Assalamualaikum, and welcome back to Orange Shots.
Today, I'm going to answer a question
I've been avoiding for quite a while.
The first is regarding what the Merchant Navy is.
The second is on how to join the Merchant Navy.
The third is about if it's worth going into at all.
In today's video, I am going to answer all three questions.
So, let's start.
So, coming to the first question, i.e.,
What is the Merchant Navy?
Let me try to explain it as simply as I can.
Basically, you must have seen airforce planes
but at the same time commercial planes
for carrying cargo and passengers.
Now, those commercial aeroplanes;
we call them aeroplanes. We call them commercial airlines.
Airforce planes are called fighter jets,
fighter aeroplanes, air force aeroplanes.
It is the same way with the navy. In the profession called the Navy;
basically, those people have those kinds of vessels
used for war, for defending countries.
But at the same time, we have other types of vessels
that, while they may not be used in war but they take your
cargo, passengers from one part of the world
to the other part of the world this other part of the world. This other segment of those
vessels that are actually carrying only the cargo
and passengers are called the Merchant Navy.
Then comes the second question regarding how to join the Merchant Navy.
I'm particularly going to talk about Pakistan in this segment
but I'm going to touch the Indian side as well
about how it's done there.
So talking of Pakistan, you have to have an F.Sc,
that is 10 plus 2 in India and it should be F.Sc Pre-Engineering
Your Pre-Engineering marks plus your NTS test marks, i.e., National Testing Service
will be tallied,
then an aggregate of both marks will determine a merit list.
Where is this merit list going to be?
It's going to be at the Pakistan Marine Academy,
you're supposed to apply for admission at the Pakistan Marine Academy.
One is called the engineering branch and the other is called
the nautical branch.
So once all of that merit list is made, and then keeping in view
your preferences at the time of applying
you will be assigned a branch.
branches but at the same time some of them
can later switch on also or some of them (the applicants) to
they will be allotted the branches that they actually did not apply for.
So some of them can be adjusted later on, some of them cannot.
First, Pakistan Marine Academy was affiliated with the University of Karachi,
now it's associated with the NED University.
The degree I received was the B.Sc maritime studies that is
Bachelor's in Sciences and Maritime studies
The degree available today is the Associate Degree in Ship Management or
at the NED University.
Once you have this degree and once you pass out from the
Pakistan Marine Academy,
you receive an SSP, i.e., Seaman's Service Book
other than that. You have to apply for courses that
the PMA itself offers.
these are the basic courses required for joining a ship.
So, after two years of rigorous training,
which includes physical and mental training,
and of course, your studies.
After that, it's time to apply to shipping companies.
Let me also highlight that for all of these procedures,
you have to be medically fit as well.
If you're not medically fit,
you can't join the Merchant Navy,
you can't even join the Pakistan Marine Academy,
If, by any chance, you make it in, all of your documentation will keep tabs on you
and in case you're not able to pass the medical
the documentation will stop.
In that case, this type of education may go to waste.
That's the problem with this branch and profession,
if, for any reason, in the middle
you stop somewhere, or you don't join the ship or you decide that
you have to do something else; then you'll have to start from zero.
This type of education is a very very targeted kind of education
it's only meant for vessels.
On land, engineers can work in powerhouses and all different sectors
but unfortunately for the people who have opted for the nautical department they can
really not go anywhere.
so that is one thing you have to keep in mind.
If we talk about Indian seafarers,
they have other opportunities as well.
They don't have to go to university or any institute
to get a proper Bachelor's in Sciences degree,
they have institutes there that offer basic courses
with 6-9 month diplomas, so they can join shipping companies.
So they have a slightly different system over there but the final procedure
exactly here they have to have all the basic courses to join.
of they have to have an SSB, of course, that's
going to be an Indian SSB in that course.
That's when, when again they have to follow the same procedure
and they have to apply it to all the shipping companies as well.
One more thing boys ask me in the comments is
what eyesight is required.
Well, ideally, it should be 6/6,
but if that isn't the case,
you can still consider the engineering department.
At least for training purposes and
once you join the ship there won't be any issues
in case you have weak eyesight,
It shouldn't be too weak.
If your eyesight is exceptionally weak,
you may not be able to enter this profession.
For details, you can always consult their website and all the details you
can find it there,
i.e., Pakistan Marine Academy and other institutes like in India,
wherever you wish to apply.
There's one condition that might not allow you in this field, i.e.,
colourblindness. If you are colourblind
because especially in the nautical department, you have
to know and you have to be able to differentiate
between green lights and red lights.
If you can't do that, you are unfit for
service on board a vessel.
Now comes the final, and I
think the most important question:
It's "Should you join the Merchant Navy or not?"
Don't get me wrong here,
the job by itself, and if you ask me,
it's awesome. It's awesome by all means.
But the problem starts when
you have to actually get inducted in the Merchant Navy.
When you have to actually enter the field.
I know so many boys
in Pakistan and India
that received their degrees,
have had their parents spend lacs on them,
and they're unable to join the vessel.
The chances are slightly better in India, because they have a lot of
shipping companies.
They have better chances of going onboard. But in Pakistan's case,
it is really bad.
Basically the downfall of Pakistan's
shipping industry started back in the 70s
when Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto went ahead and nationalized all the then companies.
The companies, ran away practically from Pakistan
Obviously, the fleet was large back then, lots of ships to go around,
I think there were more than a 100 ships or something like that.
And at the time, there weren't enough people for those ships.
I've sailed with masters and chief engineers,
who had no such degrees relevant to their fields when they started out.
They had only studied until the 11th or 12th grade.
That was the climate back then. But now the conditions are,
going through all of this rigorous training
spending so much of their parents' money,
and getting really a quality degree and quality education
The 2 years they study at academies really is quality educational
that education still comes in handy.
Despite all this, people are unemployed.
The job shortage problem started
around 2002.
Companies started eliminating job positions,
this was around the time 9/11 had happened,
it gave us a bad name.
The real downfall started when democracy made it into Pakistan.
Because unfortunately, the people who came into power
during that era, they weren't
interested in where the shipping industry was headed,
I don't want to go into politics. I don't want to point fingers but trust me
it felt like there was not ministry back then.
We had a meeting last year with Ali Zaidi sahab,
who's a Shipping Minister now,
I highlighted a point for him. I asked him to bring down the strength of graduates.
During my time only around 30 would graduate, but now,
there are 75 on the engineering side, and 75 on the tech site but
the bad thing is,
as the strength of candidates is improving, the jobs are actually
not improving.
PNSC is in slumps it's in a really bad shape just like PIA.
Foreign companies aren't really hiring, the job openings are scarce.
I know a lot of young men
who've been waiting for 3-4 years just to join their first ship.
So you can really imagine the amount of agony, they are going through.
And at the same time, I know a few of my Indian fellows also
whose relatives message me, asking me for guidance.
the situation isn't much different there either.
But it is much better.
You're bound to find an opportunity in one place or another.
Once you start working, then it's good.
But the problem is starting work.
How? Nobody's thinking about it.
You only see Merchant Navy ads,
if you've seen my videos it seems fascinating, I know that but
if you're able to get an idea from this, let me tell you that my own brother,
who wanted to join the Merchant Navy, when he completed his F.SC
back in the year 2012, approximately eight years ago from now
I stopped him. I said to him
"My joining is enough, don't join the Merchant Navy, do something else."
And thankfully he did something else and
he works as a civil engineer in Australia so that is good.
So, I hope it's convincing enough for you to know I didn't let my brother in.
And when anyone asks me for advice, I tell them
"If you can do something else, then do something else."
But if you know for sure that you'll be boarding a ship after graduating,
you have a chance.
But that chance is unfortunately not extended
to all of the candidates only a few people get that chance.
If you are not sure about whether
somebody can really get you in the company or
not then avoid it altogether.
So with that unfortunate and very sad sentence
I think you must have received some information today
I hope I answered a lot of your questions, too.
if you did and if you really enjoyed watching this video
then please consider subscribing,
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Take good care of yourselves,
remember me in your prayers.
With tons of love to my Orange Shots family
and to-be Orange Shots family
Take very good care of yourselves.
Stay happy and stay safe!
This is Orange Shots, I'm Zahid Nisar.
ALLAH Hafiz.