Joining the merchant navy

[Grant Green]

Hello everyone. I hope all is well.

I am someone with no seafaring experience who has been thinking of joining the merchant navy for a while now. I am interested in training to become a deck officer through a cadetship as I want to learn whilst earning money as soon as possible. I would like to know if anyone here with experience has any advice about which path would be the best for me... I have tried doing research but information regarding this industry seems very fragmented and I haven't come across any singular comprehensive guide. I would like to know if there are any particularly appealing routes which would train me to achieve an officer position whilst enabling me to get to work as soon as possible as I am 26 yrs old and haven't all the time in the world. I have also heard that qualifications may be gained in shorter periods of time depending on which country you may train in... any insights would be appreciated as well as just general thoughts about what it's like to be a merchant seaman - things that you would have wanted to know yourself before embarking on this career path.

[j.sabourn]

Grant I hope someone closer to your own age may be able to assist you in your queries , as a lot of us live in the past . At 26 most had been already at sea for 10 years . And as regards qualifications had already finished or very close to finishing with. Qualifications in our generation were open to all and to get ,one only needed the seatime to have a bash one might say. One of the reasons I retired at 65 was I was not too happy with the regulations were being altered which were mostly to pacify the owners, and their costs in the so called manning of shipping. When a young and very green young mate said to me , when are you retiring , when I asked him why , he inferred I was holding him back from promotion. That decided the issue for me , and when asked would I stay on to 70 I said no way hosay. Have you considered joining the RN. If you have the right background it may be an even faster way of rising through the ranks of the MN at a later date if it still appealed to you. However I am talking about a different era than today. Far better someone much younger advise you. All the best .JS.

[Ivan Cloherty]

You'd be hard pressed to find anyone young on here, the average age is about 95!

[John Pruden]

i'm 70 on the outside but 17 on the inside? jp

[Graham Shaw]

You'd be hard pressed to find anyone young on here, the average age is about 95!

Don't worry about Ivan-he's dyslexic -and 'romances a bit'-as my Mum used to say about me---he means 59 !Yachtie.gif

[j.sabourn]

Maybe that’s why when he counted the bags of sugar going into the hold in Havana they were always different coming out. Either that or he was flogging a few to pay for his romantic dalliances . JS

[J Gowers]

Try the Clydemarine training website you may get some info there.

https://www.clydemarinetraining.com/

[Doc Vernon]

i'm 70 on the outside but 17 on the inside? jp

Me well 81 on the outer Shell but 18 within! LOL

[Ivan Cloherty]

Maybe that’s why when he counted the bags of sugar going into the hold in Havana they were always different coming out. Either that or he was flogging a few to pay for his romantic dalliances . JS

Those were the days,but a small bar of yardley's soap was more valuable than ten tons of sugar

[Doc Vernon]

Those were the days,but a small bar of yardley's soap was more valuable than ten tons of sugar

May be you are referring to some of the UCL Crew (Lavender Ladies) with their Bars of Soaps! LOL Eeeeeek!!! What Next !