Foreign employment
Seafarer CV Format
A seafarer CV is closer to a technical record than a story: a manning agency officer scans it for your rank, whether your certificates are valid, and your sea service — in that order, in seconds. The format below is the one that scan expects: rank at the top, certificates as a dated list, and sea service as a table. Get those three blocks right and the rest of the page is detail.
Updated 17 July 2026
Quick answer
A seafarer CV leads with your rank (current or applied-for) and availability date, then lists certificates — STCW basic safety and all rating or competency certificates — each with certificate number, issue date, and expiry, then presents sea service as a table: vessel name, vessel type, flag, rank, and period aboard. Add the documents block (passport, seaman's book/CDC, medical status) and a passport-style photo.
Key takeaways
- A seafarer CV is a technical record, scanned in this order: rank → certificate validity → sea service. Get those three blocks right and the rest is detail.
- Top block: rank held (and applied for), availability date, and document numbers — passport, seaman's book (CDC), medical status.
- Certificates as a dated list, never prose: each with number, issue date, and expiry. An expired certificate marked expired is honest; presented as valid, it ends the application.
- Sea service as a table — vessel name, type, flag, rank, period — matching your seaman's book exactly; agencies match experience by vessel type.
- No sea service yet? Lead with STCW basic safety and pre-sea training, and put physically demanding work in place of the table.
Build this CV in the editor.
Start building →The top block: rank, availability, documents
The first five lines answer whether you are worth reading further:
How the top of a seafarer CV should read
SUNIL TAMANG
Ordinary Seaman (OS) — applying for OS / deck rating positions
Available from: [month, year] · Kathmandu · 98XXXXXXXX · sunil.tamang@email.com
Passport: [number, expiry] · Seaman's book (CDC): [number, expiry] · Medical: [status/date]
State the rank you hold and, if different, the rank you are applying for. Availability matters to agencies filling contracts on dates — say it plainly. Every document number must match the document exactly; this CV gets checked line by line against your papers.
Certificates: a dated list, never prose
Certificates are your licence to be hired, and validity is the first thing checked. List every one — STCW basic safety training and all rating, competency, or ancillary certificates you hold — in a table or aligned list, never in sentences:
Certificate list format
CERTIFICATES
STCW Basic Safety Training — No. [number] — issued [date] — valid until [date]
[Rating/competency certificate] — No. [number] — issued [date] — valid until [date]
[Any additional certificate, e.g. security awareness, crowd management] — No. — issued — expiry
Tip: An expired certificate on the list, marked expired, is honest housekeeping. An expired certificate presented as valid ends the application — validity is verified against the documents, not taken from the CV.
Sea service: the table every agency expects
Sea service is presented as a table — most recent vessel first. This is the block a maritime recruiter reads longest, because vessel type and time aboard are what qualify you for the next contract:
| Vessel name | Type | Flag | Rank | Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M.V. [name] | Bulk carrier | [flag] | OS | [from] – [to] (9 months) |
| M.V. [name] | Container | [flag] | Deck cadet | [from] – [to] (6 months) |
- Vessel type matters more than vessel name — bulk, container, tanker, general cargo, passenger — because agencies match experience by type.
- Give the months aboard for each contract; totals per rank are worth a summary line ("Total sea service: 15 months as OS").
- Gaps between contracts are normal in this industry — no explanation needed for standard shore leave; explain only multi-year breaks in one line.
- Everything must match your seaman's book — it is the record your CV summarises, and they will be read side by side.
No sea service yet? The cadet/entry version
For a first contract, the structure holds but the emphasis moves: rank line says the entry position you seek (deck cadet, OS, wiper, galley/utility), certificates become the main block — your STCW basic safety and any pre-sea training, institute and dates — and in place of the sea-service table, list pre-sea training, physically demanding work experience, and swimming/fitness honestly. Hotel-side cruise applicants (steward, cabin attendant) should pair this page with the Hotel & Hospitality guide — that CV carries the service evidence, this one's document discipline still applies.
The rest of the page
Personal details follow the foreign-employment standard: passport-style photo, date of birth, nationality, and the document numbers already shown in the top block. Add height/weight where the agency's form asks. Languages with honest levels — English is the working language at sea, so state your real level; it will be tested in the interview call.
Do
- Keep CV, seaman's book, and certificates telling the identical story.
- State availability date and keep it current.
- Summarise total sea time per rank.
- Update the CV after every contract — a stale CV costs fast-moving positions.
Don't
- Write sea service as paragraphs — agencies expect the table.
- Round contract lengths up; the seaman's book is right there.
- List certificates without numbers and expiry dates.
- Apply for tanker positions on dry-cargo experience without saying so — type mismatches surface immediately.
Frequently asked questions
- What personal details should a seafarer CV include?
- Passport and seaman's book (CDC) numbers with expiry, date of birth, nationality, medical status, and a passport-style photo — plus height/weight where the agency asks. The Nepal Standard template carries these fields.
- I have no sea service — can I still make a seafarer CV?
- Yes — the entry version: the rank you seek, your STCW basic safety and pre-sea training as the main block, and physically demanding work experience in place of the sea-service table. Certificates and honest fitness are what entry-level screening reads.
- How do I show gaps between contracts?
- Standard gaps between contracts are normal in seafaring and need no explanation — the sea-service table's dates speak for themselves. Explain only an unusually long break (multiple years) in one plain line.
- Should the CV list an expired certificate?
- Yes, marked expired or 'renewal in process' — it shows the qualification exists. Presenting an expired certificate as valid is the mistake that ends applications, because every certificate is verified against the document.