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Merchant Navy is one of the most lucrative jobs in the world; this job gives you an opportunity to earn while exploring beautiful countries all over the world.
It is also considered as one of the dirtiest jobs (especially for engineers); with that being said, I remember a famous quote.
“DIRTY HANDS, CLEAN MONEY”
Don’t get disheartened with the above lines if you are planning to join merchant navy as an engineer,
It is same as our mothers, sisters or Wives does in the kitchen; they knead the dough, clean the kitchen sink, wash our clothes, and does other dirty household jobs, but at the end of the work, her hands are clean.
Jobs of engineers onboard a ship is somewhat similar, they have to make their hands dirty to maintain the machinery onboard the ship, and at the end of the day, their hands are all clean.
Talking about the salary in Merchant Navy, it varies from rank to rank, experience on rank, company to company, type of ship, route of the ship, nature of work on the ship, etc.
Now let’s look at the typical salary structure in merchant navy.
Salary of Master/Captain in Merchant Navy
Master is the Overall in charge of the ship,
Salary of master in merchant navy varies from 8000-15000 USD or if we talk in Indian Rupees, it ranges from 5.7-10.8 lakhs per month.
Salary of Chief Engineer in Merchant Navy
Chief Engineer is the overall in-charge of the Engine room, and all the machinery present onboard ship.
Salary of a newly promoted Chief Engineer starts from around 7500 USD and go up to 14500 USD with experience. In Indian Rupees, it ranges from 5.4-10.4 lakhs per month.
Salary of Second Engineer/ Chief Mate in Merchant Navy
The second engineer is like the right hand of Chief Engineer and Training In-charge of all the Engine Room Personnel.
The chief mate is the overall in-charge of the Deck and Galley department.
Salary of a Second Engineer or Chief Mate varies from 6000-12000 USD depending on the rank experience and type of ship. In Indian Rupees, it ranges from 4.3-8.6 Lakhs per month.
Salary of Electrical Officer in Merchant Navy
Most of the ships have Electrical or Electro-Technical Officer (ETO) to maintain Electrical and Electronic equipment onboard the ship.
Salary of electrical officer (COC Holder) varies from 3000-7000 USD depending upon the type of ship and rank experience. In Indian rupees, it varies from 2.1-5 lakhs per month.
Salary of Trainee Electrical Officer varies from 500-2000 USD, In Indian rupees- 36k-144k per month.
Salary of Third Engineer / 2nd Mate in Merchant Navy
Salary of a Third Engineer and Second Mate starts from 2800 USD and goes up to 6000 USD as per the rank experience. In Indian Rupees, it varies from 2-4.3 Lakhs per month.
Salary of Fourth Engineer/ 3rd Mate in Merchant Navy
The Market condition for both these ranks are not very good, and with the latest technology ships, some companies are eliminating the rank of fourth engineers from the crew list.
Due to which, many 4th engineers and 3rd mates are willing to work on meagre wages.
The typical salary of Fourth Engineer and Third Mate varies from 1800-4000 USD, In Indian Rupees; it varies from 1.3-2.8 lakhs per month.
Many companies have started a trend of keeping Additional Fourth Engineers, their workload is the same as of a Fourth Engineer, but they are recruited to reduce the manning cost.
The salary of an Additional Fourth Engineer varies from 1200-2000 USD or Rs 86k-144k per month.
Salary of Junior Engineer/ Deck Cadet in Merchant Navy
Junior Engineers or Engine Cadet and Deck Cadets are the trainees onboard the ship in Engine and Deck Department respectively.
The salary of Junior Engineer and Deck Cadet varies from 200-1500 USD depending upon the company and type of vessel. In Indian Rupees, it varies from 14000-1 Lakh per month.
Salary of Fitter /Bosun in Merchant Navy
Engine Fitter is the head of Engine Ratings and Bosun of Deck ratings.
The salary of Engine Fitter and Bosun varies from 1400-2000 USD or in Indian Rupees 1-1.4 Lakhs per month.
Salary of Motorman or Oiler/ Able Seaman (AB) in Merchant Navy
Salary of a Motorman and Able Seaman varies from 900-1800 USD depending from company to company and Type of Ship. In Indian Rupees, it varies from 65k-1.3 lakhs per month.
Salary of Wiper / Ordinary Seaman in Merchant Navy
Salary of Wiper and Ordinary Seaman varies from 300-800 USD per month, In Indian rupees; it varies from 21k-57k per month.
Salary of Chief Cook in Merchant Navy
Chief cook is one of the most important crew member onboard a ship as he is the one who makes delicious food for everyone.
Good food on ship is the only motivation to every stressful situation.
The salary of a Chief Cook varies from 1000-2000 USD, In Indian Rupees; it varies from 72k-1.4 lakhs per month.
Salary of General Steward (GS) in Merchant Navy
General Steward is there onboard a ship to help Chief Cook in the Galley and for General Cleaning.
The salary of General Steward varies from 500-1500 USD, In Indian Rupees; it varies from 36k-1 Lakhs per month.
WRAPPING UP
So that was the salary structure in Merchant Navy. Don’t get excited over the number of zeros in the salary.
It is worth every Penny when it comes to the work load these guys face onboard the ship.
They are far away from their Homes, away from Family, There are so many physical, mental, and emotional pressures all the time.
Most importantly, they are earning only when they are onboard the ship, and are unemployed when at home.
ALSO READ: My first day onboard a Cargo Ship (Personal Experience)
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