Why Cadets Are Not Getting Joining After Pre-Sea Training

You completed your pre-sea training. You have your STCW certificates. You have your CDC (Continuous Discharge Certificate) from DG Shipping. You send your resume to shipping companies every week.

Nothing comes back.

Or something comes back — an agent offering joining for ₹1,00,000 to ₹3,00,000.

This situation is more common than any maritime institute will admit. Every batch of DNS and GME graduates produces a percentage of cadets who wait for over a year for their first contract. Some wait two years. Some never sail.

Here is why it happens, and what the path out actually looks like.

The Structural Problem Nobody Explains Before You Join

The Merchant Navy in India does not have a centralised hiring portal. There is no equivalent of a job board where shipping companies post “Deck Cadet Required” and you apply. The hiring structure is fragmented across:

• Direct recruitment by shipping companies (Anglo-Eastern, Fleet Management, Synergy Marine, Bernhard Schulte, etc.)
• RPSL (Recruitment and Placement Service Licensees) — licensed manning agents approved by DG Shipping
• Company-run maritime training institutes that sponsor their own cadets
• Walk-in recruitment drives, typically in Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata

Most cadets find out about this structure after completing pre-sea training. Before joining, they are told by institutes that “placement assistance will be provided.” What this actually means varies enormously between institutes.

What “Placement Assistance” Actually Means

At DG Shipping-approved institutions, “placement assistance” typically means:

• The institute has relationships with one or more RPSL agents or shipping companies
• The institute forwards your resume to these contacts
• Whether these contacts are hiring at the time you graduate is beyond the institute’s control

It does not mean:

• Guaranteed employment within a specific timeframe
• That the institute will advocate for you individually
• That the company relationship is exclusive to your institute

The most selective shipping companies — primarily the large international managers — run their own cadetship programs with dedicated training institutes. Students in these programs are sponsored from day one. They are guaranteed a berth on a company vessel after completing training.

If you were not in one of these sponsored programs, you joined the open market. The open market is competitive and does not move on your schedule.

The DNS Sequence Problem

The Diploma in Nautical Science has a sequencing requirement that many aspirants do not understand until they are stuck.

DNS is a 1-year course. But it requires sponsorship from a shipping company before you can join. The sequence is:

Step 1: Clear IMU CET and/or sponsorship exam conducted by a shipping company.

Step 2: Get selected by the company and receive a sponsorship letter.

Step 3: Join the DNS institute nominated by the company (usually a DG Shipping-approved college that has an MOU with that company).

Step 4: Complete 1 year of pre-sea training.

Step 5: Sail as a Deck Cadet on the sponsoring company’s vessels for the required sea time (approximately 18 months for the watchkeeping competency).

The problem: Some cadets join DNS at institutions that have general DG Shipping approval but do not have confirmed sponsorship arrangements with active shipping companies. After completing training, they hold a DNS certificate but have no company to sail with.

This is legal. The institute fulfilled its obligation — it ran a DG Shipping approved pre-sea training program. The absence of a confirmed company arrangement is not something DG Shipping mandates institutes to disclose.

If you are currently in this situation, here is what it means practically: Your DNS certificate and STCW certificates are valid. Your CDC is valid. You are qualified to sail as a Deck Cadet on any foreign-going vessel. The work is finding the vessel.

Why the Resume Gets You Rejected Before You Know It

The most preventable reason for not getting joining is a weak application.

Shipping companies — particularly the larger, safer, better-paying ones — receive hundreds of applications per month for deck and engine cadet positions. Their manning departments process applications quickly. A resume that does not immediately communicate the right information in the right format is skipped.

Common resume mistakes that result in rejection:

Wrong format: Sending a standard HR-style resume to a manning department. Shipping companies want to see: INDoS number, CDC number, STCW certificates held (with issue date and expiry where applicable), pre-sea training institute and completion date, medical fitness certificate details, and passport validity. If these details require the reader to search for them, the application is at a disadvantage.

Incomplete STCW details: The basic STCW certificates required for a deck cadet are PSCRB (Proficiency in Survival Craft and Rescue Boats), AFF (Advanced Fire Fighting), MFA (Medical First Aid), PSSR (Personal Safety and Social Responsibility), and EFA (Elementary First Aid). Some cadets apply without completing the full set. Some list certificates without the certificate numbers and issue dates that manning departments need for verification.

No photograph in the correct format: Many companies specify a formal photograph in uniform. This is not optional aesthetics — it is part of the screening process.

Generic cover letter or no cover letter: A cover letter that says “I am interested in working on your ships as I have a passion for the sea” provides no signal about your preparation, your knowledge of the company, or your specific qualifications.

Applying to wrong companies for your profile: A DNS graduate from a small institute with average marks applying directly to Maersk Tankers or a major cruise line as a first application is statistically unlikely to succeed. The application sequence matters.

The RPSL System and How to Actually Use It

DG Shipping maintains a list of Recruitment and Placement Service Licensees (RPSL companies). These are Manning Agents licensed to recruit seafarers on behalf of foreign and Indian shipping companies. The official RPSL list is published on the DG Shipping website at dgshipping.gov.in.

As of current data, there are several hundred RPSL licensees in India. They are concentrated in Mumbai (Ballard Estate area), Chennai, and Kolkata.

How to use this system:

Step 1: Download the current RPSL list from dgshipping.gov.in. The list includes company name, address, contact number, and the type of vessels they man (tanker, bulk carrier, container, etc.).

Step 2: Cross-reference with known quality: Not all RPSL licensees are equal. Some manage vessels for reputable European and Asian shipping companies. Others place seafarers on sub-standard vessels under flags of convenience. Research the companies by asking in seafarer forums, talking to serving officers, and checking the vessels they manage on sites like MarineTraffic.com.

Step 3: Target 20 to 30 RPSL companies with a genuinely customised application. Not a mass email blast. Each application should reference the company by name and, where possible, mention the type of vessels they manage.

Step 4: Follow up by phone, not just email. Manning offices receive hundreds of emails. A phone call that asks specifically “I have applied for a deck cadet position, is there an open requirement at the moment?” takes 2 minutes and gets you noticed.

Important: DG Shipping regulations require RPSL companies to never charge seafarers for placement. If any agent asks you to pay for placement on a ship, they are operating illegally. Do not pay. Report the number at dgshipping.gov.in or call the DG Shipping helpline.

Companies Worth Targeting as a First-Contract Cadet

The following company types offer relatively structured cadet programmes. This is based on the structure of the Indian maritime market, not a personal endorsement of any specific company:

Large international ship managers with India operations: Anglo-Eastern (headquartered in Hong Kong, major India operations in Mumbai), Fleet Management (Mumbai), Synergy Marine Group, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, and Columbia Shipmanagement all run cadet programmes and have RPSL-licensed offices in India.

Indian shipping companies: Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) runs a government-backed cadet programme. Great Eastern Shipping, Essar Shipping, and Mercator are Indian-flag operators who have historically taken Indian cadets.

Cruise ship companies: Royal Caribbean, Carnival, MSC Cruises, and Norwegian Cruise Line take Indian cadets, primarily for engine department positions. The selection process is rigorous and the experience is different from cargo ships, but the employment security is generally better for first contracts.

Starting with a well-structured company — even if the salary is not the highest — matters for your first contract. The sea time you accumulate and the discharge book entries you get determine your future employability. A clean record from a reputable company is worth significantly more than higher earnings from an unknown operator.

The Agent Problem — Paying for Placement

When months pass without a response from legitimate companies, the temptation to pay an agent becomes real.

Agents who charge for placement are operating outside the law — RPSL regulations prohibit it. The types of vessels these agents can access are typically:

• Sub-standard vessels without proper safety equipment or culture
• Vessels where wages are delayed or withheld
• Arab-operated fleets in some Gulf states where seafarer protections are weakly enforced
• Flag-of-convenience vessels where ITF coverage is absent

This is not theoretical. There are documented cases of Indian cadets and ratings being stranded on vessels, having their documents withheld, and receiving wages months late. Some have not returned.

If you are considering paying an agent because you have waited a long time: the fact that you cannot get hired by a legitimate company through your current approach does not mean you must use an illegal channel. It means you need to change your approach.

What the Resume and Interview Actually Need to Look Like

Your resume needs to be a single page, structured document with the following sections in this order:

1. Personal information: Full name, date of birth, nationality
2. Contact: Phone (WhatsApp-accessible), email, city of residence
3. Document summary: INDoS number, CDC number and issue date, passport number and expiry, medical fitness certificate and expiry date, INDOS
4. Pre-sea training: Institute name, DG Shipping approval number of the institute, course completed, completion date, certificate number
5. STCW Certificates: List each certificate with issuing authority, certificate number, issue date, and validity date
6. Academic: Class 12 PCM marks, Class 10 marks
7. Skills and languages: Relevant software (GMDSS operators if applicable), language proficiency

The interview requires: knowledge of STCW 95 as amended 2010 and the conventions it covers, basic knowledge of ISM Code, understanding of MARPOL (even at cadet level), and the ability to explain what actions you would take in a basic emergency scenario (man overboard, fire in engine room).

These are not complex. They are questions that a 3-day preparation can cover. But most cadets go into interviews without preparing for them at all.

Conclusion

Not getting joining after pre-sea training is a solvable problem. It requires understanding why the market works the way it does, building an application that actually stands out, targeting the right companies in the right sequence, and knowing which channels are legal and which are not.

The institutes will not tell you this. The agents who charge for placement are counting on you not knowing this.

The Merchant Navy is still one of the highest-earning career paths available to an Indian 12th pass student. The salary structure at Chief Engineer or Captain level is among the highest for any profession in India. Getting there requires clearing the first hurdle — the first contract — on the right vessel with the right company.

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