Brazilian national living in Egypt. I have no STCW training, no seaman’s book yet, and no sea time. I speak English, French, Portuguese, and basic Arabic.
I’m willing to get STCW(here in Egypt) and a Panama or Liberia CDC. Is it realistic to find a first Wiper(or other entry level) job after I get those steps done?
Any honest advice welcome. Thank you.
If it is non -US perspective then forget about this site giving you Non-US perspective. It can give you everything but non-US perspective.
Go to the person who is willing to share knowledge. MY FB friend, scholar , shipamaster with megatons of practical and scholarly experience .Can guide you in STCW and Egipt environment. A true SHIP MASTER.
Jobs under FOC:
Start with Maersk
Working Conditions
Diverse Workforce: Crew members at Maersk work in international teams, with a focus on, as often mentioned in their communications, “One Crew,” that includes staff from various backgrounds.
Roles: Positions range from deck officers and engineers to administrative staff who handle cargo documentation.
Safety Focus: Maersk emphasizes mental and physical safety for their crew, especially when handling logistics in challenging conditions.
Employment and Contact
Maersk often looks for bilingual specialists (Spanish/English) to handle export/import activities, and job opportunities are listed through their official website.
Local offices in Spain are located in areas such as Barcelona (Torre Auditori).
Happag LLoyd, CMA CGM, MSC. All need young officers engine/deck , Bernhard Shoulte, Columbia Ship Management , Zeeborn : Crew Management - ZeeBORN
NSB
Rem: Zeeborn and NSB employs Egiptians with STCW valid licences.
You would be better advised to perfect your language skills and look for a position where those talents would be pre-eminent.
The international working language of shipping is English. After over 56 years in the industry I never needed any other language .
STCW is the lowest standard of training and different administrations have very different interpretations. You should aim for as high a standard as possible. That may be challenging .
Have a Seafarer’s medical examination before you spend any money on any licences or courses!
There are many little things you may not even know about which might disqualify you.
Thank you so much for all the info and companies names. I took note and it is a good start for researching. I should open a Facebook profile for this since I don’t have social media.
I was considering even going in person to the port area to see if there would be a chance to meet crewing agents. The main issue is that not having any contacts in the industry it can be a trap for so many scams.
As I was working in another field for years I don’t know much on how to put my foot in seafaring besides online research.
Are you at all good-looking or charming? If so, your best bet might be to find an american tourist with low self esteem. Find her, con her into marrying you, and you’ll be well on your way to the fasttrack. On second thought, one with an EU passport might be better.
The Alaskan indigenous woman have all the expertise how to do it. But not many of them do visit Egipt.
The price tag is a bit high but manageble for a resourceful man who has enough money to travel near Valparaiso Chile - place called Vinia del Mar where hordes and I should use capital letters here , HORDES of highly emancipated woman, holders of most coveted passport hunt for man in search of highly “ romantic “ relation there paying big bucks for one night stand.
Depending on age it was up to US master daily rate. Not bad .Not bad at all.
This Captain has also Twitter account if you blow up the inserted picture. Besides you may use your friend social media account for initial contact.
If there is a will there is a way.
Important advise mentioned by @Binbag_the_Saylore , what i forgot to mention is to have the medical shit done . It is called Health certificate normally given for two years if U are < 50 in many countries and a yellow book with vaccinations.
You should obtain this info in your country of domicile in local Maritime Admins/Boards . But there is a catch. I do not know how many cartons of Marlboro you need to prepare for your first visit there. Baksheesh in Egipt is like 25% tip in US or EU restaurants.
Agents in port areas?? 
. No offense you are a real greenhorn indeed. Forget port are and go on line.
Hit google” maritime crewing agents in Egipt.” and voila.
But search for crewing agents and not SCREWING agents .
One more thing . These are mostly FOC and loking for cheap potato on the market.
For bigger bucks checkout Vinia del Mar option mentioned above.
Apologies for my greenhorness 
and thank you for the advice.
And yes, it is on my action plan for the medical side. I am on my 30s and active. Hopefully that won’t be an issue.
In the page you just shared, I see a lot of options of crewing companies in Egypt, a good sign, i need to work on an action plan for those too so I don’t fall on the cheap potatoes trap 
As for the baksheesh in Egypt, nothing more true
Good luck then and give me a shout from time to time how is it going. You know were to find me .
Take care.
Good on you for taking the initiative. Yes, it’s realistic — STCW Basic Safety Training + a Panama or Liberia CDC is the standard entry path for Wiper/OS positions.
A few tips from someone in the engine department:
Get your STCW done at a reputable MET institution in Egypt — make sure it’s STCW 2010 compliant
Panama CDC is generally easier and faster to obtain than Liberia for non-nationals
Your multilingual skills (English + French + Portuguese + Arabic) are a huge advantage — many companies operating in West Africa and the Middle East value that
Start applying to crewing agencies as soon as you have STCW + CDC in hand. Don’t wait for the “perfect” CV — just get your foot in the door
Look into manning agencies in Egypt that handle bulk carriers and tankers — they regularly hire entry-level ratings
The first contract is the hardest to get. After that, your sea time speaks for itself. Good luck!
