Eurocrew

I went through the tests and interviews and was offered a Master position on a bulk carrier. Eurocrew directed me to complete paid ECDIS training and a medical examination. After joining the vessel, I found salary arrears of three to four months, supplies that had not been delivered for about ten months, cockroaches throughout the ship and very limited food. I did not take over the vessel and returned home; Eurocrew paid for my ticket, but I had to cover the ECDIS and medical costs myself.

I passed numerous tests, paid for a medical examination and a certificate of no criminal record, and was kept waiting for two or three weeks. The process then ended because of the outbreak of the war.

I joined Eurocrew as a messman on a chemical/oil tanker and later received a promotion to OS. I was subsequently offered contracts with other gas-carrier managers. The office staff answered questions and helped with the process, jobs were found quickly, and the company arranged a U.S. visa. On board, I had no issues with supplies or food, and internet and soft drinks were provided on one assignment.

I completed one contract through Eurocrew with a company connected with Sea Traders. My joining was cancelled twice, including once only hours before the flight, after tickets had already been sent. I paid for an expensive medical examination and a COVID test, and was told to look for another job without any explanation. The vessels were in poor condition, although the pay was above average and the food was good.

I have worked through Eurocrew on tankers managed by CST. The tankers were old, and the food and supplies were only average. The company also took seafarers' passports, although I was promoted from a rating position to an officer role.

I am currently working through Eurocrew on a bulk carrier managed by Alpha Bulkers. The crew is mixed, and my experience with the Greek crew has been generally positive. My salary is paid in full and on time, safety is properly managed on board, and Eurocrew handles the process quickly and clearly. There are sometimes urgent vacancies, but I have no other complaints about the agency.

My experience with Eurocrew involved three months of correspondence about several offers. They asked me not to accept another confirmed job because they said their placement would be earlier and the pay could be matched. I completed the medical examination, but after sending the documents there were no details about the vessel, and then the company stopped responding. I lost the other opportunity and would not rely on such promises again.

I did not get to the vessel after Eurocrew kept the process pending for three months. I also spoke with someone who had completed one contract there, but that is not my own experience.

Eurocrew took my passport and gave me a list of certificates and a medical examination to complete. They kept postponing the process for two months and then told me that the vacancy was no longer available.

I went through Eurocrew for a tanker position. They took my passport, kept me waiting for three months, and then placed another person on the vessel that had been planned for me. It was difficult to get my documents back, and the office gave no meaningful feedback.

I left my passport with Eurocrew and was told that they were checking a cadet position. Two hours later they informed me that the owner was not accepting trainees because of COVID and asked me to collect my passport. The process did not lead to employment.

I was offered a position on a chemical tanker, visited the office and left my passport there. The offered salary was then reduced by $1,000, and after negotiations only $500 was added back. I went to collect my passport and did not accept the offer.

I worked through Eurocrew on bulk carriers. The salary was good, but signing off was difficult: a six-month contract lasted ten and a half months, and it could have lasted even longer. Salary was paid about one month late. The crew-change problem was caused by the shipowner rather than Eurocrew, and otherwise I had no complaints about the agency.

I joined a tanker through Eurocrew after agreeing on one salary, but the contract showed a lower amount. I contacted the person I had negotiated with, but received no response. The process took a long time, and I was eventually sent to an old tanker in very poor condition. I will not work through Eurocrew again.

I approached a shipowner's manning office directly with more than enough LNG experience. They redirected me to this agency as the designated channel for my nationality — and the figure the agency then offered was around a fifth below what the market pays for the position. The routing itself is the point: going through this channel, the discount is built in.

My route worked exactly as the agency describes it: I said on day one that I wanted the gas fleet, sailed my contracts on their tonnage, raised the transfer question after each one, and in due course was placed on LNG. No money asked, no hints. Patience and a clear goal were the whole trick in my case.

During my leave I applied for a Fourth Engineer vacancy at 7,000 USD. The answer was that it was no longer actual; when I asked again later, I was told directly that the vacancies they had were for other nationalities. I then joined my vessel and discovered a colleague who had interviewed with the same agency for that same vacancy at that same salary. Draw your own conclusions about how the pools are managed.

My previous agency was stalling, so I replied to a three-month-old message, got an interview link, and only during the call realised which agency it was. The interview was fifteen relaxed minutes with a Greek manager, no technical examination, and within about five days I departed to a vessel of a Greek owner.

When I approached them from dry cargo, the message was clear: do a couple of contracts on their bulker fleet first, collect perfect appraisals, and only then would they consider presenting me to one of their companies as ex-crew — most likely to whichever has the least demand. Direct entry to the gas fleet without luck or connections is not a realistic expectation here.

I started at the bottom. Over two contracts as wiper I collected good appraisals, and the office acted on them: I was moved up and have now joined as an apprentice engineer. Progress here depends a lot on how you are rated on board, but the ratings are actually used.

I was in talks about an LNG placement for several months. At one point the office invited me for what I expected to be a cadet-level check; the evening before, the examiner sent a topic list closer to a senior watchkeeper's syllabus, and on the call it turned out I was being interviewed for Second Officer. I passed. After that I was told to wait, then to wait again; two months later I stopped waiting and sailed with my previous company instead.