Univis

I passed the English test and the interview with Univis, and they told me everything was fine and that they would later provide details about the vessel. After that, they simply disappeared and never contacted me again.

I completed my first contract through Univis in 2010. They charged one monthly salary, including one month of overtime, plus UAH 2,000 for signing the contract; I saw the UAH 2,000 being put aside in the office. I can describe many other negative details, but this was my direct experience.

I went through an interview process with Univis that involved a large number of tests, including a navigation test, and required travelling to another country. After completing this process, I was told I might have to wait 3–4 months for a vessel.

I worked through Univis for four contracts before the war, on Prime and Delta Tankers. They did not charge me any joining fees. The experience on the two fleets differed: one had an entirely local crew, while the other was more manageable, although the owner was very unusual.

I was urgently supposed to join a vessel through Univis on the day I had to take the CES test, but their Skype did not work. I could not take more time off from my job, so the opportunity fell through.

I first dealt with Univis around 1999–2000, when I was a junior engineer. I was scheduled for an English interview, but the teacher arrived about 30 minutes late, and I was blamed for everything and did not pass the interview. Decades later I passed the English interview, but I still received no concrete information about a vacancy; the manager then stopped replying to my messages.

I joined Univis as a tanker cadet and completed four CES tests, three courses, an interview with a senior training captain, and an English interview. I was told to wait another 4–5 months for the cadet programme, so I accepted an OS position and completed two contracts, spending 10 months in total and paying a joining fee both times. After receiving promotions, I was repeatedly told I could join as an AB, but the process kept changing, I waited again, and they offered only badly maintained vessels. When a suitable vessel was finally offered, I was not confirmed as an AB and left the company.

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.

Univis sent me a vacancy by email and asked for my CV. After I submitted it, I received no response. They later sent me an unsuitable vacancy, and after further questions they promised to write back on Monday, but nobody contacted me. I tried reaching the responsible managers by official email for about a month and still received no reply.

I worked through Univis on Interorient tankers. The shipowner was good, but my experience with the crewing agency was very negative: I encountered demands for bribes and rude treatment, starting with the security staff at the entrance.

I tried to join through Univis about six years ago. Although I already had a complete officer’s document package and the relevant certificates, they added more courses. I then waited seven months for a vacancy, and when they finally called, I was already working at sea through another company.

In 2023 I passed their standard test and an unremarkable forty-minute interview for LPG, which I declined. Trying for LNG in 2025, the gate had changed: a management-level test with author's questions and an 80 percent bar. I scored 76 with every resource open; people who assist candidates professionally managed 78 and gave up on the test as unreasonable. The verdict relayed to me was that my score was a shame and LNG was not on the table. Factor the test into your plans — it, not your record, is the gatekeeper.

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.

The agency has a reputation for taking money for placements. My own experience does not confirm it: I moved from LPG to LNG through them without any payments or hints at payments, and so did colleagues I later sailed with. The English interview that many complain about I passed twice with a mid-level command of the language.

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 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.

I passed the internal interview with the engineer-mentor and the English check, and my file went to the owner. The owner's interview kept being postponed — at one point I was told the interviewer was on leave — and after two months the answer became that the application was closed. What I was offered instead was an ETO position on LPG at 4,500 USD, which I 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.

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.