Deck officer

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Mallen

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Hi i'm thinking of a career as a deck officer. I'm currently finishing a BSc Geography degree at Bristol university and dont fancy a desk job as an accountant or banker, well not yet... I've just posted an application to P&O cruises; i'd like to here from people in a similar situation. Also does anyone where P&O cruises send there cadets to do classroom studies?
 
My nephew attended Glasgow Nautical College (now Glasgow College) and placements from his course went to P&O. It is very likely that P&O use many collages for the necessary training.

Faculty of Nautical and STEM | City of Glasgow College

My advise: -

1. Join a suitable course for deck officer skills Glasgow Collage Nautical Courses
2. Review applying for Seamans card from other nationalities e.g. Panama. You will not be able to get a UK MCA Seamans card, as that must be sponsored by a UK agent.
2. In the meantime get your ML5 medical.
3. Sign up for STCW Online Courses
4. Try and get experience on ferries, or work boats.

You are in competition with low cost, movement sponsored training scheme participation seafarers from Philippines and India, for example. You need to show interest and keenness to standout.

Consider training for Super Yachts UKSA Super Yacht Training
 
RunAgroundHard said:
2. In the meantime get your ML5 medical.
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If you don't actually do this - look at the requirements very carefully. Someone I know was quite far along before they discovered that a health condition would stop them going to sea - it had never stopped them doing anything on land and they assumed the doc would sign it off as being fine. By then they had spent a lot of time and a fair amount of money on a dead end.
 
Daydream believer said:
If they were that ill surely they would have noticed?
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No they have a long term medical condition which they have been perfectly aware of but well managed and it doesn't stop them getting a UK driving license (3 yr renewal) etc. But the ML5 medical standard is really tough - they want to be sure that if you are a week from shore the you will be able to cope with only the ships limited medical supplies and crew training. The ML5 is tougher than the ENG1 standard which is commonly used for commercially endorsed yachtmasters etc. They assumed that like driving you tick the box to say yes you have a condition and they write to your consultant who says, "its under good control" and thats that. Instead he got a refusal, and a letter from his consultant got a reply about how to appeal but with a clear indication that it would most likely fail, or come with such restrictions that he would be unemployable, and that he would need to repeat the whole process every 5 yrs!
 
Not sure if the OP is still reading this but for anyone who may stumble across it in the future.

The required medical exam for anything other than very small yachts is ENG1. I don't think ML5 is STCW recognised. The only advantage to ML5 is if you know you are going to be working in a particular industry in the UK (for example, powerboat instruction) then it's a 5 year exam rather than bi-annual.

Having said that the only things you really fail on as a deck officer are colour blindness and hearing. Poor eyesight is fine as long as you turn up with glasses or contacts. There is a nominal nod to physical fitness but you wouldn't believe it if you knew some of the specimens I work with.

If you are planning to work deep sea then don't pay for anything in advance (unless perhaps the ENG1) The keyword you're looking for is cadetship and they are fully funded with a stipend. You'll come out of it with an OOW unlimited and then comes the tricky part - finding work. Still, you haven't paid for anything so nothing lost, and there are jobs out there despite the international competition.

If you want to work on smaller vessels (CTV's ,tugs workboats etc) then you 'll have to fund the initial STCW basics but you have a pretty high chance of a job paying decent money straight away and good opportunity to progress. There are also funding options available though organisations such as The Marine Society although you need a basic level of qualification first.

Good luck :)(y)
 
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RFA is not what it used to be.
ML 5 is suitable for small commercial up to 12 pax. Anything over 12 is the ENG 1. I drive a small commercial work boat that can take 12 pax so have the ML 5. It's way more strict than it used to be. You have to have a separate eye test now by an optician which costs extra.
 
penberth3 said:
Is that really a good option in today's world? Starved of budget, ageing ships, undermanned, overworked.
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Starved of budget: - Isn't everyone? Ageing ships? apart from Argus? Undermanned: - Yes they lost their identity when they gave the PR to the RN to run. Need it back in house and more specific advertising. Overworked:- I doubt it is any worse than than it has been at various times in the past. Just because you have to spend some time at sea doesn't make you overworked! ;)
And yes Tamar, it is not what it was. It wasn't the same in 2001 when I retired as it was in 1964 when I joined. That is progress for better or worse!:(
Still a good bet I think.
 
Alex_Blackwood said:
Starved of budget: - Isn't everyone? Ageing ships? apart from Argus? Undermanned: - Yes they lost their identity when they gave the PR to the RN to run. Need it back in house and more specific advertising. Overworked:- I doubt it is any worse than than it has been at various times in the past. Just because you have to spend some time at sea doesn't make you overworked! ;)
And yes Tamar, it is not what it was. It wasn't the same in 2001 when I retired as it was in 1964 when I joined. That is progress for better or worse!:(
Still a good bet I think.
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OK, so you're 20+ years out of date with any advice?
 
Biggles Wader said:
Try a PM to Kukri. His son did this a few years ago and he is in the shipping business.
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Kukri has not been posting on the forum for a long time now, which is a shame and I hope he returns at some point.

Frank Holden said:
Eyesight brings a lot unstuck - it's not just about reading an eye chart.
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That's what did for me. Aged 14 (so circa 1968) I wanted to be a radio officer in the Merchant Navy, and was looking into going off to nautical school for training. I must have somehow gained some inkling that eyesight could potentially be an issue. I had excellent vision in one eye but was blind in the other, which had never troubled me, and I couldn't think how it could be a constraint in practice in that role. I was unable to find anything definitive about what the eyesight standards were, so ended up trekking up to the Board of Trade office in a grand building in East London to take the test.

The upshot was I couldn't be a radio officer, which was quite a blow to me at the time. They said I could be a catering officer or deck hand, but those weren't at all what I had in mind. (Who knows where I'd be now, or what my life would have been, had I passed? )
 
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