In my experience with the company, the paperwork was average and salaries were below average. Several crew members were not sent back after requesting a crew change at the end of their contracts.
I work on a CPP tanker operated by the company. The vessels are mainly Panamax tankers built between 2007 and 2014, and their condition is average. The PMS is absent, the SMS is very poor, and the superintendents are not competent. Internet access through Starlink is provided with 30 GB free, but essential spare parts are often not supplied, while the company can approve expensive non-essential purchases.
I have worked with Naftomar and currently remain with the company. The vessels are generally in good condition despite their age, and crew changes have usually been carried out on time, with only a small margin. After a change in management, the office became somewhat chaotic: supplies are inconsistent, although many requests are eventually fulfilled. The in-house PMS was poorly designed and is now being replaced. Overall, I have found more advantages than disadvantages so far.
Promotion decisions here run through one office figure who guards the budget. I completed a contract as junior doing a Fourth Engineer's duties and earned the promotion; the office decided I had too few months and sent me as junior for another month-long contract — the agency talked them down from two. On board I learned a letter had come saying that without another appraisal I would stay junior. Colleagues who pushed back harder got better outcomes, so negotiating is possible — but the result is unstable. I also sailed with a Filipino Third Engineer who was paid 3,800 against the 4,800 the rank pays here.
The office does try to stretch people on junior terms, but it responds to a firm position. After my junior contract they wanted a repeat; I said no and went out as Third Officer on full salary. My relief had done one cadet contract and joined straight as Third Officer on full pay. Negotiate — the first offer is not the final one.
They called me with an ETO position at 5,200 USD and I accepted. The next day they called back: since I had no gas-fleet experience, the offer was now 4,150 — below what bulk carriers pay for the rank. The company is known as an accessible entry into LPG, and that accessibility is priced in.