How to spot fake seafarer job offers

Fake job offers are a real risk for seafarers. They usually promise a high salary and a fast joining date, and then ask for money. Here is how to protect yourself.

A real employer does not ask you to pay for a job

The Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006) says that no fees or other charges for recruitment or placement are to be borne by the seafarer. A request to pay for "registration", "processing", a visa, a ticket, a medical check arranged by the agency or a "guarantee deposit" before joining is a strong warning sign.

Warning signs

• The salary is much higher than usual for the rank and vessel type.
• You are offered a job without an interview or without checking your certificates.
• Contact only through a free email address or a messenger, no company website or office address.
• Pressure to decide and pay today.
• Requests to send money by transfer services or to a private person.
• The vessel name or IMO number cannot be found, or the company name is very similar to a well-known company.

What to check before you send documents

• Look up the company: website, office address, phone number, and whether the address really exists.
• Check that the email address uses the company's own domain.
• If the agency is in a country that licenses crewing agencies, ask for its licence number and check it with the authority that issued it.
• Ask for the vessel name and IMO number and check them in public vessel databases.
• Never send scans of your passport and certificates before you are sure the company is real.

If you think a vacancy on this site is fake

Write to us at info@maritimejobfinder.com with the address of the vacancy. We check reports and remove fake vacancies.