EDITED 2018 : THERE'S BEEN LOTS OF CHANGES IN REGULATION AND ALSO SOME OF THE INFO MIGHT NOT BE ACCURATE DUE TO ME WRITING THIS ARTICLE IN MY JUNIOR YEAR. I'D LIKE TO WARN EVERYONE. NEVER STUDY SEAFARER RELATED COURSES WITH LOAN/PTPTN/OWN MONEY (UNLESS YOU'RE FRICKING RICH). WITHOUT SPONSORSHIP, YOU WILL FIND IT EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO SECURE CADETSHIP AND ALSO GETTING YOUR FIRST JOB. COUPLED WITH OIL PRICE GLUT AND COMPETITION FROM CHEAP FOREIGN LABOR, LOCAL SEAFARER FUTURE IN THE INDUSTRY SEEMS BLEAK. EVEN THE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE AND EXPERIENCED SEAFARER ARE FACING DIFFICULTY FINDING JOB. AND SOME OF MY JUNIORS HAVE BEEN JOBLESS. PROCEED WITH CAUTION!

VERSION 2 : https://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?act=ST&f...0#entry45401611

Hello everybody!

Since my last topic was closed because i mistakely make it look like an advertisement, so, I decided to open a new topic regarding career as a seafarer.

I'd like to introduce myself. I'm a student in Akademi Laut Malaysia(ALAM). I took diploma in marine engineering. The purpose i want to encourage more Malaysian into this industry is because we are currently lack of seafarer. Imagine, out of 6000 seafarers in malaysia, only 1000 are malaysians. The rest are foreigner.



First of all, what is seafarer?

-Seafarer is a person who carries various duties onboard ships. They will sail with the ship in order to transport goods that the customer want us to deliver.

-Btw, I'm just a student. And I only familiar with Marine Engineering and Nautical Course. Diploma of course. But if you have any doubts about this career. You can ask here. I'll try my best to answer it.

Where can I study the courses?

Right now, in Malaysia, there are three institutions of higher learning that provide sea-going course. Bare in mind that not all maritime related courses can ensure you to go sailing thus ensuring you to get the big bucks.

For example, in UMT, there are course called Degree in Nautical Studies & Maritime Management. They cannot sail as an officer unless they go for the cadetship practical onboard a ship.

Thats all, now I'll proceed into the institution part. There are few places to studies to prepare oneself to become sea-going officer/engineer.

1) Akademi Laut Malaysia(ALAM)
-Diploma in Marine Engineering(DNS)
-Diploma in Nautical Studies(DME)
-Marine Engineering Bridging Program(MEBP)*

2)Politeknik Ungku Omar
-Diploma in Marine Engineering

3)Sarawak Maritime Academy
-not sure about this. since they're just open this year


*for the Marine Engineering Bridging Program, the program just started this year. The cadets sponsored for this course are engineering related degree graduates. They are sponsored by MISC. If you miss the chance to apply during post-spm, but still want to pursue career onboard ship. You can apply this course. Btw, I'm not sure how to apply for it. But you can ask here and I can ask the bridging student about it.

*NOWADAYS, THERE ARE ALSO COMPANY SEEKING FOR MECHANICAL/MARINE ENGINEERING DEGREE GRADUATE TO DO THEIR CADETSHIP FOR 6 MONTH ONBOARD THEIR SHIP. AFTER COLLECTING SEATIME, THEY CAN TAKE THE ORAL TEST FROM MARDEP FOR CLASS 4 COC. I'LL TRY TO GET MORE INFO ABOUT THIS.

Benefits of becoming a SEAFARER

1) Rewarding career. Cheapest pay is around rm7500 for fresh graduates of diploma. Imagine that. In my place of study, there were also company headhunting by offering salary of USD4800.

2) Experience gained make it easier for you to apply job on oil platform since you have an offshore working experience.

3) can save a lot of money. onboard ship, no need car. no need to pay rental for accommodation. free meal(every week can eat western). no need money to go to gym. onboard ship, gym is provided. got tv, some ship have internet facilities. some got pool/snooker table.

many more... I'll tell you guys later on.

Definition Of Marine Engineering



Something about MEBP program. this article i've taken from sombody blog. it is written in BM. hope you guys can understand it.



Definition of Nautical Studies

will be added later....

Department & Rank...

credit to dukerobin for this pic.



Salaries for seafarer. So you don't have any doubt about it anymore. This is from 1 company. others i'm not sure. should be more or same as this.

Min Salary + allowance. no income tax.



__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Educational Section. Past year question. if you've any latest past year question, please give it to me as I will put it in the 1st pst as a reference.

Past Year Oral Question For Class 4 Certificate of Competency, Motor (2005)(credit to senior ricky)


_________________________________________________________________________________

Edited: just added this cause i think it is useful. coz i think most of visitors here might be from degree grad. this might be useful. I'm not promoting. just that many might not realise this opportunity.



This post has been edited by destroyer: Mar 26 2018, 07:08 PM

that's rating/crew.

they are not officer/engineer.

just a normal sailor.

who said that they don't take any courses. unless they're sailing with tongkang,fisherman, etc. In maritime world nowadays, if you want to sail onboard you'll need modular certificate. they do take courses, just that it is not diploma or whatsoever. it's RATING/CREW course. they also got maritime academy for the maritime related courses.

who said only filipinos be the best seafarers. 3 filipino cadets were dismissed from the course in ALAM because they fight with the pakistan cadet.

malaysian seafarer also good la... we can also withstand all those horrible working condition.

there's no difference between countries where seafarers come from. all is same. the thing that determine whether one is the best or not is oneself.

This post has been edited by destroyer: Dec 27 2008, 08:35 PM

hoho. I'll try my best in answering your question.

In ALAM, all cadets are sponsored by major shipping companies. Except for those who re-enter my batch because they failed(less than 1.7cgpa) in their final sem exam. Sponsored cadets are bonded with contract. That's mean 100% employed. For the JPA, Felda, and self-paid cadets, they were quickly headhunted by companies before they graduated.

in politeknik ungku omar also the cadets are 100%employed if i'm not mistaken. Not sure about this cause i'm not from this institution.

for the paying scale, the one that I provide is based from what my companies paid.

4th engineer/ 3rd officer: USD2300
3rd engineer/ 2nd officer: USD 3500
2nd engineer/ chief officer: USD 5000
Chief engineer/captain: USD 9000-15000


this is the lowest pay you can find on the market.

other companies such as QatarGas from what i heard, pay as much as USD 25000-30000 for chief engineer/captain.


about lifestyle huh? i'm not sure about this because i haven't done my practical onboard ship yet. but i can tell you based from information i got from m senior. we don't have days off that's is why we were paid with leave pay.

working time
cadet: 6hours on, 6hours off.
others i don't know
chief engineer: 4 hours on, 8 hours off.

sailing time
cadet: 9-11month for engine cadet. 12month for deck cadet
4th engineer/officer: 6month on, 3month off.
chief/captain: 4month on, 4month off

This post has been edited by destroyer: Dec 27 2008, 09:05 PM

of course. you'll graduate at the age of 21(if you enter the academy on 17 of ages(around july the same year you receive your spm result) . around 6-8 years if you study hard, you'll get your Class 1 Certificate of Competency(required to be chief engineer or captain). In order to be captain/chief, it depends on your performance. normal people require 8-10 years of working. abnormal people require 6-8 years. it depends on you performance. but most

meanwhile, let me explain about what is Certificate of Competency(COC) is. it is a certificate that you can acquire from MARDEP(marine department) by passing several written test and oral exam. Not to forget that if you got the Class 1 COC, you can also grab Bachelor of Engineering title along with the COC. no need to take additional degree courses because you have to study back the thermodynamic, applied mech, etc to sit for the written test. in other words. that Class 1 COC is equivalent to degree. but it is general engineering degree. that is why it is called B.Eng . You can search for the author of a book named Basic Engineering Thermodynamics. The author is Rayner Joel. and he is formerly an Chief Engineer onboard a ship.

well. enough of COC for now. let's proceed to the drawback or risk.

1) exposure towards dangerous chemical/cargo that is lethal if not handled properly.
2) sinking.
3) away from family.
4) PIRATES
5) if you're sailing through a war zone, the country might attack your ship.
6) any risk you can think of.

that's why we are paid high. because of our lyf and because of the risk.

the greater the risk, the higher the pay. If your ship sail through war zone, you'll be paid 10 TIMES of your current salary. haha.

This post has been edited by destroyer: Dec 27 2008, 09:48 PM

marine engineering bridging program(MEBP)

they are sponsored by MISC

requires degree in engineering(i think they prefer mechanical, but there's one guy with mechatronic). most of them come from wide range of university. some from unikl, utp, utm, utem, ump, etc... I'm not sure what CGPA they needed. I'll try to clarify this later on coz now i'm at home.


how to apply: from what i heard, they apply it through advertisement in a newspaper. i'll also clarify this later on.

there is one guys in the MEBP course. he is UTP graduate in mechanical engineering. age almost 30. formerly work with petronas with a salary of rm6000. dunno why he choose this field. hak3.

competition to enter this course currently is not very tough. from what i heard, only 40+ people vome to the interview. and only 30 got to be selected. maybe not yet famous cause the course just being introduced this year.

btw, let me provide some "sweetener" in this industry. this is one of the cheapest pay you can find.

4th engineer(the position you hold after you grad from diploma)(freshie)
basic-3900
fleet allow-1300
tanker allow-390
medical allow-150
leave pay-1950

leave pay 15 days...

if i'm not mistaken, when you're not sailing(sign off), they'll only pay you basic.

______________________________________________________________________

btw, those who are interested in management in maritime industry, you can apply through this web. It is for management trainee position.


MANAGEMENT TRAINEE PROGRAMME

The Person:

Fresh graduates with an Honours degree (Minimum CGPA of 3.00) in the following disciplines:

· Naval Architecture
· Engineering – Marine, Mechanical, Electrical, Structural and Civil
· Business Administration / Social Science / Psychology
· Accounting / Finance
· Transport & Logistics / Maritime Management
· Law / Legal Studies
· Economics

Candidates with 1 to 2 years of working experience with any of the above qualifications are also encouraged to apply.

Special Requirements:

Demonstrates a positive mindset and attitude.
Has effective leadership qualities and is seen as a role model.
Result-oriented with good interpersonal and communication skills.
Active involvement in extra-curricular activities in university or school.
Proficient in Bahasa Malaysia and English (both spoken & written).

The Programme:
The main focus is to prepare the candidates for the working environment by emphasizing on Leadership Qualities, Capability Development and Business Exposure.

Candidates will be exposed to MISC businesses in various departments and in subsidiary companies located in Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley and Pasir Gudang.

The 9 months training programme will cover:

Generic Programme for Management Trainee
On the Job Training/Learning
Executive Career Development Program
Mentoring
Attachment onboard foreign-going vessels.

For those who meet the requirements and have a strong desire to take up the challenge, click now to apply.


link: http://misc.com.my/career_startcareer_managementtrainee.php


This post has been edited by destroyer: Dec 28 2008, 02:47 PM

I think more on education. Because it is more on the path to become seafarer like path of studies.

btw, 1st post edited. management trainee info added.

---

Added on December 28, 2008, 4:28 pmadded more on the 1st post.

benefits of becoming seafarer.

can save a lot of money. onboard ship, no need car. no need to pay rental for accommodation. free meal(every week can eat western). no need money to go to gym. onboard ship, gym is provided.

entertainment.

got tv, some ship have internet facilities. some got pool/snooker table. swimming pool.

This post has been edited by destroyer: Dec 28 2008, 04:28 PM

those who is interested to enter this career line and still doubtful about it, you can ask here or PM me. btw, to enter ALAM and get the sponsorship, you'll have to pass interview and written test.

my tips for the written test. be sure not to forget all those math+addmath and physic and some english. the question will be based on all these three subjects. passing mark from what i heard is 60%. btw, in ALAM, there is no quota in selection. all races got almost equal number. majorities of the student here are malays and indians. got quite huge number of chinese also. but not many since not many of chinese applied for it. during the interview also only small numbers come.

for the interview info you can ask here. i'll try my best to help.

for politeknik, there is no interview or written test. they just select from application. but place in politeknik is very limited. cause they're not taking many people into this course. fees also very cheap in politeknik. rm260 for 1 sem including hostel. without hostel rm200. meals also provided. I'm not sure whether politeknik student got sponsorship or not. I'll try to clarify this out with poli students.

---

Added on December 28, 2008, 9:05 pmokay. I've already asked. for those studying in PUO. some might get sponsorship while some might not. for those who don't get, you can try ptptn loan. because PUO student was not bonded by a contract, they often accepted into better paying companies. like tanjung offshore, emas offshore, and many more.

---

Added on December 29, 2008, 8:06 ambtw, i'm going back to hostel today. any question/doubt you can leave it here. I'll try my best to answer.

This post has been edited by destroyer: Dec 29 2008, 08:06 AM

@kimm
-MEBP only take degree grads. You can try to apply to any shipping company for the Electrical Engineer Officer. company that sponsored me pays about USD5000++ for electrical eng officer.

@equinox
-BumiArmada pay quite high salary. higher than i mentioned here. They often work on supply boat or offshore support vessel.

@Helloofmind
-maybe you can try apply if you're not more than 21 years old. But if you're more than that ages, you can try to apply for politeknik ungku omar.

For your info, i'm sponsored by not so big shipping company. the highest pays that Chief Engineer can get is around USD15700(including allowance) in my company. Some company even pay USD4000 for fresh diploma grads. Yup! it's true that we're lacking of seafarer worldwide.

This post has been edited by destroyer: Dec 30 2008, 02:39 PM

@silverchain

-you can apply for ALAM after got your spm result. They normally advertise it after spm results are out. during my years, applicants should send their application before 31st March 2007. they advertise it for 3 days straight on local newspaper(at that time I found out about it on The Star newspaper). Or you can get the form from alam website.

- after your application form have been accepted(i recommend you to send it using Pos Express). You'll be called for interview and written test around end of April until mid May. My tips, don't forget all the stuff you've learn during your SPM years. because in the written test, they'll test 3 main subjects which is English, Math+add math, and physic. Last year only i was told that there were more than 7000++ applicants. They accept only around 400+ cadets for both courses offered. The hardest part is the induction program. Very2 tiring... be willing to work hard for whole week.

you can also apply for politeknik. they take only very2 limited number of students. difference between this 2 institutes is. in PUO you need 3 1/2 years to complete. in ALAM only 3 years.

@kimm

-the shipping company that will sponsored you will be determined by alam management. Depends on your luck if they give you any shipping companies. But all students will get the sponsorship.

@SeLrAhC

- you can apply for the MEBP program. right now, I cannot give you further detail about MEBP prog since the MEBP students are not back from their holiday yet.

- some of the MEBP students are fresh grad and some already have work experience.

- For the MEBP prog, you'll do 1 year of study in alam to get your degree into marine engineering. then you'll spend 9-11 month as cadets onboard the ship. after that only you'll be certified as an engineer.

- even if you got degree, you cannot sail as an engineer officer because you haven't got your COC. to do COC you need to complete sea-time.

This post has been edited by destroyer: Jan 1 2009, 03:26 AM

@silverchain

-no need to worry for the course fee maaa... becoz when you pass the interview and the written test, company will sponsored you from your study fees until your uniform. food and accomodation also provided. there are many company. all my batchmate got sposored.

-they will come to sabah to interview the sabah candidate. same goes to sarawakian.

- for diploma, you'll have to pay around rm 30k for one sem.

- question that they ask is normally basic question.

1st : introduce yourself.
2nd: why you choose this career?
3rd: who encourage you to join this industry?
4th: what do you expect 10 years later?
5th: who is MISC top person?
6th: how big is MISC fleet?

bla2. juz basic question.

The sponsorship will encompass amongst others:
# Tuition Fees
# Food
# Lodging
# Uniform
# Pocket Allowance
# Modular Courses
# International Passport
# Seaman Card/Book



@SeLrAhC

yup! MEBP students are also sponsored by MISC. they got rm1200 monthly allowance just by studying and onboard the ship they got rm1800 monthly.



@marsiano

here's the requirement:

Officer Level
# Diploma in Nautical Studies (DNS)
# Diploma in Marine Engineering (DME)

Prerequisite:
# SPM/SPVM with credits in B. Melayu, English,
Mathematics/Additional Mathematics, Physics/General Science
# Male & Female
# Single
# 17 - 21 years old
# Not colour blind
# Physically and mentally fit
# No visual aids (for DNS only)

Support Level
# Deck, Engine & Catering Rating





@marsiano & silverchain

we do have female cadets. but small number only maa... 222 male cadets then 9 female cadets. if you're looking for gals, this is definitely not you career line and not the place.

This post has been edited by destroyer: Jan 2 2009, 09:21 PM

for the sponsored students, yes. the contract depends on the companies. but not exceed 15 years. some only 8 years.

you can also do contract job. let's say the company wants you to sail with them for 10days. that way also can.

- for this one, you need to study back your spm subject. they are english, addmath+mod math, and physic.

-interview will depends. if you starts in english, it'll continue in english. but if you starts in bm, it'll continue. better be in english. seafarer need to know english. basic also can.



-yup! only that two.

-they'll choose either one of the subject. and it must be minimum C.

-for the test of physical and mental fitness, yes. ALAM have that kind of test. it is called Induction Program. be prepare for hell in a one whole week. very2 tiring. those who cannot withstand it can quit the course becoz after the induction prog, you cannot quit anymore. you'll have to pay back your sponsor. It doesn't matter whether you did all the test perfectly or not. becoz, once you're in the induction program, you have actually acquired the sponsorship. it just that they want to test whether you can "tahan" or not.




that is rating or normal sailors. they are under MISC sponsorship. their course only 4month. one thing that is good about this job that is you can start from down below. in my place of stdy, there is this one captain. he start as a normal seaman. but he worked hard, pass all the exam. now he is a captain.




dun worry la. once ur poket is full, female will be chasing for u. imagine by the age of 21 you'll be getting rm8k. of coz la girls hunting you.

---

Added on January 9, 2009, 2:14 amI had checked.

MEBP prog.

requirement: degree in mechanical/marine engineering(mechatronic also can)

marital status: single(married also can, but they need to apply "rayuan"

age: if i'm not mistaken not more than 28 years of ages.

CGPA: the lowest i known is 2.7

date of advertisement: around march/april. they said. they saw it through STAR newspaper

This post has been edited by destroyer: Jan 9 2009, 02:14 AM

yeah!

there are some news.

the laz week before sem break, Director of Corporate Affair come to my place. a visitation.

then, he told us that due to current economic crisis, this year ALAM will be accepting only 150 student for marine engineering(my batch got 219).

make sure you do your bez during the selection.

I'll inform latest news regarding when the application will be open. but it'll be out after spm result.

dun worry.

juz be yourself. and show your interest towards maritime industry.

learn something about ship.

and about MISC profile.

haha. are you former mariner before. which company are you working with back in the past?




go to mainlands depends on the captain permission.

about tym spent onboard depends on company and rank.

for my company.

4th Eng & 3rd Eng : 6month on, 3 month off.
2nd Eng: 4 month on, 3 month off.
Chief Eng: 4 month on, 4 month off.

nope.

that's the last year form.

check the date.

they normally release it after spm result is released.

Is it a big ship that you went to?

since i've seen some picture from my senior who went onboard VLCC(very large crude carrier). the engine room is very huge. the main engine itself is 4-storey high.

hrmmm...

for my company, it's without pay. other company depends.

my company pay is one of the lowest. only usd2220 for fresh grad. other pay usd3900-4800.

yup.

If one can stand to see the same environment for whole week, it's no prob for them.

But almost the same as shore work.

both have upside and downside.

by sailing, u don't have to think about the rising fuel price. u don't have to think about food since it is provided. when coming to shore after sign off, ur wallet will be very thick. provided u're good with girls, then you'll surrounded with chick. but don't do that la.

as a seafarer, make sure you search carefully for wife. and don't fuc* around while sailing or else your wife might also look for another man.

Yep!

I'm promoting by the mean of introducing this career line.

Ask ur fren around. How many of them knew about marine engineering and nautical studies.

during my school tym, i know nothing about it.

and, people tends to have bad thought about mariner.

about married late, maybe they fear to leave their wife home.

dun worry, the top 2.

Chief eng/2nd eng
captain/chief off

they can bring their wife and 1 son onboard.


moreover, many of malaysia ship are still operated by foreigner. lack of malaysian seafarers cause this prob. this is a good job opportunities for malaysian. that's why i'm introducing it. to help the growth of maritime industry and to help malaysian earn better living especially during this recession tym when it is hard 2 find job.

This post has been edited by destroyer: Jan 31 2009, 12:55 PM