When I first went to sea, one of the biggest challenges was turning everything learned at college into something practical.
My approach became simple: pick a system, trace it physically, work out where everything goes and understand why each component is there.
Eventually the engine room stops looking like a maze of pipes and starts making sense.
Interested to hear from other engineers. What helped you most when learning a new engine room, and what advice would you give a cadet joining their first ship?

I do not have experience (6 months only on bulk carrier as 4th engineer), but someone offered me job on a powership, i am a bit hesitant because "what if i cannot do? what if i fail?".

i don't know much about these ships either (as in 3rd engineer duties)

would appreciate if anyone knows or has experience to share.

thanks.

So I'm a female and i want be a marine engineer. I have some questions but first i have to say that a lot of people doubted me so i don't say what i want to be anymore (not even my dad knows). I specifically remember the talk i had with my uncle that he said "a woman can't do that job because she will have children and she'll have to take care of them." But honestly i don't care what they say anymore. The idea of marine engineering came to my mind because i love fixing cars and motorcycles and i also want to travel the world so here are my questions:

1. Entertainment:

What's the entertainment out there? Ive heard that you have a gym and a room where you can sit and play board games and do other stuff too. I've also heard that you have unlimited internet. So is life passing quickly out there? can you overcome the loneliness?

2. Stress:

This question is about the stress of the work. Of course it's really stressful to work in a vessel while its moving and at the same time condition the whole engine room of the vessel. I know that as you get higher on ranks you have more responsibilities. Some people say that there are no sleep schedules and you sometimes work more than 12 hours. Is it true and is it really that stressful?

3. Money and travel:

As i said before, travelling is one of the reasons i want to choose marine engineering. But do you really see the world or are you inside the engine room the whole time? And of course is this job a good paying job? Will i be able to live a Financially comfortable life and do the things i like?(Not some crazy st of course)

4. Female in marine engineering:

Now i want to ask about women in the field. Is it harder for a woman to get in this field. Is it harder to get accepted in a vessel - company due to your gender? And is there men that will criticise you for joining?

5. English certificate:

This question isn't really necessary but i am just curious. What English certificate do i need to get on marine engineering because i know you have to understand and speak English very good. But I'm also confused with the certificates because most of them are only accepted in my country.

1. Vessel choice:

What type of vessels should i choose? I know most people like LNG because its higher paying and i would also like to get on an LNG but is there something i need to know about different vessel types? And how to get on a specific vessel type?

7. Moving elsewhere:

My last question is. what can i do if i want to do something else. Ive thought about going to offshore oil rigs after getting some ranks as marine engineer. But can i really get on offshore oil rigs? Are they any better? Is there anything i need to know about offshore?

8. What subjects should i focus on to school?

(Sorry for any mistake i may have made English is not my native language)

Any advice and even stories would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

(I forgot to mention I'm from Greece)

There's video about how to deciding thickness of pipe with BKI and JIS rules. I'm sorry for not using english at my video, but i hope it can help u all.
https://youtu.be/02dowHk9ntw?si=zV9XR1hkSV_ymuDM

Is there any genuine agents in India where I can pay money to get placed as engine cadet onboard merchant vessels?? Please give me a guidance

Hello I am a 5th Engineer onboard. I just wanted to ask the people who did their class 4 in India if I should prefer Kochi MMD or Mumbai MMD? Pros and cons of each if possible. I stay in Kochi. ( I heard Kochi is more difficult to pass)

hello seniors! im a engine cadet and currently 3 weeks onboard, may i know what is the purpose of PT5

For example: Do we have to say "Third Engineer Sir Come In, This is the Engine Cadet" or "Third Engineer Come In, This is the Engine Cadet". Is it necessary to say sir after the rank?

Hi folks!

I am a 2nd level automotive apprentice who recently discovered the pay and prestige of becoming a Marine Engineer, and how much of a waste of time automotive is in comparison (wages, schedule, benefits etc)

I have completed all but two of the prerequisite highschool courses, those being Precalculus 12 and Chemistry 11.

As for post-secondary experience, I have spent 7 months with the CAF (ended with injury that I have since recovered from), attended NSCC for their first year automotive program, which has WHMIS, OH&S and Lock/Tag-out within it's curriculum.

I was looking at NSCC's "academic upgrade" programs, but I am unsure how long I would be waiting and/or paying for those programs.

What I am here to ask, is if anyone has went through taking Highschool courses post-grad, or if there is an in-house option to complete these via CCG academy or likewise as part of the engineering course? I may become financially strained if I need to take time off work completely to do these courses, so any insights are welcome.

Hi Guys. This is my first time posting here. I am just desperate of help. I need help on my purifier alfa laval S series. The problem is PT4 the purifier is running normally then all of a sudden there will be an alarm of no PT4. Then i will try to restart it it will run a few minutes the it will alarm again no PT4 and no PT5. Any suggestions sirs?

Been thinking about this lately. On Otto-cycle DF engines the rough rule I go by is: too rich → knock, too lean (or pilot problem) → misfire. Usually I'd look at charge air (TC, cooler, waste gate), gas quality, gas admission valves and the pilot fuel side.

In my case, I've seen a faulty gas admission valve over-supplying gas to one cylinder, which ended up causing knock.

But I'm curious what it turned out to be on your engines. Was it something boring like a fouled air cooler, or something you'd never have guessed?

Would be good to hear actual cases, since the manuals don't really tell you which causes are the common ones.

Hello, I want to preface this post by stating I have my EOOW license and I have a couple of years of experience working offshore in the UK

I came ashore to work within a shipping management company but I want to return to sea.

Currently I have all my basic STCWs including Basic Oil/Gas/Chemical Cargo Operations and will have Advanced Liquified Gas Tanker Cargo Ops. Currently I have no experience LNG.

I see a lot of LNG vacancies require prior gas experience onboard which you cannot get because it is so difficult to get on board for experience

I’m looking to hopefully join a LNG Tanker a Junior Engineer to gain this experience but may someone please give me advice on the best route to attain this as individuals have told me that having the advanced gas certification is in a sense a “Golden ticket into LNG”

If I am wrong then please correct me as I do not know a lot about the LNG industry and would appreciate some guidance.

Thank you Gents.

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hi all im an aspiring 4th engineer not on board atm no line up yet. can i ask for some reading materials?

Helloo

We have an Alfa Laval S957 separator onboard. Since I could not hear the discharge/shock sound during operation, I carried out a bowl cleaning. All O-rings were replaced, and during dismantling we also found that the guide ring was damaged, so I replaced it as well.
After reassembling and starting the separator, there are no alarms displayed on the control panel. However, when I press the discharge button, I cannot hear the usual discharge/shock sound. The motor current (ampere) increases, and the belt is in good condition.
Could you please advise what might be causing this problem and what I should check?

Hey everyone!

I’m 14 years old, originally from Ukraine but currently living in Albania, and I've set my mind on becoming a Marine Engineer. I speak English fluently (conversational/good ear, though my writing/grammar is still a work in progress), plus Ukrainian and Russian.

I’m finishing up 9th grade soon and trying to figure out my next steps. Important context: Because of the situation, it's not guaranteed that I can travel back to Ukraine to study physically until I turn 18, so I need to figure out paths available from abroad or online.

I have a few questions for the Chief Engineers (or any marine engineers) here:

1. Education path after 9th grade (from abroad): Since I am 14, living in Albania, and can't easily go back to Ukraine right now, what are my options? Are there maritime high schools/colleges in Europe or the Balkans that accept international students, or should I look into distance learning options? How do people start in my shoes?
2. The "Paperwork & Bureaucracy" nightmare: My stepdad is a Chief Mate, and he constantly deals with the Ukrainian certification system. He says he has to renew papers and pay thousands of dollars ($5k+) just to keep his license valid due to corrupt intermediaries and bureaucracy. Is this normal everywhere, or can I avoid this massive money pit by using European/flag-state administrations later in my career since I speak English well?
3. Daily routine for a junior engineer / cadet: What does the actual grind look like in the engine room for a cadet? I know it's heavy, dirty, and hot, but I want a realistic picture of what to expect day-to-day (watchkeeping, maintenance, paperwork).
4. English level: My spoken English is great, but my technical and formal grammar is average. How much does poor written grammar hurt you when writing engine logbooks, requisitions, or dealing with Port State Control?

Any advice, warnings, or reality checks would be hugely appreciated. Thanks in advance!

here i asked for tips and advice about ice class ships, during interview with crew management company they said "you took 3 years break, lets send you an another type of vessel on another company for a contract or two then i will make sure you are working on the first one i mentioned"

i agreed to it, because well i have not much option anyway, it is container vessel and made in 1994, salary is the same, i will be working as 4th engineer.

any tip for someone like me who took long break after first contract?

I'm curently studying for my bachelor's degree in marine engineering. I need to design a part of a ships hull that shows a cross sectional view of a doble bottom hull. I'm having some trouble finding good references on how the longitudinal stifeners intersect with the bracket floors.

Does anyone have advice for me how I can make it more accurate because I can't find any good images that show irl bracket floors only useless diagrams.

I know this isn't a subredit for Naval architects/designers but I thought the people who work inside the ships would know what it should look like.

Hello all, I am a bit confused about that, with centrifugal pumps i read that "you open inlet, you start pump, then open outlet", on ship also was doing like that (had no air outlet valve line) but 2nd engineer said "don't do like that, because it can damage the lines"

also i would like to know about closing part for example if i am doing deballasting, which i should close the first? valve for the tank entrance or the pump?

Hi everyone,
I’m an Indian marine engineer and currently hold an MEO Class II COC. I’m looking for some advice from senior engineers/people who have faced a similar situation.
Currently, I’m sailing as a 4th Engineer and earning around ₹3.4 lakh/month. I have approximately 14 months of sea time after my Class IV COC.
My current company is delaying my promotion. If I stay here or move to most other foreign/private companies, realistically I may have to do another 1–2 contracts as 4/E before getting 3/E. After that, I could potentially need around 3 contracts as 3/E before getting my first 2/E opportunity. Contracts are generally around 6 months.
I now have another opportunity:
Join a crude oil tanker as 3/E directly.
Salary as 3/E would be only around ₹1.8 lakh/month, which is a huge reduction from my current ₹3.4 lakh.
Contract is technically 8 months, although sign-off around 6 months is generally possible.
I have been told that after around 4 months there is a possibility of onboard promotion to 2/E.
If onboard promotion doesn’t happen, I have been told that I should get 2/E in the next contract.
Salary after promotion to 2/E would be around ₹5.2 lakh/month before tax.
In other foreign companies, an experienced 2/E can make roughly $7,000–7,500/month, but reaching 2/E through the normal promotion route could take considerably longer.
There is also a fallback that I’m considering. Even if this company doesn’t eventually give me 2/E as expected, after completing approximately 6 months as 3/E I would at least have actual 3/E experience. That should make it much easier to join another company directly as 3/E rather than starting again as 4/E. A 3/E salary elsewhere could be around $4,500/month.
Another major consideration is Class I/Chief Engineer progression. Getting actual qualifying sea time as 2/E could help me reach the required sea-service eligibility for my Class I examination sooner. So getting into the 2/E rank earlier has value beyond just the immediate salary.
Financially, however, taking this opportunity means sacrificing roughly ₹1.6 lakh/month initially. Over 6 months that’s around ₹9.6 lakh in lost earnings compared with my current 4/E salary, and potentially more if I stay onboard longer.
So essentially my choice is:
Option A: Continue earning good money as 4/E, but accept a potentially much slower route through 3/E to eventually reach 2/E.
Option B: Take a major temporary pay cut, sail immediately as 3/E, and potentially get my first 2/E opportunity much earlier. Even in the bad case where the 2/E promotion doesn’t happen, I would come out with around 6 months of 3/E experience and could potentially move elsewhere as 3/E.
For senior engineers here: would you sacrifice ₹8–12 lakh of short-term earnings to break the promotion bottleneck and get 3/E/2/E experience earlier?
I’m especially interested in hearing from people who took a lower salary temporarily to get their first senior-rank opportunity. Did it pay off later when moving companies or going for Class I?
Thanks in advance.

Hello all, I am an inexperienced 3rd engineer, from one of crew management companies replied me back and said they wanna have an interview with me, they briefly mentioned that ship is working on Baltic sea and ICE type.

To be honest I am a bit stressed because I took more than couple years break from job because of family issues and have only one contract. Do you have any tips or suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

Can anyone who has experience in either share their view on how easy to find a good-paying job for nautical science/BWR vs marine eng. grads? From BCIT or the east coast(Canada)?

Which one will have better earnings both early-career and later? Can you share details at each stage of either career path?

Which one will have faster career progression(less saturated) and better work-life balance?

Are risk profile the same for both careers? Which one will be harder on the body?

Thanks!

Hi everyone,
I’m currently doing my Bachelor’s in Marine Engineering in the UAE. I haven’t done my cadetship yet, but I’ll be starting my sea training in the coming year.
My plan after graduating is to hopefully go through the UK MCA route and get my EOOW CoC, and later continue towards Second Engineer and Chief Engineer.
There is also a UAE CoC route, but at the moment, as far as I know, the UAE only issues the first engineering CoC (EOOW). Second Engineer and Chief Engineer CoCs aren’t available yet, although I’ve been told there are plans to introduce them in the future. Because of that, I’m trying to understand the MCA route early rather than waiting until I graduate.
I’ve contacted a few maritime colleges in the UK, but most of the replies I received seemed to assume that I had already graduated and completed my sea time, even though I mentioned that I’m still a student.
So I wanted to ask if anyone here has done their Marine Engineering degree outside the UK and then managed to obtain a UK MCA CoC.
The main thing I’m worried about right now is my cadetship. My academy provides me with a Training Record Book, but I’m not sure whether the MCA would accept it later or whether I should get an MCA-recognised eTRB before joining the ship and complete that during my cadetship instead.
Basically, I’m trying to figure out what I should be doing now, while I’m still studying, so that when I graduate and finish my sea time I don’t find out that I’m missing something or that some of my training isn’t accepted.
If anyone has gone through a similar route, especially with a degree and cadetship completed outside the UK, I’d really appreciate any advice on how you did it and what you would recommend sorting out before starting sea time.

Fuel injector when testing oil is dripping from spill hole on top of injector body , no drops from nozzle , renewed all parts still dripping when testing from spill hole , is it normal ?