I paid a fee to join and worked on a tanker through this company. After four months, the entire Ukrainian crew was replaced by an Indian crew.
I joined through this company with experience and the required documents, and I paid a fee, expecting the promised promotion. They sent me to a ship in such poor condition that even washing there was unpleasant, and I was not promoted. When I later asked about starting in another position, they stopped responding.
I worked one contract through this company. They cut the contract short: we worked only two months and the entire crew was replaced. We received the money only about three months later, after the replacement. I do not recommend working with this company and would not return.
I worked on a sister ship through this company a couple of contracts ago. The vessel was built in Mykolaiv and was well constructed in the superstructure and on deck. There was a lot of paperwork, but I adapted quickly, and the vessel traded only in Europe. Supplies were average, while the cooks were generally very good and the food tasted homemade. It was a good starting opportunity, and I was satisfied with the contract, although crew changes depended on whether a replacement was available.
The company contacted me while I was on a bulk carrier. The representative could not answer basic questions about the crew, trading area, or contract duration. Twenty minutes later, I was told that I had been approved and that the company charged everyone a $600 fee because it was a good shipowner. I ended the conversation and did not proceed.
During a dispute, the crewing agency threatened to put the crew on a bus and transfer us across the border. We had to involve the ITF and received their assistance.
I spoke with the agency's director myself. The proposition was straightforward: he submits your application directly to foreign principals, bypassing the Ukrainian agencies, for a price that depends on the rank. To be fair, no falsification of experience was offered — the service sold is access, not fake documents.