sensitive joining process. Treating the four-to-six-week prep window as seriously as exam preparation is the difference between walking into the test confident and walking in hoping to scrape through.

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