“After GP Rating, can I ever become an officer?” It is one of the most common questions young seafarers and their parents ask, and for years the honest answer was: yes, but the road is narrow, and many people pay a lot to take it abroad.
In 2026, India’s maritime administration opened that road wider. Between May and August it issued four circulars that create or clarify routes from rating to officer, on the deck side, in the engine room and in electrical work. This guide explains each one in plain words, straight from the circulars, checked on 12 November 2026.
| Circular | Who it is for | Where it leads |
|---|---|---|
| DGS Circular 26 of 2026 (19 May 2026) | Deck ratings and deck cadets with 36 months of foreign-going sea service | Second Mate (Foreign Going) Certificate of Competency |
| DGMA Circular 51 of 2026 (21 Aug 2026) | GP Rating candidates with suitable education | Marine Engineer Officer Class IV (Near Coastal Voyages) |
| DGS Circular 25 of 2026 (19 May 2026) | Ratings working on electrical duties | Electro-Technical Rating certificate, then Electro-Technical Officer (ETO) |
| DGMA Circular 53 of 2026 (31 Aug 2026) | GP Ratings | A dual rating certificate for both deck and engine watches |
These are not shortcuts. Each needs real sea time, approved courses and DG Shipping examinations. But together they mean a GP Rating today has more ways forward than a GP Rating did a year ago.
Circular 26 of 2026 notes something many families already knew: Indian deck ratings with enough sea time were going abroad for competency courses to become officers, “resulting in substantial expenditure”. So DG Shipping introduced a six-month competency course for deck ratings leading to the Second Mate (FG) examination, as an additional route alongside the existing NWKO (NCV) route. The circular says the course would start from July 2026.
According to its flow chart, a candidate needs:
Then come the written and oral examinations for the Second Mate (FG) certificate. If you are a commerce or arts student, note that first line on education. Our page on routes for commerce and arts students explains how GP Rating opens this door.
The circular invites approved institutes to apply to run the course. We have not seen a published list of institutes approved for it, so ask any institute to show its approval before you enrol.
Circular 51 of 2026 creates an NCV Engine Cadet scheme for GP Ratings, leading to the Marine Engineer Officer Class IV (NCV) certificate. It came into force immediately on 21 August 2026. To enter, you need one of these:
You must complete an approved GP Rating course and pass its exit examination. Then you serve 12 months as an engine cadet on near-coastal, Indian coastal or river-sea vessels, including at least 6 months of engine-room watchkeeping under supervision. Diploma holders need only 6 months. Before the exams you complete a four-month preparatory course and modular courses such as advanced fire fighting, survival craft and medical first aid.
One detail matters: if you do not take the exams within two years of finishing the preparatory course, you must do that course again.
Circular 25 of 2026 sets out how a seafarer can get an Electro-Technical Rating (ETR) certificate and then progress to Electro-Technical Officer. For a GP Rating, the route is: pass the GP Rating exit exam, complete an approved bridging course in basic electrical functions, then serve 12 months on a sea-going ship doing electrical duties.
Other entry routes exist for ITI electricians (9 months of sea service), and for electrical or electronics diploma and degree holders (6 months each).
From ETR to ETO, the circular gives two categories:
One line stands out: for ETRs with this sea service, the circular says the age limit for joining the ETO course “has been done away with”. Our ETO course page covers the regular route for graduates.
Circular 53 of 2026 lets a GP Rating apply for a dual Certificate of Proficiency, covering both a navigational watch and an engine-room watch. Its flow chart gives two options after the six-month GP Rating course: 8 months of sea service, with at least 4 months on each side, or 24 months, with at least 12 months on each side. A combined training record book is used, and the certificate shown in the circular has no expiry date.
This does not make you an officer, but it makes you a more flexible, more employable rating, which matters while you build sea time for the officer routes above.
GP Rating is still the start, not the finish. These routes all ask for real time at sea, recorded properly in training record books, and every year of that time depends on getting ships. So when you pick an institute, ask about placement first. Our guide to the GP Rating course explains the entry rules, and our post on the GP Rating to NCV deck officer route covers the older deck route that still runs alongside the new course.
If you are 25 or older, remember that DGS Order 12 of 2026 raised the GP Rating entry age to 28. For many people, a career that once looked closed is open again. Please walk into it with your eyes open, keep every record, and never pay an agent who promises to “fast-track” a certificate.
If you would like help preparing for GP Rating entrance and selection, talk to us at Officers Maritime Academy in Dehradun.
A: Yes. In 2026 DG Shipping added new routes. Circular 26 of 2026 lets deck ratings with 36 months of foreign-going sea service take a six-month course and sit the Second Mate (FG) exam, and Circular 51 of 2026 lets GP Ratings become Marine Engineer Officer Class IV (NCV).
A: Circular 26 of 2026 accepts Class 12 in any stream, any degree or diploma, or Class 10 with an ITI trade certificate, along with an approved GP Rating or deck cadet course and at least 36 months of foreign-going sea service.
A: Circular 51 of 2026 requires 12 months as an engine cadet, including at least 6 months of engine-room watchkeeping. Diploma holders need only 6 months.
A: Circular 25 of 2026 says the age limit has been removed for ETR certificate holders who have the required sea service.
A: Under Circular 53 of 2026, a GP Rating can get one certificate covering both deck and engine-room watches, after 8 months of sea service (4 months on each side) or 24 months (12 on each side).
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