DGS Circular 26 of 2026: Deck Rating to Second Mate Pathway

If you’re an experienced Deck Rating — an Able Seaman, a Bosun, or someone who has spent years on deck without a formal route into the officer ranks — a new circular from the regulator is worth your attention. On May 19, 2026, the Directorate General of Shipping (now the Directorate General of Maritime Administration, or DGMA, following the Merchant Shipping Act 2025) issued DGS Circular No. 26 of 2026, opening a shorter path from Deck Rating to navigating officer than the conventional route most people assume is the only option.

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What the circular says

DGS Circular No. 26 of 2026, dated May 19, 2026, carries the subject line “Introduction of six-month competency course for Deck Ratings to appear in the Second Mate (Foreign Going) CoC Examination.” In plain terms: it creates a new six-month bridging or competency course that, once completed, makes an experienced Deck Rating eligible to appear for the Second Mate (Foreign Going) Certificate of Competency exam — the same certification that marks entry into the navigating officer ranks on the deck side.

You can find the original circular on the DGMA website, dgma.gov.in, where it’s published as a PDF alongside other recent circulars from the regulator.

Why this is a meaningful change

Traditionally, the route from rating to officer on the deck side has meant effectively starting over: leaving the rating track, enrolling as a fresh pre-sea cadet, and working through the full cadetship before becoming eligible for the Second Mate exam. For someone who has already spent years at sea as a rating — who already understands shipboard operations, watchkeeping routines, and life onboard — that “start from zero” requirement has long been a frustrating barrier. Real sea experience as a rating didn’t count for much toward becoming an officer.

This circular changes that calculus. Instead of restarting as a cadet, an experienced Deck Rating can now take a defined six-month competency course and become eligible to sit the same Second Mate (Foreign Going) exam that cadets take after their full pre-sea and sea-time cycle. That’s a materially shorter route to the same destination, and it’s a formal, DGMA-recognized one rather than an informal workaround.

Same date, different department — don’t confuse this with the ETR circular

Worth flagging clearly: DGMA issued another circular on the exact same day, May 19, 2026 — DGS (EAC-ENGG) Circular No. 25 of 2026 — which deals with a completely different pathway on the engineering side, letting General Purpose (GP) Ratings progress toward Electro-Technical Rating (ETR) and eventually Electro-Technical Officer (ETO) certification. That circular applies to the engine department and electro-technical track. This one, Circular No. 26 of 2026, applies to the deck department and the Second Mate (Foreign Going) navigating officer track. They are separate documents covering separate departments, issued coincidentally on the same date — don’t mix up the two if you’re researching either pathway.

What isn’t spelled out here — and what you should confirm

The source material available for this circular doesn’t include the granular eligibility criteria you’d want before committing to this route — specifically:

• The minimum sea service required before a Deck Rating can enroll in the six-month course.
• Whether a specific rating grade (such as Able Seaman or Bosun) is a prerequisite, or whether other rating levels also qualify.
• Whether any prior certificates or endorsements are required alongside general sea service.

Rather than guess at these details or repeat unverified numbers, the honest answer is: confirm them directly with DGMA or with your RPSL (Recruitment and Placement Service Licence) company before you plan your next contract or training slot around this pathway. Circulars of this kind are usually followed by implementation guidance from individual training institutes, and your own sea service record is the specific thing that determines whether you currently qualify — a detail only DGMA or your manning company can verify against your CDC and sea service book.

Who this is genuinely useful for

This pathway is aimed squarely at Deck Ratings who already have real sea time behind them and have been wondering whether there’s any route into the officer ranks that doesn’t mean discarding that experience and starting again as a fresh cadet. If that describes your situation, this circular is worth actively tracking — both for when training institutes begin offering the six-month course, and for exactly what sea-time threshold DGMA sets for enrollment.

If you’re earlier in your career and haven’t yet joined as a Deck Rating, this circular doesn’t change your own starting point, but it does mean that choosing the rating route today carries a more credible long-term officer pathway attached to it than it did before May 2026.

FAQs

What does DGS Circular No. 26 of 2026 actually introduce? It introduces a six-month competency course that qualifies experienced Deck Ratings to sit the Second Mate (Foreign Going) Certificate of Competency examination, without going through the standard pre-sea cadet route.

Is this the same as the ETR circular from May 19, 2026? No. Two separate circulars were issued on the same day — DGS Circular No. 25 of 2026 covers the engine-side ETR/ETO pathway for GP Ratings, while DGS Circular No. 26 of 2026 covers this deck-side Second Mate pathway for Deck Ratings. They apply to different departments and different certifications.

Do I need a specific amount of sea time or rating grade to qualify for the six-month course? The exact prerequisites — required sea service duration, rating grade, or prior certificates — are not detailed in the summary available here. Confirm these directly with DGMA or your RPSL company before assuming you’re eligible.

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