What should a maritime resume include?

A maritime resume should include vessel type, rank, certifications, STCW training, sea service, offshore experience, deck or engine room duties, safety responsibilities, equipment experience, compliance knowledge, and measurable results such as downtime reduction, audit performance, safety records, or operational KPIs.

How do I make my maritime CV ATS-friendly?

To make a maritime CV ATS-friendly, compare your CV to the job description and include the exact vessel, offshore, safety, technical, certification, HSE, STCW, ISM Code, maintenance, compliance, and operational keywords that match your experience.

Why is my maritime CV not getting interviews?

Many maritime CVs are too generic. If your CV only says worked onboard or assisted crew, recruiters and ATS systems may not see vessel type, rank, STCW, BOSIET, engine room systems, deck operations, PMS, AMOS, HSE, audits, vetting, drydock, or shore-based accountability.

What is the difference between a sea-going CV and a shore-based maritime CV?

A sea-going CV usually focuses on duties, vessel experience, rank, certifications, and onboard operations. A shore-based maritime CV should also show fleet responsibility, compliance, audits, KPIs, budget control, inspections, contractor management, and operational accountability.

Maritime Resume Guide

A maritime CV / resume has its own conventions. Get the structure right and a crewing manager can see in seconds whether you fit the rank, the vessel and the certificates required.

The structure crewing managers expect

A sea service table you can copy

Moving ashore: how to translate sea experience

Check my CV / resume against a maritime job

First check is free. No account. Your CV / resume isn't stored.

The structure

Personal details: name, nationality, date of birth if customary in your market, contact, availability, nearest airport.
Rank and target position, plus the vessel types you're experienced on.
Certificates: CoC, STCW courses, medical, endorsements, with issuer and expiry.
Sea service table (see below).
Duties and achievements for your most relevant contracts.
Systems and equipment: engines, navigation equipment, PMS software.
Education and other training.

Sea service table

Vessel        Type            GT / kW        Rank            From       To
MV Example    Bulk carrier    40,000 GT      Second Officer  03/2024    09/2024
MT Sample     Product tanker  29,000 GT      Second Officer  06/2023    12/2023
MV Demo       Container       25,000 GT      Third Officer   10/2022    04/2023

Describing duties

Generic phrases like "worked on board" say little. Name the watch, systems, operations and responsibilities, and add anything measurable.

Same experience, clearer signal

Weaker

Engine room workMaintenance

Stronger

Third Engineer on a 9,000 kW container vessel, responsible for purifiers and auxiliary enginesCarried out PMS jobs in AMOS and prepared machinery for Port State Control inspections

Only write the stronger version if it's true for you.

Moving ashore

For superintendent, HSEQ, operations or surveyor roles, lead with the shore-relevant parts of your sea experience: audits and inspections, vetting, drydock planning, budgets, crew management and reporting. Keep the sea service table, but put it after a summary aimed at the shore role.

Common mistakes

Certificates without expiry dates
No vessel types or sizes
Long lists of duties copied from job descriptions
A CV / resume that's the same for tanker, offshore and yacht roles

Check your CV / resume against a real maritime job

Paste your CV / resume and the job ad to see which certificates, systems and duties aren't visible yet.

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