Qatari energy transportation company (Qatar Gas Transport Company Ltd) operating one of the world's largest LNG carrier fleets, alongside maritime service vessels.
I dealt with Univis twice. The first time, I applied as a cadet, passed the interviews, and declined a motorman position. Four years later, they offered me a position with Nakilat; after interviews with the senior engineer and the English interviewer, I waited several months for the client’s interview and eventually joined the vessel. Communication with the manager was generally pleasant, and I joined without any commission or additional courses from Univis.
I approached the company directly and was told chief officers were in surplus, my CV would be kept on file. The refusal reason that eventually surfaced: one change of company in the last six years — too much movement. Meanwhile crew on board complain of overdue reliefs while the office insists nobody is needed. If your career includes normal moves between employers, expect the filter to catch you regardless of your record.
My earlier contracts elsewhere ran half Mediterranean, half round-the-world, and heavy work could be postponed past the Red Sea heat. Here the loading is always Ras Laffan and there is no cooler leg to wait for. The vessels I joined came with a heavy maintenance backlog from previous crews — half the standby machinery needed overhaul, and you take over not knowing what to grab first. Add ventilation that is genuinely poor on some projects, and the workload becomes constant heavy lifting in the heat. A colleague of mine ended up in hospital after months of that pace.
Speaking as a deck officer, I am content — the ships run a steady trade and the bridge routine is manageable, dry-dock aside. The heat is the real hazard: at plus forty-nine on the forecastle I nearly lost consciousness during a mooring operation, and as a cadet here I once picked up a burn within seconds of contact with the deck. Plan hydration and sun cover as seriously as any other risk.
I joined a VLGC on the understanding that the following contract would be on LNG, which is why I accepted a rate below the going rate for the rank. The agency repeated that commitment while I was on board. Crew already on the vessel told me the same promise had been made to others and had not been kept. At the end of the contract there was no transfer and no explanation. General condition and housekeeping on board were poor.
When I decided to move on, the crew manager refused to accept my letter of resignation and demanded additional explanations of my reasons. The management office withheld approval of my transfer under protest from the company, and my new contract collapsed the day before the flight with half the paperwork already signed. The manager who wanted the explanations could not be reached on the phone afterwards. It took pressure through the managers' offices to untangle.
Career prospects here look poor from where I sit. One Fourth Engineer on my vessel is on his sixth contract with a promotion to Third promised each time; another earned a step-up promotion last contract and is back on Fourth Engineer's pay this one. I would advise joining a newbuilding programme elsewhere rather than waiting here.
I worked for the company for six years on the Q-flex and LPG fleets. The LPG side is in poor condition. Candidates nominated into the company are routinely told to start on LPG and earn a transfer to LNG later; in my time that transfer materialised rarely enough that I would treat the promise as a sales line. When I left on short notice, my final two months' wages were simply not paid — calls and emails went unanswered for half a year. The money arrived within two days of my notifying them that the next step would be a complaint to the flag administration for breach of the employment agreement.
The agency called in early August about an urgent replacement. I passed two interviews and answered everything; then began the daily promise that the superintendent's interview would happen tomorrow. Two months later it was still tomorrow. I also wrote to the owner and applied on their website directly — silence there as well.
I interviewed for Third Officer on a VLGC. What was announced as an English check turned out to be recitation: collision regulations word for word, cargo paperwork, a detailed equipment inventory, and an audio exercise where I was expected to memorise the figures from a recorded story. The examiner was brusque from the first minute. I was told I had failed the English interview on theory grounds, and a few weeks later the company itself called to ask whether I was ready to join.
On my vessel a Fourth Engineer who had already sailed as Third joined on special terms to regain his rank faster — the company does negotiate such conditions. The standard path from Fourth to Third Engineer is at least 14 months in rank and three appraisals. Candidates who have held the higher rank before are moved up faster.
I sail as Third Engineer. The onboard figure is 3,760 USD a month, but with 22 leave days accruing per month the effective rate is around 6,500 USD, roughly 45,000 a year. In my view much of the criticism of the pay here comes from comparing the onboard figure alone.
Condition of the fleet is the weak point. Paperwork under the safety management system is demanded from junior officers as well, and how heavy it gets depends entirely on the senior officer you draw. On my contract reliefs were on schedule; only the Second Engineer was held slightly longer. Pay is considered good for the market. Internet was 3 GB a week — slow at peak hours, fine off-peak for video calls. One thing I had not seen elsewhere: engine ratings actually came back after dinner to work the overtime hours that were logged, instead of having them written in.
I was approved for a VLGC contract with the prospect of moving to LNG afterwards; the agency and the owner's superintendent framed it as one to three contracts. My joining fell through first because of the pandemic and then the war, which was nobody's doing. The agency then offered me a junior engineer position on LNG with a fast track back into rank, and I was promoted to Fourth Engineer about a month after joining.
The sequence took a few months. First contact was about a Second Officer position at roughly 8,000 USD. When the discussion became concrete, the offer had become Third Officer at 3,840 USD on an LPG carrier for the same owner, explained by the owner's strict procedures. I was offered time to think it over and declined.
In the summer of 2021 the agency proposed a position with the Qatari owner. The interview was arranged within a week, and five days after passing it I flew out to the vessel. Contract, tickets and medical were all arranged without a single hitch. Placement at the time went through a Croatian partner agency.