Things every seafarer should carry while joining a ship

Things every seafarer should carry while joining a ship

In this article we will discuss about the essential things every seafarer should carry while joining a ship for long duration of contract.

Joining a ship for long duration of contract is not an easy task and therefore packing each and every essential thing is of utmost importance.

If the seafarer forgets to carry some of the essential items then he may not be able to buy them on the ship and even if he somehow arranges it then it would be very costly.

That is why carrying all the essential things without fail is of prime importance to the seafarer.

Also read : Things to check after joining a ship

List of items every seafarer should carry while joining a ship :

The maximum allowed weight of the baggage in international flights for the seafarers is 40 kgs.

The maximum weight allowed per bag is 20 kgs. That means the seafarer can carry maximum 2 bag, each of them weighing maximum 20 kgs.

But the seafarer mostly faces the problem of baggage weight while travelling in a domestic flight.

In that case the seafarer will be required to pay for the extra baggage, which will be reimbursed by the shipping company, once the seafarer joins the ship.

The list of essential items that every seafarer should carry is given below –

• Travel documents like passport, visas, CDC, COC, guarantee letter, travel tickets.

• List of emergency contacts, this will be provided by the shipping company.

• All original documents like original contract letter, original medical certificate and important merchant navy documents.

• Personal protective equipments, if they are provided by the shipping company at the time of joining otherwise they will be given onboard.

• Uniform and epaulettes as per the rank by the officers.

• Essential clothing.

• Importance medicines with proper prescriptions.

• Personal care items like -shaving kit, hair oil, comb, face wash, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, nail cutter, socks, shoes etc.

• International debit card.

• Some cash in US dollars.

• International SIM card.

• Bank account details.

• Extra warm clothes.

• Bath soaps, towels and napkins will be provided onboard so don’t carry them unnecessarily.

Also read : Procedure of crew change in Merchant Navy

The above list of essentials is necessary for every seafarer.

The seafarer could chop and change the items as per his requirement.

But always try to travel light because only you are the one who is going to carry all your luggage yourself.