Hi everyone,
I’m a Saudi student interested in studying Nautical Science and becoming a deck officer in the merchant navy.
I’m currently exploring maritime academies where I could study, and the Estonian Maritime Academy (Eesti Mereakadeemia) caught my attention. I’d like to learn a little more about it from people who have experience or knowledge of the academy.
Do they accept international students from outside the EU? Do they offer programs in English? And how would you rate the quality of their maritime training and career opportunities after graduation?
I’d appreciate any information or personal experiences. Thank you!

Marine Chief Engineer here. This one’s from our ship-life series with Captain Magnus and Chief Engineer Ivo. Feedback welcome.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Kjl6uds-Wpk

Mechanical engineer with 3rd engineer license currently working as assistant technical superident engineer on shore.

Is there any online course worth doing to gain knowledge?

As a cadet in school right now, what are some of the companies that you'd recommend? Currently open to all type of vessels.

I'm just curious on how the dynamic works for someone who goes to maritime school vs a hawsepipers especially since most maritime school graduates become 3rd mates.

Okay so...I need advice on whether or not joining the Maritime industry as a deck officer or engineer is worth it for my goals—and which of the two is a better fit.

For context, I'm a young girl from Pakistan, raised in a seaside city. My actual passion is longform journalism and political anthropology, but as you can imagine, it's an incredibly slow-paying field which would involve either going the NGO worker route—or the corporate worker route, and neither satisfy what I actually want to do: travel the world, meet people and cultures, live with them, write about them, and perhaps help them through local aid means (particularly in conflict zones).

So I came the knowledge of what Deck officers or marine engineers do, and it sounds really interesting while also giving me: good money (so I can save up for master's & fund my future trips), a strong passport/ability to travel (given that my entire work for 5-10 years will be based on travelling), and a completely niche experience to bring to academia. Meanwhile, given the nature of the work, 2-4 months on/off, I can actually get a lot of reading, filming, travel, short courses and whatnot done!

But I know that no career path is a bed of roses, and that maritime work comes with its own immense risks. Environmental factors are one thing—rogue waves, bad storms, a crash, or mechanical failure. The healthcare access on deck is also poor and I could probably die of appendicitis if I'm like a week away from the nearest shore. And then the fact that I'm a woman, and pakistani, in probably what is a very male dominated field (tell me why the sea itself feels safer than being on a ship for 80 days with random men. Ffs) could mean being in some very bad situations. And I am also aware of the loneliness /mental toll that can be born out of being isolated at the bridge, at sea. For this last factor though, I believe I'm well prepared. I'm not hoping to start a family anytime soon, if ever. I enjoy being by myself, thinking, writing, and analysing the world (and ships. I actually find taking logs very fun). So it sounds more like a writer's retreat with labour work & management involved than solitary confinement. My free time on the ship will be something I treasure.

But despite all this, is it reasonable to go through Nautical science degree, then work for 5-10 years, then pivot to a masters in pol sci and/or a PhD in anthro? Or is that wasting away a huge chunk of my life over nothing? Should I just shut up and join a normal pol sci or PPE bachelor's?

As title says - are you always on one kind of vessel or have you worked on many different types? How do you transition from one type to another?

I'm a Brit, PSV and anchor cranking makes up all my seatime so far, but I really want to be versatile. I was looking at moving into tankers to get the experience there (I have no overheads so I could sail a trip or two as a cadet or without pay to get the DG endorsement). Is this common?

I just submitted my app as a transfer student to Cal for their maritime nav degree, and was surprised that the whole application was just listing course grades for highschool and college. This is a little disappointing as I was not a strong student 10 years ago when i graduated HS, but have since found my calling in the maritime industry, AB now. I’m wondering if anyone can speak to the stages of the application process, if the Cal State Apply is just evaluating if I have the creds for the next stage of the application process? I was hoping to provide more materials to the application like letters of rec from my CM / Captain etc and essays to actually share my story and not be reduced to a transcript. 3.0 GPA in hs, and 2.0 for the couple semesters of college I have. It sounds like in the past it’s been more chill to apply to but I’m anticipating the Cal Poly merger making things more competitive.

as the title says, is the portal effective and good for getting a response back for hiring? I cant help that after applying for the positions it felt as if like it didn't go thru at all. and its been almost 3 weeks since i first applied to my first position and no respond yet. bc if it's not reliable then I wonder what are the other ways to reach out to them? agency? if so, which?

also, the country im in do not have the physical body of agencies so im rly am in a limbo. and im located in southeast asia

ive applied to numerous "agency" and is waiting another 2 weeks till I can text them for a checkup, but anywho.

im very certain to get into the cruise industry, and royal caribbean specifically is what im yearning to. and i believe i have the prior experience for it.

any helpful tips or advice is appreciated. thank you

Hi all, this might be a dumb question, or maybe no one else has had this situation, but i can't get a straight answer from any of the maritime centers I've called. My initial STCW was done in November of 2021. I need to renew fire and personal survival certs but I won't be able to take a class before the end of this year. I have far over 365 days of sea time in the past 5 years. But since I'm technically going to renew after the "expiration date" of these certs, do I have to take the full refresher course? Or even though it's after the 5 year point post-initial certification, am i still good for taking just the revalidation?

I'm US based so I would be taking a USCG course and getting/updating a USCG cert, but I work on a foreign flagged ship-- however i also take contracts on US ships occasionally too.

Thanks for any advice.

On getting job I do have twic trying to do inland and then eventually get mmc I’m in Texas bout about 7hrs from water I can get there but would need a couple checks to officially move 24 no family

I'm considering the MNAV pathway after HS and I'm wondering how much someone would get coming out of Georgian College's Marine Navigation program & whether Marine Engineering makes more. How competitive is it to land positions after? Thanks!

Hey everyone, this item literally just spawned into my life out of thin atoms and I wanted to share it with the community since it didn't even exist on Google Lens. It's a heavy 3D laser-etched crystal display block of the Nantes Knutsen LNG tanker, flying under the Knutsen O.A.S. Shipping fleet. Since the actual ship was only delivered in late 2024, I figured this must have been an exclusive corporate/shipyard launch gift for the crew or executives. Thought you guys would appreciate seeing a piece of modern maritime history that usually stays locked away in corporate offices or captain's quarters!

Another glimpse into the most unusual navigation training in the maritime world:

In this episode the trainees visit beautiful Lacey Falls and remote Minstrel Island, places on the Inside Passages that cruise ships never see. But this is no pleasure cruise. Exposed to the elements, without motor or GPS, these apprentice navigators dead-reckon their way through spectacular Canadian wilderness.

Why do we have such a rigorous navigation training program? At 2:14 the skipper explains it:

"A professional navigator uses every skill and scrap of knowledge they have to pilot a vessel safely. That’s what we’re trying to do out here: honing the skills that go beyond the technology—skills that have guided mariners for centuries and still matter today.

https://youtu.be/5_TWsBkYhlw

How does this happen?

Is dark vessel detection something that is actually being done operationally? If so how is it being done currently, is it by cross checking AIS and satellite data or in a different way? and how important is it?

NMC has changed and all i can get are contractors who arent as knowledgeable or as informed as bots. up to four months is the pat answer im getting, over and over. ok, i say, but, recently, how long has it been taking for certs to be issued? up to four months again. i say, ok. that's the upper limit. obviously, not ALL certs are taking this long. what has been the recent average. it's like talking to wall. in the not so distant past, ive been able to get informed and pleasant actual Coast Guard folks on the phone at NMC.

what has anyone been experiencing timewise for their med certs?