Hello Bhavya,

To join Merchant Navy first you need to pass 10+2 with minimum of 60% in PCM and 50% in English along with that if you're choosing Deck Department you shouldn't be wearing glasses but if you're choosing Engine Department then there is a relaxation for that which is 6/18 or 2.5 without glasses.

You can get into Merchant Navy by doing the following courses from India Maritime University: 

For Deck Department: 1. B.Sc in Nautical Science

2. Diploma in Nautical Science leading to B.Sc

For Engineering Department: 1. B.E. Marine Engineering

2. B.E. in Naval Architecture

Also, you can join Merchant Navy by doing B.E. in Mechanical or Electrical then after go for GME course you can make career into shipping.

For IMU you need to give IMU-CET which is conducted every year and after the written exam you have to go for the counselling and Medical to get into any college.

Hope this will help you. Feel free to ask any query.

About IMU CET exam 

Conducting Authority :- Indian Maritime University

Examination Level :- National

Category :- Undergraduate Examination

Mode of Exam :- Online

Duration of Exam :- 3 hours

Other details on below given link :-

Https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/imu-cet

Hello Shantanu,

For clearing IMU CET first you need to know what are the topic comes in the IMU CET exam.  IMU CET exam is different from other engineering entrance examination as it includes Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics but also General Aptitude, English as well. 

So need to be very quick to answer all the questions. For PCM you need almost the same preparation as like JEE Mains or you can expect a little lower level but for English and Aptitude you need to prepare.

For more information you can go to imu.edu.in. 

Also check previous year papers. 

Hope this will help you. Feel free to ask any help as I a graduate from IMU you can any query related to this university.

Hello Neha,

In merchant navy, catering is under the pre-sea training courses like-

-Certificate Course in Maritime Catering (CCMC)

-Orientation Course for Catering Personnel (OCCP)

After obtaining a degree or diploma in hospitality and hotel administration, or hotel management and catering technology or other such courses, you can apply for orientation and certificate courses from a reputed institute. In this way, you still have a chance of getting good jobs over land also.

The catering related jobs in Merchant ships are-

-General Steward

-2nd Cook/Trainee

-Chief cook/Chief Steward 

The Saloon ratings (meaning steward or cook) are employed for the upkeeping and maintenance of the accommodation and living spaces, including officer’s cabins and officer’s saloon. They attend to the officer’s saloon and arrange to serve food, clean and issue linen to the officers/crew. 

The Chief cook is a part of the Saloon department and is responsible for the storage, preparation of wholesome food for all the ship’s officers/crew and upkeep of the galley (Kitchen). 

A competent person can rise to the level of Catering Officer or Purser on board a Merchant Ship. Saloon Ratings are also in great demand in the Cruise shipping Industry.

Eligibility criteria for the certificate course in maritime catering (CCMC):

• Pass with aggregate 40% marks in 12th from Govt. recognized board English as subjects.

• Should be in the age group of 17.5 years to 25 years before entry in the training

• Minimum 40% in English in 10th or in 10+2. Minimum 50%in English if passed from vernacular medium

Eligibility criteria for Orientation Course for Catering Personnel (OCCP):

• Should be in the age group of 18-25 (in some 28) years

• Should have scored a minimum of 40% in English in 10th or 12th standard.

• Should have completed a Degree/Diploma in Hotel Administration, or Hotel Management and Catering Technology or Catering, Culinary Arts, or Hospitality and Tourism with minimum 6 months duration from a recognized and reputed Board or University.

Selection Procedure

Different colleges under Indian Maritime University have different criteria of selection, for example, HIMT, for orientation course takes an online test followed by a psychometric test, medical examination, and finally, panel interview. Hence, selection procedure varies for a course and college.

NOTE: -Medical examination is must (as happens in all courses of merchant navy).

Fee structure: -

Again, the fee structure is different for colleges. Generally, the orientation course has fees in between Rs.30,000- Rs.50,000. And certificate course in maritime catering has fees in between Rs.1,50,000-2,00,000.

Placement:

After completion of your course, you will be recruited by the merchant ships and various companies. Or you can apply independently too. For more information about a college’s placement record, you can refer the official IMU site which provides an annual ranking of colleges.

-Govt. of general shipping has tried to give students more scope in pre-sea services and if you work hard, you can definitely end up as in-charge of the catering department.

-If you have chosen a course of your interest, you can visit the official sites of colleges to check the schedule, exact fee structure and eligibility criteria, syllabus of the course etc. While choosing a college, it is recommended that you check their Approval status and Annual ranking.

Hope your queries are answered. If you still have some doubts, feel free to ask.

All the best for the future!

Hi Mayank,

First before joining the merchant Navy you need to figure out that which branch do you want to join. Majorly there are 2 branches the engineering side and the nautical side.

In the nautical side one has the work of navigation and cargo handling and all sorts of paper work.

In the engineering side you will have more hands on job like working on the machines and maintaining them or repairing them if needed because when you are at sea you would have to do all the job yourself and won't have the liberty to call a plumber or electrician or mechanic.

So once you have figured out what branch you want to join as per your caliber, capacity and will then you will have to fill out the forms

There are quite a few forms to fill out but IMUCET is the exam which is the most important one as through this you can get into each college and imu provides you the degree of either Btech marine engineering or BSc nautical sciences as per your choice.

The IMUCET forms would be out on April 6,2019 to May 11,2019

After this-

• IMU CET 2019 Admit Card will be released on May 16, 2019 .
• The total time allotted for the exams is 3 hours . No negative marking is applicable in the exam.
• Indian Maritime University will declare the result of IMU CET 2019 on June 5 . The candidates can now check the list of qualified candidates for admission
• Candidates who are willing to take the IMU CET 2019 exam can apply for it on IMU’s official website Imu.Edu.In .

Eligibility criteria-

• Only Unmarried candidates would be considered eligible for the purpose of this exam.
• Candidate must have applied for passport before taking admission through CET.
• Minimum age of candidate should be 17 years and Maximum age should not exceed 25 years. Both the ages that is maximum and minimum would be counted as on August, 1, 2019.
• Candidates applying in marine courses would be required to produce the medical fitness certified by Doctors approved by Director General of Shipping

After clearing the exam and then you will have to apply for the counseling and then there your would have to contact the colleges.

About the packages there is not a big difference on what college one joins as maritime industry has nearly the same package.

5th engineer- 300-900$ per month

4th engineer- around 3000$ per month

And then it depends on how well you perform and clear your exams and so does your package too.

The top colleges-

• Tolani Maritime Institute

Fees- nearly uptown 20 lakh for the whole degree course

• SIMS, Pune

Fees- upto 16-18 lakh for the whole course

• MANET, Pune

Fees- around 15 lakh for the course

• MERI, Kolkata
• MERI, Mumbai

Fees for both are around 10-12 lakh for the whole course.

These are some of the colleges who have a top hand in this industry as they have a good record placement.

I would like to wish you luck for your exam and for any enquiries your can either leave down a comment or contact the respective college.

All the best

Dear Ritesh, yes you can appear for the Sponsorship exam after 12th. You should have an aggregate of 60% in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and 50% in English. You should apply for IMU CET and obtain qualifying marks with good rank. Please go through their official page for more information at: http://www.anlineshipping.com/sponsorship.html

Hi Ritesh

There are two ways one can join merchant Navy as an officer.

If you are passing out of 10+2 then you will have to go through the imucet exam which is conducted every year and as you are willing to join as an engineer then you will have to choose the option of marine engineering as nautical science is a Bsc course and is for people who want to pursue their career in merchant Navy as a navigation officer.

After qualifying the imucet exam you would be given a rank and as per those basis their would be a merit list further prepared about which college you are eligible to join.

The age limit for applying and joing the I'm colleges is 22years. The cadet should be unmarried. Their is a proper medical test also carried by the specific DG Shipping approved doctors.

The student must have 60% in physics, chemistry and mathematics. In English the minimum should be 50%.

Second case is when one has completed their graduation as an engineer then there are 2entry options 

1) GME

2)ETO

For going through GME(graduate marine engineer) one should have done their engineering in any of these fields-

Naval Architecture and Offshore Engineering

Mechanical Engineering

Harbour & Ocean Engineering

Petroleum Engineering

Civil Engineering

Preference is majorly given to the people from the mechanical engineering background as marine engineering is a purely mechanical field.

After completing the GME or marine engineering course one joins the merchant vessel as a TME( Trainee Marine Engineer)  or 5th engineer.

For ETO (Electro Technical Officer) you need to complete your graduation as a electrical engineer and then apply for the ETO courses.

For GME or ETO courses, the age should not be more than 28 years.

The eye sight in any of the courses mentioned above should not be more than 6/12 before correction and 6/6 after correction in both the eyes and the individual should not be colour blind.

The individual should be unmarried if one wants to apply for any course.

For the GME or ETO course the btech done by the aspirant should be from an AICTE or UGC apporved institute and the aggregate passing percentage should be more than 60% and English(10+2) should be 50%.

Generally the post graduate courses are a sponsored programme so I would recommend the aspirant to get a sponsorship first and get the medical checkup done from a DG Shipping doctor before stepping into the marine field.

Merchant Navy is an ever growing field and will always welcome an aspirant with open arms.

All The Best and would be more than happy to solve any other queries.

Hello Loveneesh,

If you want to join Merchant Navy, you have to give IMU-CET first and then you have to apply for different companies exams to get sponsorship from different shipping companies. After giving IMU-CET you have to sit for counselling for the colleges of IMU. But if you want to get into the affiliated institutes you have to separately apply for their exams as well. 

If you pass different companies exam you have to pass an Interview there after Medicals. If you want to join Deck department than there is not relaxation of eye sight it should be 6/6 without glasses. But if you want to join in Engine department you can have eyesight sight 6/18 or 2.5.

Hope this will help. Feel free to reach out for any query.

Hello Geeta Bohra,

Yes, girls are eligible to join merchant navy. To get admission in merchant navy you have to appear qualifying in the IMU Examination.

The eligibility to join merchant navy is -

Must have passed class 12th with Physics, Chemistry, Biology as a subject. 

Candidate have to be a unmarried citizen of India.

Normal vision os required but glasses upto plus or minus 2.5 may be allowed.

Hope this will help you!

Thanku.

Hi Niranjan! Following are the examinations, that will enable you to join Merchant Navy if you qualify them:

IMU CET (Indian Maritime University Common Entrance Test)

AIMNET (All India Merchant Navy Entrance Test)

Other than giving the above mentioned exams, there one more option to join Merchant Navy which is to do some diploma or degree related with Merchant Navy.

I hope this information has helped you:)