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How to check a seafarer job offer and a crewing agency

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Legitimate crewing agencies never charge seafarers for a job. The ILO Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC 2006), Regulation 1.4 and Standard A1.4, says that fees for recruitment or placement must not be paid by the seafarer, directly or indirectly. If someone asks you to pay for a job at sea, stop. Check the agency licence and the offer before you send money or documents.

Paying for a job is a common problem. In a 2024 survey of 2,627 seafarers by IHRB and TURTLE, almost a third (31%) said they had been asked to pay a recruitment fee. The Philippine Department of Migrant Workers reports that from 2020 to 2026, 146,871 illegal recruitment-related posts were taken down on Facebook and 57,557 on TikTok.

What MLC 2006 says about fees and contracts

These rules are in the text of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 published by the ILO:

  • No fees for recruitment or placement. A seafarer may pay for just three things: a national statutory medical certificate, the national seafarer’s book, and a passport or similar personal travel document (Standard A1.4, paragraph 5(b)).
  • The cost of a visa is paid by the shipowner, not by you (Standard A1.4, paragraph 5(b)).
  • Where a country has private recruitment agencies, they must work under a system of licensing, certification or other regulation (Standard A1.4, paragraph 2).
  • The agency must tell you your rights and duties under the employment agreement, let you examine the agreement before and after you sign it, and give you a copy (Standard A1.4, paragraph 5(c)(ii)).
  • You must have a chance to read the seafarers’ employment agreement and ask for advice before you sign it (Standard A2.1, paragraph 1(b)).

Red flags: stop if you see any of these

  1. You are asked to pay for the job. The fee may be called an agency, registration, administration, processing, medical, visa or immigration fee. The ITF says that recruitment agents must not charge you these fees.
  2. “Pay now, get the money back later.” For example, you pay for air tickets and they promise to return the money when you arrive. The ITF warns that you will not get it back.
  3. They ask for your passport, seaman’s book (CDC) or original certificates. The ITF warns about people who pretend to be employers and ask you to send your passport. Keep your originals. Send copies to an agency you have checked.
  4. The offer comes out of nowhere in WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, TikTok or email. The ITF warns about unexpected job offers that arrive by email, social media or messaging apps. A real agency can give you its licence number, office address and a written offer.
  5. You cannot find the licence. The agency has no licence number, you cannot find it in the regulator’s list, or the status is expired or cancelled. See how to check below.
  6. The salary is too good to be true. Very high wages or conditions far above normal are a common sign of a scam, according to the ITF.
  7. There is no written contract, or no time to read it. Under MLC 2006 you can read the agreement and get advice before you sign.
  8. Pressure to decide and pay today. “Last places, pay now” is a sales trick. A real employer gives you time to check.
  9. A post box address or just a nice website. The ITF warns about box numbers, false addresses and glossy websites. Search the company name together with the words “scam”, “fraud” or “warning”.

How to check the agency licence

Philippines: DMW

Open the DMW list of Licensed Recruitment Agencies and search for the agency name. The status must be “Valid License”. If it says Expired, Cancelled, Delisted, Denied Renewal or Ceased Operations, do not pay and do not send documents. Call the agency using the phone number in the DMW list, not the number from the message you received.

India: DG Shipping (RPSL)

In India, recruitment agencies need a Recruitment and Placement Service Licence (RPSL) from the Directorate General of Shipping (DG Shipping). At the ITF Seafarers’ Expo in Mumbai in February 2026, a senior DG Shipping officer (Deputy Director General, Crew Branch) said that Indian seafarers must be recruited exclusively through DG Shipping-licensed RPSL agencies, and that these agencies must not charge seafarers recruitment or placement fees (reported by IHRB). Check the agency in the list of licensed RPSL agencies on the DG Shipping portal.

Other countries

Under MLC 2006, countries that have ratified the convention and have private recruitment agencies must license, certify or otherwise regulate them. Ask the agency for its licence number and the name of the authority that issued it. Then check it with that national maritime or labour authority.

ITF ShipBeSure directory

The ITF ShipBeSure recruitment agent directory lists recruitment agents in several crew-supplying countries. The ITF puts reputable agents on its green list and advises seafarers to avoid agents on its red list. Use it together with the national licence check, not instead of it.

Before you sign

  • Get a written offer and the seafarers’ employment agreement. Read all of it: ship, rank, wages, contract length and who pays for your travel.
  • Check the ship. Ask for the vessel name and IMO number and look it up, for example in the Krew Guru ships database.
  • Do not pay the agency. Under MLC 2006 you pay for your own medical certificate, seafarer’s book and passport, and nothing for the job itself.
  • Keep copies of every message, payment and document.

Where to report a scam

  • ITF: report a fake agent, job offer or website through the ITF ShipBeSure report form. The ITF uses these reports for its scam alerts.
  • Philippines: report illegal recruitment to the DMW.
  • India: the DG Shipping officer advised seafarers who meet fraud to file a complaint through the DG Shipping grievance redressal mechanism (IHRB).
  • If you have already paid money, also report it to your local police.

Krew Guru is free for seafarers

  • Krew Guru does not charge seafarers any fees, in line with MLC 2006 Regulation 1.4. Creating a CV and applying to vacancies on Krew Guru costs you nothing.
  • Krew Guru is an online job platform. It is not a crewing or manning agency and is not a party to any employment agreement between a seafarer and a company.
  • Krew Guru does not guarantee employment, interviews or replies from companies, and does not guarantee that a vacancy is accurate or still open. Check every company with the steps on this page before you pay anything or send documents.
  • If someone asks you for money in the name of Krew Guru, it is not us. Write to support@krew.guru.

See also the Krew Guru Terms of Service.

Sources

This guide is general information. It does not replace advice from your national maritime authority or your seafarers’ union. Links checked on October 20, 2026.