Both are common first posting types for ABs. Both have their advantages. The experience of working on each is genuinely different and the choice, where you have one, is worth making with accurate information. The…
The honest answer to what an able seaman earns is that it depends significantly on vessel type, flag state, operator and your country of origin. The range is wide enough that two ABs with identical…
Most people entering the maritime industry as deck ratings start here. Able seaman is not an entry-level position in the sense of requiring no experience, but it is the first real rank on the deck…
Where you are from shapes your maritime career more than most people starting out realise. Not just the pay rate but which operators will consider you, which crewing agencies have relationships in your country and…
People move from AB to officer. It happens regularly. It is not quick, it is not free, and it requires more deliberate planning than simply accumulating sea time and hoping things progress automatically. Here is…
The AB certificate is not handed out on the basis of time served alone. There are specific training requirements, sea service requirements and certificates that have to be in place before the rating is issued.…
Offshore AB work is its own category. The vessels are different, the operations are different, the rotation schedule is different, and the things the job requires of you are different from cargo ship AB work.…
Certificate requirements for able seamen shifted with the 2010 Manila Amendments. What was acceptable before those changes and what is required now are not the same thing. If your certificates predate 2012 and you have…
