Sailing into the future

Updated on: Monday, June 14, 2010

Academic study by referring to different books and course materials and listening to classroom lectures is just one part of education. The study or the course is complete only when one is exposed to live projects or simulated ambience. And the second part is vital for careers associated with sailing or flying.

“For people who intend to join the merchant navy as deck cadets, a career that leads to becoming the captain or master of a ship, the practical experience is mandatory. What they learn from the lectures and books has to be understood in a practical scenario. As it is difficult to get practical experience from ‘day one' after joining a training institute, it is essential that they are put into simulated conditions,” says the Chairman of Sailors Maritime Academy, Akkiraju. The institute is located in Modavalasa, about 30 km from Visakhapatnam.

The institute has acquired a navigational simulator that gives hands-on experience to the upcoming deck cadets. “Almost all top institutes, especially the ones under the Indian Maritime University, have simulators. By working under simulated conditions, one is exposed to the navigational functions of a ship from the bridge (main control and command tower). It is here that you learn about mistakes and also correct them. The simulators are built as per the navigational rules under international guidelines. You can create all types of environment like rough weather, night sky, snowing and storm effects and high traffic area. You can also alter the ship types from oil tankers to bulk carriers and from chemical tankers to container ships. The manoeuvring and navigation system differs from ship to ship,” says the Principal of the institute, S.T. Sreedharan.

The simulator can also create the specific geographical and hydrographical ambience of different regions such as Singapore Port or Rotterdam port or for that matter a port in the U.S. or Australia. Apart from the climatic and sailing conditions, the students are exposed to other issues such as radar control, sonar reading, GPS operation, depth and underwater clearance reading, mapping and course recorder.

One can join the course for deck cadets after 10+2 from MPC background, with a minimum aggregate of 60 per cent in MPC and 50 per cent in English. The entry is through IIT-JEE or the entrance test conducted by the Indian Maritime University. The diploma in nautical science leads to a three-year degree in B.Sc. nautical science on completion. The course is divided into one-year of study in the campus, 18 months of sea service (as prescribed by DG Shipping) and four months of campus study for obtaining the certificate of competency from DG Shipping. On completion, one can join a ship as second officer. The hierarchy is simple: Second officer, chief officer and then captain.

Lucrative

A job in the merchant navy combines good pay, adventure and the opportunity to visit many countries. The pay starts from $ 2,500- 3,500 per month for second officers and could go up to $ 8,000-12,000 for captains. The pay depends on the type of ship that one sails on.

“Constant upgradation is a must. One may start his career in a bulk carrier or coastal vessel and graduate to specialised vessels like very large LNG or chemical tankers. The upgradation courses are available with most of the institutes and the duration varies from a week to three months. But they are mostly mid-career courses,” says Sreedharan.

Options on shore

After a tenure of about 10 to 15 sailing years, one can take up shore jobs in port management, shipping companies, cargo and container-handling companies, training or in government departments that are related to the shipping industry.

Top institutes

Indian Maritime University (Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Mumbai and Kolkata) - www.imu.tn.nic.in

Sailors Maritime Academy (Visakhapatnam) – www.sailorsmaritimeacademy.

com

Anglo Eastern Ship Management (Mumbai) – www.angloeasterngroup.com or www.maritimetraining.in

Tolani Maritime Institute (Induri, Maharashtra) – www.tolani.edu

SUMIT BHATTACHARJEE

Sailing into the future

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