What is a Seaman’s Book? (And why crew need it)

There is so much to be excited for when planning a life at sea. It’s an incredible chance to explore the world and pursue a career. There is also a bit of planning involved, not least of which involves quite a few documents that you’ll need. For most seafarers, that will include a Seaman’s Book.

What is a Seaman’s Book?

A Seaman’s Book is a passport like book (but is very much not a passport) that will list all of your time working at sea as a crew member.

It includes personal information including your name, date of birth, and nationality. It also includes professional information such as which ship you were on, what rank, as well as the dates you were onboard. Prior to disembarking the vessel the Captain will sign this book.

You’ll need to bring it with you on each contract so that it holds a complete record of your time at sea.

What is the purpose of a Seaman’s Book?

Aside from being a way to look back at your time at sea, a Seaman’s Book also holds some real life purposes:

• Some countries, such as Brazil and Russia, require seafarer’s to have a Seaman’s Book if they’ll be working on a ship docking in their country
• When traveling for a contract the airline may ask to see your Seaman’s book if you’ve been booked on a seafarer’s ticket
• Immigration officials may ask to see it in conjunction with your Letter of Employment documents (and if you’re joining a ship in the US you’ll likely need a C1/D visa, too)
• Having an official and complete record of your time at sea can be needed:
  • to maintain different officer licenses (Engineers and Deck officers primarily)
  • to be eligible to take exams for higher level licenses and move up in rank
  • Prove time out of your home country for tax purposes
  • Some cities around the world will only grand crew shore leave that have worked more than say three contracts. Having a Seaman’s Book is proof for the contracts you’ve worked that may get you increased shore leave in some places. (Looking at you New York).

Which Seaman’s Book do I need?

Seaman’s Books are issued by the country of the flag state of your vessel. Most of the time this means that you’ll get a Seaman’s Book to match the flag state of the vessel you’ll be working on. Most cruise lines will flag all of the ships in their fleet to one country although that isn’t always the case.

Let’s explain this a bit more though.

Each ship is registered in a country. For cruise ships you see it most often with the Bahamas or Panama, but every once in a while there are British or Dutch flagged ships, too. Where a ship is flagged has to do with what regulations they have to follow for all sorts of things including work-rest hours and more.

While you can check online where each ship is registered, it is also on the stern of the ship below the ships name. In the case of the above picture of the Sapphire Princess you see “London” below it. This means this ship is actually British registered, or registered in the UK.

Which Seaman’s Book you need will primarily be dependent on which country the ships you are going to be working on are flagged in. For instance, I worked for a cruise line with ships flagged in the Netherlands so I have a Dutch Seaman’s Book.

However, sometimes your home country will also issue Seaman’s Books that the flag state of your ship recognizes. For instance, my husband is British and has a British Discharge Book (Seaman’s Book) and that is recognized and used by the Dutch flagged ship.

If this sounds confusing, don’t worry. Whichever cruise line you are applying to work for will guide you as to which Seaman’s Book you need.

What do you need to get a Seaman’s Book?

To apply for a Seaman’s Book you will need nationality identifying information as well as employment information. Basically – prove which country you’re from and which company you work for. Here are the basics:

• Valid passport proving nationality and identity (front and back)
• Recent passport photo
• “A signed employer’s statement (not older than 2 months) from a ship manager or sea employer stating that you need a seaman’s book for your work. The employer’s statement must state your position and on which ship (name of ship and IMO number) you will carry out your work.” (per Netherlands information website)
• Depending on the country, additional information or training such as:
  • Evidence of STCW personal safety and social responsibility training (PSSR) (British)

For both Seaman’s Books I’ve had in my time at sea my company has guided me through the requirements needed and provided all links to the required forms, etc.

How do you apply for a Seaman’s Book?

Typically your company will submit the application on your behalf or at least get you the information on where you should be applying. It is information much like with a passport and you need to include a picture.

They are issued by governments around the world. As I worked for a cruise line flagged in the Netherlands, my Seaman’s Book in Dutch is called my monsterboekje.

If you have to apply for one on your own you would need to find out which country. This may be dependent on which country your cruise line’s ships are flagged in, or it may be based on which country you are from.

Your company should let you know which one you need and will most likely pay for it if you are a full-time employee. That may be different depending on if it’s your first contract or not though.

What are the different names of Seaman’s Books?

Seaman’s Books carry slightly different names depending on the country of issue. The most common names are:

• Discharge Book (UK)
• Seaman’s Book/monsterboekje (Netherlands)
• Seaman’s Identification Record Book (Panama, Vanuatu, Marshall Islands, Liberia)

Who needs to get one?

A Seaman’s Book or Discharge Book is typically required for crew members on cruise ships and tankers. We’ll focus on the need for them while working on a cruise ship.

There are some positions where they are not critically required depending on where you are sailing.

For instance when I worked in the kids club my first few years onboard I didn’t need one as I was predominately sailing in Alaska, Hawaii, and Mexico. However, I was then assigned a contract that would stop in Russia and for that I did need a Seaman’s Book as all crew onboard were required to have them.

This also meant as a crew member I didn’t need a Russian visa and didn’t need to be on a shore excursion to go ashore there.

Often times musicians onboard will not need them, either. I was on a contract that had been in the Caribbean, but we were then going to be starting an Amazon River cruise. Nearly the entire Entertainment Department had to get Seaman’s Books issued for the first time when we were set to sail to the Amazon because Brazil required it.

How much does a Seaman’s Book cost?

It depends on the country for which you are applying. Most of the time your company will cover the cost of your Seaman’s Book if you are a regular and full-time crew member. Here are some costs dependent on country.

• British Discharge Book – £55 (online) – £105 (in person or expedited)
• Dutch Seaman’s Book – €114,95
• Panamanian Seaman’s Identification Record Book – $200 – $300

FAQ’s

Is a Seaman’s Book the same as a passport?

No! Absolutely not. A Seaman’s Book holds no legal standing for the purposes of national identification and is not considered a legal identification book. It is for the purpose of proving your time at sea, your experience, and that you are in fact a seafarer.

It includes information such as your name, where you were born, birthdate, your nationality, and it’s validity.

How often do I need to renew it?

It depends on the country of issue. It ranges from 5-10 years or in the case of British Discharge Books – unlimited (wouldn’t that be nice?)

• British – Unlimited – as long as there are pages available it’s valid
• Dutch – 10 years
• Panamanian – 5 years

What if you change your name?

This might sound like an odd one, but it happened to me. My Seaman’s book still had a few years left on it but I had gotten married and had changed my name. My Seaman’s book was still valid; however, I did travel with my old passport with my maiden name on it incase it was needed to prove I was the same person – although it never came up.

Bonus: The info is super helpful to update your Cruise Globe

The Cruise Globe is a new website in conjunction with The Cruise Maps – a company that uses satellite data to make a map of the actual route your cruise took. (For 10% off on The Cruise Maps use this link or promo code LIFEOFIRISBLOG)

When I recently signed up for The Cruise Globe (which by the way is completely free), I couldn’t remember quite where and when I had sailed over the years. Thankfully I had my Seaman’s Books that could remind me of my contract dates so I could fill up my Cruise Globe and see where around the world I’d been.

Conclusion: What is a Seaman’s Book?

A Seaman’s Book is a record of a seafarer’s time at sea. This includes the ships they have sailed on, the ranks they have held, and the amount of time they’ve been at sea. It also includes their basic demographic information such as name and nationality.

It’s required for crew members sailing on most cruise ships throughout the world; however, some countries have more rules and requirements to have them than others.

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