Automatic translation
Everyone, even the most successful seafarer, sooner or later has a period when he decides to take a little rest from the sea. There can be many reasons for this - from banal fatigue, to starting a family or building a house. However, all mariners should remember that the longer they stay on land, the more difficult it will be for them to go on a voyage again. Let's look at the reasons and the main options for resolving this issue. Break in seniority Crewing companies, for the most part, are already beginning to be skeptical about hiring a seafarer if he has had a break in service for more than 12 months. It is important to note that this does not mean that all such companies believe that after 12 months of inactivity, any seafarer loses his qualifications. Rather, the point is that they start to have doubts about the preservation of your skills, especially when it comes to leading positions (this applies to both mechanics and senior and junior command personnel). Therefore, there is a basic solution for this problem: to reissue documents, pass qualification confirmation or re-take the appropriate courses. You also need to be prepared to take the exams again to obtain a certificate. And do not forget that most likely, this will cost you a fairly large amount of money. Long break For going to sea in case you have a break of more than 2-3 years, there will be an even more serious task. With such a long break, many crewing in Ukraine (and not only in Ukraine) will consider your candidacy on an equal basis with beginner applicants, that is, practically without experience of working at sea. This, of course, further reduces the chances of finding the right job quickly, especially in large shipping companies. Therefore, in this case, in addition to the actions described above, the following will need to be done: - look at the reviews about your work: recommendations from previous employers (especially if you did not change them every year, but worked with one or two) will serve you well, since crewing will have less doubts about your qualifications; - revise and, if necessary, revise your CV: firstly, it will probably need to be rewritten and focus on your achievements with an indication of the renewal of certificates and qualifications. By the way, given the fact that getting to work for large shipowners will be quite low for you, it is better to initially contact smaller and medium-sized companies. Do not forget about sending the seafarer's questionnaire with your cover-letter and do it at regular intervals; - make a certain pool of crewing companies that you would like to work with: for this you can review the sites of maritime companies and maritime forums, where it will be clear from the reviews which companies should work with and which ones should be avoided. In addition, there you will receive information with which types of ships these companies work in order to avoid sending their questionnaires to places that are not of interest to you; - in addition to mailing your questionnaire, do not forget about personal visits to crewing companies: firstly, often, this can bring a greater effect than just mailing and calls. Plus, with your visits, you demonstrate your perseverance and readiness for any questions. It is important to note that, first of all, it is advisable to contact those crewing companies where you have worked recently (unless, of course, you left there for some negative reasons). Thus, a long break between voyages does not mean an end to your sailing career. However, in order to resume it again, you will have to sweat a little and spend your time and money.
