Other Courses to be done during Training

     The college training alone is not enough to get you on board. In order to get on a ship, one needs a CDC (Continuous Discharge Certificate). In order to get this one must first have INDoS (Indian National Database of Seafarers) number.

     Mostly, the college in which you are acquiring training will get an INDoS number for you.

     Once you have an INDoS number you can apply for CDC. But along with INDoS number, one must complete certain courses. They are:

1. Fire Prevention & Fire Fighting Course (FPFF)
2. Engine Simulation Course (ESC)
3. Elementary First-Aid Course (EFA)
4. Personnel Safety & Social Responsibilities Course (PSSR)
5. Personal Survival Techniques Course (PST)

     Once you have completed these 5 courses & obtain the certificates, one has to fill the CDC application form in 2 steps. These all things will be done by your college or institute. But unless these courses are completed, one cannot get a CDC certificate & will not be allowed on a ship.

     The arrival of CDC takes time, so the courses have to be done as soon as possible, so that the CDC arrives at the time of completion of your course.

     Also after the arrival of CDC, please make sure that all the details on the CDC are correct & in case any correction is needed, apply as soon as possible as it takes a lot of time to get another CDC with the corrections. So initially make sure that you fill in all the details correctly to avoid further corrections.

Selection of Institute for Training

     Till now, I have discussed the various ways through which one can become a Marine Engineer. In this post I am going to give a list of various colleges that give training for a person to become a Marine Engineering. One can join any of the following colleges by applying to the institute directly. But one must apply when the college declares the registration for course. For this you will have to constantly keep checking the websites of the college, or you can call directly to the college & ask them personally.

     Also, if you are already sponsored by a company, then the company itself will select an institute for your training & you will have to join the same institute. Some companies may give you options, but very few companies give such options. If the sponsoring company selects a institute for you, you have no option but to compulsorily join that institute.

    Moreover, you will have to pay the fees yourself for the course. The fees include everything, starting from your accommodation, food, etc., to your clothes, shoes, etc. If there is anything that you have to bring, the institute informs beforehand while taking admission, the things to be brought at the time of reporting.

     Now for candidates joining an institute without any sponsorship, you have options for institutes. You can join any of the college, depending upon your preferences. Following is a list of colleges that are presently good, & also provide good placements.

1. Tolani Maritime Institute, Pune
2. International Maritime Institute, Delhi
3. VELS University, Chennai
4. Institute of Maritime Studies, Goa
5. Samudra Institute of Maritime Studies, Mumbai
6. Great-Eastern Institute of Maritime Studies, Pune
7. M.E.T.I., Cochin
8. International Maritime Academy, Chennai
9. Chennai School of Ship Management, Chennai
10. Hindustan Institute of Maritime Training, Chennai

These are some of the good colleges in India that provide good placements for cadets.

     There are many other institutes all over India, you can select any one of them. But before taking any admission, please check the institute for its previous records of placement & training. Also check that the institute is DG Shipping approved. For a list of DG Shipping approved colleges you can visit the main site of DG Shipping.

Acquiring a Sponsorship

     This post is specially for people wanting to join as a Marine Engineer after completing their 4 years Mechanical Engineering Degree course. 

      Before I begin, let me clear one important thing - Sponsorship does not mean that the company will fund your course, it only means that the company is willing to give you on-board training after the completion of your course.

Acquiring a sponsorship

     There are thousands & thousands of shipping companies all over the world. But getting a sponsorship is a little difficult, but not impossible. Not all the companies offer give sponsorship, but if you are interested in a company then you can write a mail to the company to provide a sponsorship for you. 

     If you have already completed your course & the college hasn't provided any placement for you, then the best way to get on-board training is, use any contacts that you have in Merchant Navy. Mostly contact any Captains & Chief Engineers that are in your family or friends circle, they are your best help. If everything other fails, only contacts can help you to get a ship for training.

     For people entering Marine Engineering via PGDME/GME/TME course, first apply to various companies. The application for sponsorship varies from company to company. Some companies have a specific procedure for offering sponsorships, while some companies don't. 

Some of the companies that give sponsorships are mentioned below

1. Shipping Corporation of India
2. Great-Eastern Shipping
3. Anglo-Eastern Shipping
4. Wilhelmsen Ship Management
5. Essar Shipping
6. Mercator
7. Varun Shipping
8. V Ships
9. MISC Berhad
10. K Line
11. Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC)
12. Executive Ship Management (ESM)
13. Samudera Shipping Line Ltd
14. Maersk Line

These are some of the best companies that offer sponsorship.

     Nowadays, some companies have their own institute for PGDME/GME/TME course. For these companies, you have to follow a specific procedure to get the sponsorship. The main procedure is the same:

1. Register for Sponsorship
2. Appear for Written Exam
3. Appear for Interview
4. Appear for Medical
5. Qualify in all 3

     The procedure to crack all these 3 have already been discussed in my How To Crack The Entrance post of the blog.

     To apply, first you will have to keep an eye on the websites of these companies. Mostly after June-July, ads will start appearing for registration for sponsorship to B.E./B.Tech candidates. Once you register, you will be called for written test, & the procedure will continue. Some companies will go on eliminating candidates after written, interview & medical, while some companies will declare the results of chosen candidates directly.

     Each company has its exams at different time of the year, also the procedure is long, so make sure you apply for as many companies as possible, because the selection procedure may sometimes elongate as long as 4 months. During this if you ignore any other companies' exam, then you will repent for ignoring & not getting selected as well in the company you were trying & have to wait another year to try again. So best is to have 2-3 choices at hand as a safe side.

     You can also apply to different companies after the completion of your courses. For a list of companies click here You can write a mail to the company of your choice & wait for a reply & hope for the best.

     Also, there is a website which gives the vacancies & the mail addresses of all the shipping companies across the world. So please check it out if you are non-sponsored. To go to the site, click here

     If nothing works out, any contacts with Captain & Chief Engineers can get you on-board with your luck. They are your wild cards, use them carefully ;)



Also, one important thing about recruiting companies. If you have any doubts about the company that has approached you, you can click on the following link & download the DGS approved list of companies by clicking on "RPSL Licences Issued as n Date". This is a list of companies that are given the licences for hiring seafearers.

http://www.dgshipping.gov.in/Content/RPSAgencies.aspx

Selection as a Cadet

     As I have mentioned earlier, there are 3 ways in which you can become a Marine Engineer. But one cannot directly get selected as a candidate. He/She has to go through various tests & interviews to get selected in an institute.

     In order to get admission in any of the Marine Institute, a person has to be first qualified. There may be various criterias for different colleges. But the general criteria is:

1. Apply to the institute
2. Appear for the interview
3. Appear for Medical Tests
4. Pass in interview as well as medical.

     There is no problem in the interview, as no institute wants to deny a seat to the candidate, but passing medical tests totally depends upon the person's ailities. Medical tests majorly depend upon:

1. Vision Test
2. Ear Test
3. Chest X-ray

     Also other minor things like, blood pressure, height, weight, etc., will be checked. The interview part may not be for people applying after 10+2, i.e. for Marine Engineering Course (4 Years Degree), but it is mandatory for 1 year PGDME/GME/TME course.

     For persons applying after 10+2 (for 4 years Marine Engineering Degree Course & 3 years Polyvalent B.Sc Degree Course), the main criteria is their 10+2 marks & may have to give entrance of the institute if it has one. 

     For persons applying after their degree course (for 1 year PGDME/GME/TME course) the main criteria for selection is by 2 methods:

1. Sponsorship by a Shipping Company
2. Direct application in a Marine Institute

     If you have applied to a shipping company & if they sponsor you for training, then the company decides in which institute your training will be conducted, or sometimes even gives a choice of institute, but it totally depends upon the shipping company.

     But if you apply directly to an institute, then the above procedure has to be followed, i.e., interview & medical tests. But most of the times, candidates are selected & no problems arise unless there is any severe medical problems with the candidate.

     For more details about the medical tests conducted, search for MS Medical Rules 2000 for medical criteria for shipping.

Communication Skills

This is more of an interactive subject than a theoretical one. This is to improve your communications skills, as  communications skills are very much important on ships, as various nationalities may be present on the same ship.

Many things like, group discussions, debates, vocabulary, etc., will be developed. Also, this subject is more of a personality development program. It makes the candidates more outspoken & also gives them courage to talk among people.

Workshop

There will be 2 workshops:

1. Internal Workshop
2. External Workshop

1. Internal Workshop:

It will be conducted by college. This lab will mostly deal with:

• Working on lathe machines
• Welding
• Oil-water separator
• Refrigerant plants
• Bilge pumps
• Compressors
• Different types of valves
• Purifiers
• Steering Mechanism
• Boilers
• Air-compressors, etc.

2. External Workshop:

This external workshop will be conducted at a dockyard & consists of a total of 1024 hours, which compulsorily have to be completed before going on-board a ship. This workshop comprises of:

• Basic bench work & machine work
• Fitting shop
• Welding shop
• Pipe shop
• Diesel repair shop
• Ship machinery repairs shop
• Repairs of machinery on-board ships
• Electrical repair shop
• Refrigeration & Air-conditioning shop

Mechanical Lab

This lab contains experiments which were done during Mechanical Engineering Degree Course. Some of them include:

• Gear Pump 
• Reciprocating Pump
• Centrifugal Pump
• Centrifugal Pumps in Parallel
• Centrifugal Pumps in Series
• Determination of Metacentric Height
• Governors, etc.

Gear Pump Test Rig

Reciprocating Pump Test Rig 

Centrifugal Pump Test Rig

Governor

Marine Control Lab

This lab consists of familiarization of various control systems on-board a ship. There are 4 main control variables:

1. Pressure
2. Temperature
3. Flow
4. Level

Experiments regarding the familiarization of these control variables.

Along with these, there will be experiments regarding pressure Pneumatic circuits.

Seamanship Lab

This lab includes familiarization of various activities, drills & duties, like :

• Lifeboat drills
• Lowering & hoisting of lifeboats
• Different types of knots
• Band sand hitches
• Ropes
• Donning of life jackets, etc.

Electrical Lab

This lab deals with the electrical components on-board a ship. This includes, familiarization to ship's electrical system, working of various electrical equipment, etc.

Introduction to basic electronic circuits & GATES, & their use on-board a ship.

Introduction to flip-flops & their use on-board a ship.

Boiler Chemistry Lab

This lab deals with the tests conducted on water used for boiler operations. Tests will be conducted to check various factors of water, such as:

• Alkalinity test
• Sulphide test
• Chloride test
• pH test
• Phosphate test
• Bicarbonates test

Also, along with these tests, viscosity test of fuel oil & heavy fuel oil will be conducted.

Test of TBN (Total Base Number) of lubricating oils, test to check usability of oils, etc.

Marine Control & Automation

1. Marine Automation:

Introduction, development of ship board automation, advantages of marine automation, degree of automation in engine room of motor & steamships, essential safety requirements for unattended machinery spaces, centralized control station, control console, centralized control room panel boards, layout, controls, alarms, visual displays, data loggers, mock up assembly.

2. Control Systems:

Introduction, control terms, closed loop, feedback, block diagrams, open loop control, comparison of closed loop & open loop, feed forward control, feed forward modification, regulators & servo-mechanisms.

3. Instrumentation:

Introduction, basic characteristics of instruments - accuracy, reproducibility, sensitivity, responsiveness & fidelity, factors affecting speed of response, sensors, transducers & measuring elements for temperature, pressure, level, flow, humidity, analyzers for specific gravity, viscosity, pH value, conductivity, oxygen, carbon dioxide, combustibility & chromotography, instrument selection for marine application.

4. Transmission:

Pneumatic & electric transmission, suitability for marine use.

5. Processor:

Basic process, characteristic process, load, sources of load change, capacitance, resistance, time constant, process lags, self regulation, process reaction curves.

6. Control:

Control modes - two position, two position with differential, proportional, floating, proportional plus integral, proportional plus derivative, proportional plus integral plus derivative, use of various control modes.

7. Controllers:

Pneumatic, hydraulic, electric & electronic controllers for generation of control actions, time function controllers.

8. Correcting Units:

Diaphragm actuators, valve positioners, piston actuators, elctro-pneumatic transducers, electro-hydraulic actuators, electric actuators, control valves - plug shapes, valve characteristics, air to close & air to open valves, range-ability, sizing valves, construction & selection.

Applications on Controls on Ships:

1. Marine Boilers:

Automatic Combustion Control - air/fuel ratio control, feed water control - single, two & three element type, steam pressure control, combustion chamber pressure control, fuel oil temperature control.

2. Marine Diesel Engines:

Temperature control of lubricating oil, jacket water cooling, fuel valve cooling water, piston cooling water & scavenge air, fuel oil viscosity control.

3. Geared Diesel, Direct & Turbine Installations:

Bridge control of main machinery, instrumentation for UMS classification.

4. Computers:

Simple computation, data processing computers, wired type & stores programmed type computers, computer control, analogue inputs, analogue outputs, digital inputs, digital outputs, interrupt & priority control, application of computers on merchant ships for performance monitoring & maintenance data prediction.

Fire Prevention & Its Control & MARPOL, ISO/ISM

FIRE PREVENTION & FIRE FIGHTING

1. Prevention Against Fire:
Classification of fires - A,B,C & D, mechanism & character of fire & explosions, causes of spontaneous combustion, precautions & prevention in cargo & machinery spaces,crank case explosions in diesel engines, danger of explosion in tankers due to presence of inflammable gases, hazards arising from static electricity in tankers, safety precautions on tankers, IMCO's recommendations, gas detection, tank cleaning & gas freeing systems for large tanks, precautions to be taken before entering double bottom tanks, cargo & ballast tanks & void spaces, prevention of fire during welding operations.

2. Fire Detection:
Fire detection & alarm systems, centralized control, smoke & ionization chambers, sensor heads in unmanned machinery spaces, mist detectors in enclosed crank cases of diesel engines, action to be taken when a fire is detected, informing & alarm system.

3. Fire Extinguishing Appliances:
An outline knowledge of statuary regulations - The Merchant Shipping Rules - concerning fire fighting appliances & systems for cargo, passenger ships, tankers, machinery spaces with boiler & diesel engines, emergency fire pump, hydrants & hoses, international hose connections, construction & operation of various types of portable extinguishers, smothering system, steam smothering system, automatic sprinkler system, high expansion foam smothering systems & inert gas, latest developments in fire fighting systems & appliances.

4. Fire Fighting:
Methods used to prevent the spread of fire, fuel oil pumps, lubricating oil pumps & ventilation fan remote shut off, procedure of fire fighting in machinery spaces, cargo holds, tanks, accommodation, use of smoke helmets & self contained breathing apparatus, training of personnel in fire fighting, IMO's recommendations, fire fighting organization, muster & fire drills in seagoing ships, care, maintenance, use & testing of appliances, survey of fire appliances, instruments to surveyors, safety equipment certificate & its validity.

MARPOL (Marine Pollution)

1. General:
Inter-Governmental Organization, prevention of pollution by ships.

2. Prevention of Pollution by Oil:
Regulations for the prevention of pollution by oil, requirements for control of operational pollution, reception facilities, oil tankers with segregated ballast, segregation of oil & water ballast, retention of oil on board, oil discharge monitoring & control system & oily-water separating equipment, tanks for oil residues, pumping, piping & discharge arrangements of oil tankers, standard discharge connection, oil record book, subdivision & stability criteria of an oil tanker.

3. Prevention of Pollution by Sewage:
Surveys of equipment, discharge of sewage, exception, reception facilities & standard discharge connections.

4. Prevention of Pollution by Garbage:
Special requirements for disposal of garbage, disposal of garbage within special areas & outside special areas, exceptions, reception facilities.

5. Control of Emissions from Ships.

6. Control & Management of Ship's Ballast Water & Pollution due to Anti-fouling Paints.

ISO/ISM

1. History of development of various IMO conventions, loadline, SOLAS, MARPOL, COLREG, STCW.

2. Basic working knowledge & regulations for following IMO conventions - SOLAS, loadline, MARPOL, COLREG, STCW.

3. Quality fundamentals, quality concepts, ISO series, quality system, requirements of ISO-9000

4. Role of Government in control of merchant ships, ISM code, objectives & functional requirements for safety management system.

5. An overview of watch-keeping system as practiced on-board ships, procedures for taking over & maintaining an Engine Room watch.

6. Guidance to watch-keeper in case of emergencies, like scavenge fires, crankcase explosions, starting airline explosions, fire in engine room, flooding in engine room, power failure, maintenance of log book, log abstract, Chief Engineer's machinery report.

Ship Operation & Management

1. Brief History of Shipping:

Modern shipping practice, marine vehicles & cargoes, development in shipping & cargo handling, principal shipping organizations, liner & tramp shipping services, conference systems, chartering, charter parties, theory of freight rates & fares, rate fixation machinery & government control, bills of lading, carriage of goods by sea ac, cargo surveys & protests.

2. Marine Insurance:

Underwriting & loss adjusting principles applied to marine cargo insurance, hull policy, particular average, general average, P & I clubs.

3. Ship Operation:

Ownerships of vessels, shipping company & its administration, capitalization & finance, economics of new & second hand tonnage, flag discrimination, flags of convenience, subsidies, planning sailing schedules, voyage estimates, economic factors, manning of ships.

4. Merchant Shipping Act:

Ship's papers, collision, explosion, fire, vessels in distress, scope of act, law of sea convention, concept of port state, genuine link, registration of ships, mortgage & transfer of ownership, liabilities & pollution, seaworthy ship, Containerization, Multi-modal transport, problems, prospects, Multi-modal Transportation of Goods Act 1993 (April).

Seamanship & Lifeboat

1. Seaman & His Duties:

Ship's department, general knowledge & nautical terms.

2. Deck Equipment:

Winches, windlass, dericks, cranes, gypsy, capstan, hatches & their functions.

3. Navigational Lights & Signals:

Port & starboard, forward & mast lights, colors & location, look out, precautions in bad weather, flags used on ships, flag etiquette, morse & semaphore signalling, sound signals.

4. Ropes, Knots & Mooring:

Types of knots, practice of knot formation, material of ropes, strength, care & maintenance, use of mooring line, heaving line, rat guards, canvas & its use.

5. Anchors:

Use, dropping, weighing anchor, cable stopper.

6. Navigation:

General knowledge of principal stars, sextant, navigation compasses, echo sounder, log & uses, barometer & weather classification, GMT & zonal time, wireless navigational instruments, radar satellite navigation.

7. Life Boats & Life Rafts:

Construction, equipment carried, carrying capacity, davits & their operation, launching of life rafts, embarkation into lifeboat & life raft, survival pack, stowage & securing arrangement.

8. Abandon Ship:

Manning of lifeboat & life raft, muster list, radio & alarm signals, distress signals, distress calls, time & radio frequency, pyro-techniques.

9. Survival at Sea:

Survival difficulties & factors, equipment available, duties of crew members, initial action on boarding, maintaining the craft.