Maritime
5. If you are interested in any institute and keen to take
admission, the best way of getting genuine feedback is to
go to that institute for fundamental background check and
talk to the current students. You will get a clear picture of the
placement records and worth of the institute.
6. Avoid taking admission in those institute which are
new/ doubtful and do not provide any clear approval
documentation. If you encounter any of such fake institutes,
do report it to the shipping authorities to help other students
from falling prey to such fraud activity.
For Shipping Agents:
1 The other side of the coin (maritime institute) in the
ship industry are the ship manning companies and agents.
To legalize and streamline this sector, the shipping authority
approve such companies and agent. For e.g. in India, a ship
manning company has to be RPSL approved (i.e. they have
Recruitment, Placement Services License). Still many cases
have been registered against fraud agents and agencies that
have taken money from job seekers for providing ship based
training and have disappeared in thin air.
2. If you are in contact with an agent for ship based job,
ensure he has a genuine RPS license. Cross check the approval
in shipping authority websites.
3. To safeguard his/her fraud identity, agents may say the
agency approval is under renewal. Never believe it and even if
you feel the agency is genuine, wait for the authority to renew
the license. The DG shipping in India never take more than 3 to
4 working days for renewal of RPS license.
4. A genuine agency or agent will never communicate
the official matter through personal emails and if they are
professional enough, they will have a proper official email id
and a fully-functional company website. For e.g. agentname@
xyzagency.com can be considered well above agentname@
gmail.com
5. However, having a company website, a letterhead and
official email id is not a guarantee of genuine agency. An
advance cheater can get all these genuine looking setup
for a handful of money to lure more candidates. The best
available way to differentiate is to crosscheck the RPS license.
(Disclaimer: It is very difficult to gauge the motive of even an
approved RPSL agency or agent which may cheat candidates
for sake of easy money. As per Maritime Labour Convention
Act, and mentioned by DG shipping, a candidate cannot be
charged for onboard training from a company or agency).
6. It is worth noting that under the recently enforced
Maritime Labour Convention 2006, crewmen are not meant to
be charged a placement fee by Manning Agents. A fraud agent
will demand money against the payment of a fee, variously
called “Administration”, “Facilitation” or “Service” fees, or other
such designations. Never ever pay such money.
7. With lack of jobs for entry level candidates, the students
are desperate and are still willing to pay manning agents
Disclaimer: This article is not an effort to tarnish image or reputation of any shipping company/ agent
or of the shipping industry as a whole. It only attempts to educate and inform the people in the
industry or those who are planning to enter the same. We have been receiving a lot of emails lately
regarding such fraudulent cases in the industry and we think creating awareness about the subject is
the best way to address the problem. Thank you all for your support and faith in Marine Insight.
to get placed onboard for training. In such cases, never pay
money in advance and understand what kind of company
and ship you are going for. Take a written statement from the
agency about the money involved and the kind of job they
are going to provide. It is very important to understand what
kind of service charges the agent/agency is taking from you.
They may tell the candidate that all the money will be used
for flight tickets, visas and work permit etc. (which technically
will be paid by the company who is hiring you for the job),
hence check for the type of ship you are getting on (coastal,
offshore, foreign going etc.) and type of visa they acquire
(tourist or work visa with duration of stay etc.). This will help in
understanding the intentions of the agent and save you from
the troubles you will face abroad in case the agent sends you
to some other country to join a ship
8. As mentioned earlier, due to lack of openings for freshers,
fraud agencies are taking advantage of the situation. These
fraud agent/ agency try not to cheat one but several people.
Try to get as much information as possible through social
media and search engines. If you sense any doubt, go to the
local police station (if the agent is from the same area as you
are) or try to establish contact with police station where the
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agent is located to find out any previous complaint regarding
the same.
9. Do not fall in trap against the claim that the agency
will give in writing for providing 100% job placement when
student approach them for maritime education and payment.
The written statement from the company can be – Provide
100% placement to the candidate without mentioning the
time frame or even the time frame is mentioned; they will also
not be sure about which type of ship or company you will be
placed. As mentioned in above point under Maritime Labour
Convention Act, a candidate cannot be charged for onboard
training from a company or agency hence idea of paying an
agency/agent is itself wrong.
The shipping sector has been in the grip of these scams due
to lack of job availability, which in-turn has been the result of
hundreds of institutes made open producing thousands of
fresh seafarer every year. There is no sign of recovery of the
current situation and fraudulent agents/ agency are taking
advantage of candidates who are trapped in this vicious circle.
Only a detailed research and reporting of all such frauds
can help to irradiate the problem from the roots.