Resume template · Updated October 2026
Maritime officer resume template
Short answer
Catalyst suits a maritime officer: it opens on your sea time with no summary, and the headline under your name carries rank and endorsement. The fictional sample is a third mate on container ships out of Norfolk, an academy graduate with cadet sea terms on tankers, showing bridge watches, passage planning, safety officer duties, a sea service list, and a Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Credential with STCW endorsements and a TWIC.
Download the maritime officer sample
Erin is a fictional third mate. Replace every detail with your own before you send it.
The files are made in your browser by Resumity's own exporters, from this sample. The builder opens it as your own resume: click any line to replace it. Free plan, no watermark.
Why Catalyst suits a maritime officer resume
Catalyst begins with work experience under a large left-aligned name, and the headline line beneath it is where a crewing manager looks for rank and endorsement. Because it prints no summary, the vessel types, tonnage and watch duties of your latest contract are the first things read.
Second choice: Henrietta. Henrietta keeps a summary and prints education right after experience, useful for a cadet or new graduate whose academy training is the main qualification.
What goes in each section, in Catalyst's order
Catalyst prints its sections in a fixed order, the same in the PDF and the Word file. Here is that order for this sample, and what to put in each section.
- Work Experience. One entry per company: rank, vessel type and size, trade route and sea days. Then watch duties, cargo work, safety roles (safety officer, drills, equipment upkeep) and what you led at mooring stations or in port.
- Skills. Navigation and watchkeeping on the Technical row (passage planning, ECDIS, ARPA, GMDSS), cargo and stability software on the Tools row, and bridge resource management on the Soft row.
- Education. Academy or training program, degree and year. Catalyst prints education low on the page, so a recent graduate should mention the academy in the headline as well.
- Certifications. The Merchant Mariner Credential with each officer and STCW endorsement as printed, then the TWIC and any company or flag-state certificates, all with dates. They print near the end, so the main endorsement belongs in the headline too.
- Sea service. A Sea service list with days by vessel type and rank, taken from your discharges or sea service letters. Crewing staff use it to see what you can sail on and how close you are to the next endorsement.
The sample resume as text
The same content as the files above, so you can copy a line or compare it with your own.
Erin Callahan
Third Mate, Unlimited Tonnage, Ocean (USCG MMC with STCW endorsements, TWIC)
Norfolk, VA | erin.callahan@example.com | (757) 555-0173 | linkedin.com/in/sample-erin-callahan
Experience
Third Mate, Chesapeake Atlantic Shipping, Norfolk, VA (07/2023 to Present)
- Stand the 8-to-12 bridge watch on 4,200 TEU container ships on East Coast and transatlantic routes, about 260 sea days a year.
- Serve as safety officer: run weekly drills and keep lifesaving and firefighting equipment and its records ready for Coast Guard and port state inspections.
- Correct charts and publications and prepare passage plans in ECDIS for the Master's approval.
- Lead the aft mooring station with a team of four during arrivals and departures.
Deck Cadet (sea terms), Gulfstream Tanker Company, Houston, TX (01/2021 to 04/2022)
- Completed two sea terms on product tankers with the training record book signed off by the Master and officers.
- Stood bridge watches under supervision and assisted with cargo transfers and tank cleaning.
- Helped the chief mate with ballast plans and enclosed space entry permits.
Sea service
- Container ships, 4,200 TEU: 610 days as Third Mate
- Product tankers: 300 days as deck cadet
Education
BS, Marine Transportation, Tidewater State Maritime Academy (05/2023). Deck license program with two commercial sea terms
Certifications
- Merchant Mariner Credential: Third Mate, Unlimited Tonnage, Ocean, with STCW endorsements, U.S. Coast Guard (2023)
- Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC), Transportation Security Administration (2023)
Skills
Bridge watchkeeping, Passage planning, Collision avoidance with ARPA, GMDSS communications, Cargo and ballast operations, Safety drills and equipment upkeep, ECDIS, ARPA radar, GMDSS console, Loading and stability software, Bridge resource management, Leading deck crew at mooring stations
How to make the sample yours
Copy the endorsement wording
Third Mate, unlimited tonnage, ocean: use the words printed on your credential. A crewing manager checks the endorsement before anything else on the page.
Moving up from a deck rating
For Third Mate of unlimited tonnage, the Coast Guard rule asks for three years of deck service with at least six months of bridge watchkeeping under supervision, unless you qualify through an approved academy. Make those months easy to find.
One credential, many endorsements
Licenses, mariner documents and STCW certificates are no longer issued as separate papers in the US; each qualification is an endorsement on the Merchant Mariner Credential. List the endorsements rather than an old license name.
Show safety duties
Drills run, lifesaving and firefighting equipment maintained, inspections passed. Safety officer work sets a junior officer apart from other applicants.
Engine officers too
Write an engineering resume the same way: rank, plant type and power, watch duties, maintenance you led, then the engine endorsements. Swap the bridge skills for engine room ones.
Keywords to keep where they are true
Terms this kind of resume is usually searched for. Use the posting's exact wording, and only for work you have done.
- merchant marine officer
- third mate
- unlimited tonnage
- Merchant Mariner Credential
- STCW
- TWIC
- bridge watchkeeping
- passage planning
- ECDIS
- ARPA radar
- GMDSS
- cargo operations
- safety officer
- bridge resource management
- sea service
Mistakes to avoid
- Sea time written as "two years at sea" instead of days by vessel type and rank.
- An endorsement written loosely, such as "deck officer license", instead of as printed on the credential.
- Leaving out vessel type and size, which decide what an employer can assign you to.
- Certificates listed without issue or expiry dates.
How the sample PDF reads in text extractors
We exported this sample with Resumity's PDF exporter in Chrome on 2026-10-29 and read the file back with three open-source text extractors. This shows whether software that turns a PDF into text can recover it; it is not a test of any commercial applicant tracking system. How we test templates.
| Extractor | Name, email, phone | Headings | Bullets intact |
|---|---|---|---|
| pdf.js 4.10.38 | All found | 5 of 5 | 7 of 7 |
| pdftotext (Xpdf) 4.00 | All found | 5 of 5 | 7 of 7 |
| pypdf 6.13.0 | All found | 5 of 5 | 7 of 7 |
Frequently asked questions
What should a maritime officer resume include?
Rank and endorsement, sea service by vessel type, size and days, watch and safety duties, education, and your credential, STCW endorsements and TWIC with dates.
Do US mariners need a TWIC?
The TSA says most mariners credentialed by the US Coast Guard also require a TWIC. List it with its expiry date next to your credential.
What is STCW and how do I show it?
STCW is the IMO convention that sets minimum standards for the training, certification and watchkeeping of seafarers. On a US credential, STCW qualifications appear as endorsements on the MMC, so list them as printed.
How should a cadet or new graduate write a maritime resume?
Put the academy and degree in the headline, list each sea term as a job with vessel type and days, and name the training record and exams you have completed.
Should a deck officer list every ship?
Group by company and vessel type. Crewing staff look for types, sizes and days more than individual ship names.
Will applicant tracking systems read this Catalyst PDF?
The sample PDF read back with its contact details, all 5 section headings and all 7 bullets intact in three open-source text extractors (pdf.js, pdftotext and pypdf). Commercial systems such as Workday, Greenhouse or Taleo were not tested, and each employer configures its own.
Guides and templates for this resume
Sources, checked 29 October 2026
We opened every page below on that date. Pay, rules and requirements change, so check the source before you rely on a detail.
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (e-CFR text): 46 CFR 10.201: General characteristics of the Merchant Mariner Credential (the MMC combines the former MMD, license and COR with the STCW endorsement; these are no longer issued as separate documents and appear as endorsements on the MMC)
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (e-CFR text): 46 CFR 11.407: Service requirements for Third Mate, unlimited tonnage (three years of deck service on ocean self-propelled vessels with at least 6 months of bridge watchkeeping under supervision, or graduation from an approved academy or program)
- Transportation Security Administration: TWIC (most mariners licensed by the U.S. Coast Guard also require a TWIC)
- International Maritime Organization: International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978 (STCW sets minimum standards of training, certification and watchkeeping for seafarers; 2010 Manila amendments)
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