How to Become a Ship Captain

The legal status of the master is set out separately from every other position on board. Ukraine's Merchant Shipping Code (KTM, Law No. 176/95-VR, the country's core maritime law) puts the master in command of the vessel (Art. 58), makes it their duty to assist people in distress at sea (Art. 59) and after a collision (Art. 60), to give emergency medical care (Art. 61), to act in case of military danger or piracy (Art. 62) and danger of the vessel being lost (Art. 64), and to maintain order on board (Art. 65).

Some powers belong to the master alone. A Ukrainian master can certify a birth or a marriage (Art. 70), a will or the fact of death (Art. 71), and in criminal proceedings acts as an official authorised to carry out procedural actions (Art. 67). At sea the master is at once the ship's commander, the shipowner's representative, and, to a limited extent, a representative of the state.

International qualification requirements come from STCW 1978, with the 2010 Manila Amendments (the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, the global rulebook Ukraine implements as a flag and crewing state). For the deck department this means rule II/1, operational level, and rule II/2, management level.

No step can be skipped: sea-time requirements are tied to the rank held immediately before.

1. Maritime education. A navigation programme at a higher or pre-higher maritime institution. The requirement for the education document is set in the Regulation approved by Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution No. 1499 of 30.12.2022 (the government decree governing certification of ship's officers).
2. Sea service. Time on board under the supervision of a master or a qualified officer, recorded in the seafarer's service record book (discharge book), and for programme-based training, also in an approved training record book (TRB).
3. Safety training and specialised courses. Certificates under STCW Chapter VI, GMDSS, ECDIS, radar and ARPA, and further courses depending on level and vessel type.
4. Examination. A computer-based exam run by the state qualification commission; the pass certificate is part of the document package submitted for the rank.
5. Award of rank and issue of the certificate. Done by Ukraine's Maritime Administration, the State Service of Maritime and Inland Water Transport and Shipping.
6. Management level. Chief officer, then master, once the required sea time and training under section A-II/2 of the STCW Code are completed.

What follows is only what the documents state.

Officer in charge of a navigational watch (OOW), vessels of 500 GT and above. Minimum age 18. Two paths from there. First: at least 12 months of approved sea service as part of an approved training programme that includes on-board training recorded in an approved training record book. Second, where no such programme exists: at least 36 months of approved sea service. Bridge watchkeeping duty under the supervision of a master or a qualified officer must separately total at least 6 months. This is STCW rule II/1, and the same two alternatives are reproduced in Ukraine's Regulation under Resolution No. 1499.

Chief officer, vessels of 3,000 GT and above. Requires a valid OOW certificate for vessels of 500 GT and above, plus at least 12 months of approved sea service as an officer in charge of a navigational watch. STCW rule II/2.

Master, vessels of 3,000 GT and above. At least 36 months of approved sea service as an officer in charge of a navigational watch. This can be reduced to 24 months if at least 12 of them were served as chief officer. Same rule, II/2.

Three points are usually simplified into an inaccurate picture.

Tonnage. STCW treats vessels of 500 to 3,000 GT and vessels of 3,000 GT and above as separate categories. A certificate can carry a gross tonnage restriction, and it does not let its holder move up to a larger vessel.

Area of operation. STCW rule II/3 sets a separate category: OOW and master on vessels below 500 GT in near-coastal voyages. Ukrainian rules mirror this with a separate rank, coastal shipping master, a certificate limited to voyages near the Ukrainian coast.

Which version of the rules applies. Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 1499 has been amended, in particular by Resolution No. 567 of 30.05.2023, so the current wording should be confirmed before documents are submitted. The convention itself is under review too: IMO is running a comprehensive review of STCW, and its HTW sub-committee met in February 2026.

The certificate package is made up of certificates from different sources. The baseline set is mandatory under STCW for every crew member without exception. Everything else depends on rank, vessel type, and sometimes simply on what the shipowner or flag state requires.

Baseline layer for any crew member, STCW Chapter VI: basic safety training, survival craft and rescue boats, advanced fire fighting, first aid. Some of these certificates need periodic revalidation; the standard interval under the STCW Code is five years.

Deck officer layer:

• GMDSS radio communication, STCW Chapter IV; a GMDSS operator's certificate is part of the document package for the OOW rank.
• ECDIS: knowledge of electronic chart systems is part of the competence standard in section A-II/1, and shipowners usually also require type-specific training for the actual equipment fitted.
• Radar and ARPA, use of radar information.
• Bridge resource management, operational level and management level.
• Ship handling and maneuvering, a key block for moving up to management level.
• Leadership and bridge resource management skills, which the Manila Amendments turned into separate requirements under sections A-II/1 and A-II/2.

Some management-level competencies are assessed on a simulator rather than in theory: maneuvering, ECDIS work, drilling emergency scenarios. The equipment available for this is listed on the simulators page.

Neither of the two courses above is long: bridge resource management runs three days, ship handling and maneuvering four, and both are available in person and remotely. Which set of certificates is actually required for a given rank is set by the certification rules and by the shipowner's requirements, not by the training centre.

English is part of the competence standard. Section A-II/1 of the STCW Code requires a command of English sufficient to use charts and nautical publications, to understand meteorological information and safety messages, and to communicate with other vessels and shore stations, including the IMO Standard Marine Communication Phrases (SMCP).

A separate layer exists that the convention does not mention at all: Marlins, CES, and similar English tests. These are commercial assessment tools used by shipping companies and crewing agencies during selection. They do not replace the state exam, but in practice the result often decides whether an application reaches the interview stage.

In search results and everyday English, captain and master are used almost interchangeably, though they mean different things. Captain is a naval rank, tied to warships and a military chain of command that has nothing to do with STCW. Master is the correct term in the merchant fleet: a professional qualification confirmed by a certificate of competency with stated tonnage and area limits, not a military rank.

Officer, or informally mate, is the everyday merchant-fleet term for a watchkeeping deck officer: third, second, chief officer. These are steps of the same deck ladder, not a separate track from master.

Ocean-going master is a legacy expression still used informally. Under current Ukrainian rules, it corresponds to a master's certificate without tonnage or area-of-operation restrictions.

Sea time exists but cannot be proven. Proof of sea service is entries in the seafarer's service record book and the training record book; verbal arrangements do not work once documents are submitted.

Sea time was accumulated in the wrong rank. Under STCW rule II/2, only time served specifically as an officer in charge of a navigational watch counts, and separately, time served as chief officer. Time on board in a different role does not replace these months.

Expired certificates. Some STCW Chapter VI training requires periodic revalidation, and this is usually discovered a week before documents are due.

Medical certificate not in order. Health requirements for crew are set in Art. 52 of the Merchant Shipping Code, and the examination procedure has changed: Ministry of Health Order No. 347 of 19.11.1996 was replaced by new Rules for Determining Medical Fitness, approved by Ministry of Health Order No. 1793 of 26.11.2025.

Wrong certificate for the tonnage held. A certificate limited to 500 to 3,000 GT does not open work on a vessel of 3,000 GT or above.