Starting out to work on a ship as a seaman is quite tedious. I can relate to you some of my experience when I started out to work on ships. Some people think that this kind of job is glamorous, fun, adventurous and a money-maker. You've got to know the other side of it.
After graduating from nautical school, the next task is to be employed on board a ship which requires enormous patience. Some end up in the coastwise (inter-island) vessels while some luckily gets on board foreign going vessels (overseas). For foreign vessels, you need to apply in a manning and crewing agency, unlike the domestic vessels, you just have to apply with the local office. The hardest part is the apprenticeship, the forging stage for the greenhorns. It’s the part where some decide to quit, and some decide to pursue their careers as officers
After serving apprenticeship, you are qualified to take merchant marine officer’s board exam for deck or engine officers. Passing the board exam is not even a guarantee of instant employment unless you sign up for whatever job is avilable on board.
A colleague of mine an I applied in a crewing and manning agency and were lined-up for a crew boat in Singapore. The crew boat ferries personnel from shore to the oil platform 24 hours a day. In spite of our licenses as deck officers (I had second mate he had third mate), we were signedon as Able-bodied seaman. I was lucky I was re-lined up as a second mate.
The next part is to wait for the principal to inform the agency to send the crew to its joining port. In most cases we are flying to the port where the ship calls. The wait time would depend upon the vessel's route. In case the vessel docks in a country where visa is needed. We are advised ahead of time to secure that visa.
Everything prospered since then. I have been to many port all over the world. I have set my foot upon places not even others have set their eyes on but looking back all the years, I can never forget how it all started.
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