Two years in, you apply for your first 2nd stew role on a 60-metre. The captain asks how much sea time you have. You say "about two seasons, I think." He asks for your discharge book. You do not have one. Every day you have worked since you started is, as far as the industry is concerned, unproven.
Sea service is currency
Every certificate of competency you will ever want is built on two things: training and documented sea service. Training you can buy. Sea service you can only earn, and you can only prove it with paper.
The Seaman's Discharge Book
Also called a Seafarer's Record Book or discharge book. It is an official document, issued by a flag state administration, in which your service is recorded and stamped and signed by the Captain when you leave a vessel.
Each entry typically records:
- The vessel name, official number, flag and gross tonnage.
- Your rank/capacity.
- Date of engagement and date of discharge.
- Whether the service was at sea or in port/yard.
Get every discharge signed before you walk down the passerelle. Chasing a captain who has moved on, for a stamp you needed six months ago, is a miserable and often futile exercise.
The other documents
| Document | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Passport | Ideally with long validity and plenty of blank pages. Some flag states and countries refuse entry close to expiry. |
| Seafarer's Identity Document (SID) | An ILO-standard seafarer ID some states issue; useful for shore leave and transit in some ports. |
| Visas | Critically the US B1/B2 for the Caribbean/Florida circuit, and Schengen considerations for non-EU crew working in the Med. |
| Certificate of Competency / Certificate of Proficiency | The tickets themselves, once you earn them. |
| Training Record Book | Your logged, signed practical competencies (see the next lesson). |
| Tax and residency records | Seafarer tax status is complex and country-specific. Keep records of days aboard and outside your home country. |
Sea time — how it is counted
Sea service is usually counted in days actually served aboard, and flag states may distinguish between days at sea (under way) and days aboard in port or in a shipyard. Not all of it counts equally toward every certificate.
Keep your own parallel log — a simple spreadsheet, per vessel: join date, leave date, vessel name, GT, flag, master's name, days aboard, days under way. When your discharge book is being processed, or a boat is sold and the paperwork evaporates, your own record is what saves you.
Onboard Notes
- Apply for a discharge book before your first job if you can. Some administrations take weeks.
- Photograph every stamped page. Discharge books get lost, and they get soaked.
- Non-EU crew: the Schengen 90/180 rule is real, and boats do get inspected. Understand your own position; do not rely on "everyone does it".
- The US B1/B2 visa should be applied for early. Interview waits can run to months and a Caribbean job will not wait.
- Never accept an undocumented, cash-paid position on the promise that "we'll sort the paperwork later". You will be the one with nothing to show for the season.