Merchant Navy for Commerce & Arts Students

Can Commerce and Arts Students Join the Merchant Navy?

By: Amaiya Rathi (Content Writer)

It is a widespread misconception that only candidates from science backgrounds can make a career in the maritime industry. However, if you belong from commerce or arts background, there are career options to join Merchant Navy for Commerce & Arts students. This is possible by pursuing the GP Rating course, which can be done on the basis of your 10th standard.

Moreover, candidates who are interested in the catering and hospitality sector can also pursue the CCMC course and make a career as a cook in the merchant navy.

In this blog, we will see how you can pursue both of these courses, the eligibility criteria, and the career path, and join merchant navy based on your 10th qualifications.

Merchant Navy for Commerce & Arts Students Through GP Rating Course

GP Rating Admission 2024

(A) About GP Rating Course

The Directorate General of Shipping has authorised a six-month course called General Purpose Rating (GP Rating). You can join this course straight after completing your 10th and that you are a minimum of 17.5 years at the time of commencement of the course. Candidates who complete this course will be eligible to work as a Deck/Engine crew in Indian/Foreign shipping companies.

This course involves a 6-month pre-sea training, followed by 9 months of structured shipboard training. After completing these 9 months of training, you will be eligible to get promoted to Motorman/Oilman, Fitter, Deck seamen, Able-Bodied Seamen, and Bosun.

Also Read: Top 10 DG Approved GP Rating Colleges in India

You can also get promoted to the officer level after passing the DGS examinations and meeting specific service qualification requirements. This is an all-residential program, which begins in January and July every year.

(B) Eligibility Criteria

Qualification
Qualifications required in Merchant Navy for Commerce & Arts students is 10th (minimum) or 12th Pass from a government-recognized board with a minimum of 40% marks aggregate. (40% marks in English is mandatory)

Age Limit
Between 17.5 to 25 years Scheduled caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates.

Medical Standards
Candidates should be medically and physically fit. A full medical check-up through a Panel Doctor approved by D.G Shipping will be undertaken. A complete eyesight test will also be conducted in which the distance vision should be 6/6 with No color blindness.

(C) Career Path

  • Complete 6 months of your Pre-Sea training from a DG Shipping Approved institute.
  • Join Merchant Navy as a Trainee/Ordinary Seaman.
  • Get promoted as the Ordinary Seaman/ Wiper after watchkeeping.
  • Get promoted to Able- bodied seaman after clearing COP (Certificate of Proficiency).
  • Clear DG shipping exams and get promoted to 3rd officer/ 4th Engg.
  • After serving as the 3rd Officer/ 4th Engg. for a considerable period, get promoted to 2nd Officer/ 3rd Engg.
  • After serving as the 2nd Officer/ 3rd Engg. for a considerable period, get promoted to Chief officer/ 2nd Engg. after clearing their respective orals.
  • After serving as the Chief officer/ 2nd Engg. for a considerable period, get promoted to the Captain/ Chief Engg. of the Ship after clearing their respective orals.

Check out the Physical & Medical Requirenments to Join Merchant Navy

Merchant Navy for Commerce & Arts Student Through CCMC Course

(A) About CCMC Course

Certificate Course in Maritime Catering (CCMC) is a basic course in the Maritime Catering and Hospitality sector of six months duration. This is an all-residential program, where students are expected to stay at a hostel without any leaves. It begins in January and July every year. The course involves training in Food Production, Food and Beverage Service, Housekeeping, and Maritime familiarisation.

The CCMC program is approved by the Director General of Shipping, and the board of examinations conducts the final exams. After completing the course, a few years of experience will allow you to serve as a specialist cook for different cuisines in Cruise Liners or join Star Hotels at the shore.

Eligibility Criteria

Qualification
10th (minimum) or 12th Pass from a government-recognized board with a minimum of 40% marks aggregate. (40% marks in English is mandatory)

Age Limit
Between 17.5 to 25 years (As on the date of commencement of course).

Medical Standards
Candidates should be medically and physically fit. A full medical check-up through a Panel Doctor approved by D.G Shipping will be undertaken. A complete eyesight test will also be conducted in which the distance vision should be 6/6 with No Color Blindness.

IMU-CET 2024

Career Path

  • Complete 6 months of your Pre-Sea training from a DG Shipping Approved institute.
  • Start working as a trainee cook/trainee general steward.
  • After completing the training period, you will get promoted to second cook after getting your COC (Certificate of Competency).
  • After serving a considerable period as a second cook, you will be eligible to get promoted as a Chief Cook or Catering Officer.

Other Courses

(A) Deck Rating Course

G.P.Rating Course covers all the aspects of Deck rating, however, separate deck crew training courses are also available. The duration of this course is also 6 months. Students who have completed 10th with Mathematics, Science, and English subjects can take up this course. The age of the candidate should be between 18 to 25 years.

(B) Engine Rating Course

Just like the Deck rating course, separate courses for Engine crew training are also available. The pre-sea training course lasts 6 months. This program mainly focuses on engine training only. After the completion of this course, a candidate can join merchant navy ships as part of their engine crew. The age of the candidate should be between 18 to 25 years.

(C) Diploma in Marine Engineering

Generally, 12th (PCM) is required to pursue Diploma in Marine Engineering. Nonetheless, some institutes admit 10th-grade students as well! It is a 3 year long program. This curriculum is designed to develop high-quality marine engineers who can deal with ship technical issues either in port or at sea.

How to Secure a Job and Cut Through the Competition?

Every year, a lot of candidates pursue the GP Rating Course, but only a few of them are able to secure a job. The reason behind this is the cut-throat competition and the limited number of vacancies available for eligible and deserving candidates. 

The best way to ensure a secure career after completing the course is by obtaining a sponsorship

You can pursue the G.P. Rating course from 2 kinds of colleges: Sponsored and Non-sponsored. Getting admission in a sponsored college would guarantee that you obtain an offer letter from a shipping company confirming your placement at the time of joining the course itself.  In order to obtain sponsorship for G.P. Rating course, you need to follow the below steps:

  • Prepare for sponsorship exams
  • Appear for sponsorship exams
  • Clear the interview conducted by companies 
  • Clear the medical test
  • Obtain the sponsorship letter

At Rife Consultancy, we provide online courses to prepare students for obtaining sponsorship. In these courses, students will be trained on how to effectively appear for sponsorship exams with the help of content curated exclusively by experienced merchant navy officers. 

After that, we assist you in applying for sponsorship exams and take care of the form filling process. Further, we also prepare you to clear the interview and medical test. When this procedure is completed, you will obtain your sponsorship letter from the shipping company before your course begins. 

Contact us today to kick-start your merchant navy career!

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