Tradition

At Stargate Crewing, we represent Romanian seafarers as a distinct and talented group of professionals who bring exceptional value to any ship owner through their hard work and dedication. These seafarers are graduates of some of the best maritime academies in Europe with a legacy that goes back to the establishment of a fleet school in 1872. The maritime educational infrastructure in Romania once provided manning for Romania’s large commercial fleet till the fall of communism in 1989.

Romania remains one of the most important crew sourcing markets in Eastern Europe, and it will continue to maintain a leading position in the region because of the fact that seafaring is still considered an attractive career option for many young Romanians. This is also the reason why maritime education continues to attract a large number of young men and women seeking a professional education after completing their school. A wage earned in dollars or euro is worth more than one earned in the local currency because of the favourable exchange rate.

Romanians are intelligent, hard-working, dedicated and make very good colleagues at sea. They have a natural ability with mechanical and electrical devices, and have a knack for fixing things if something goes wrong with a piece of equipment on board. Back home, the make excellent mechanics, electricians, plumbers, and engineers, and have a natural flair for understanding how mechanical and electrical (or electronic) devices work.

In terms of wage costs, Romanian crew offers a distinct advantage when weighing the skills and knowledge they bring to the ship. Each officer qualifies to a professional license after four years of formal education and 12 months of sailing as a cadet. Apart from two reputed marine schools which offer full-time graduate and post-graduate degrees in maritime education, Romania also has a well-staffed professional skilling centre for seafarers with some of the most sophisticated training equipment in the business today.

Over the years, Stargate Crewing has developed a successful recruitment pipeline by tapping into this resource and developing a meaningful relationship with the maritime education and training centres. Our Cadet Program is a wonderful example of how to develop a large pool of talented and qualified seafarers who become invaluable assets to any commercial fleet.

Stargate can place cadets round the year because the Romanian education system allows candidates to enroll for cadetship and sail early on in their education. We have been able to select the best candidates from each batch of marine graduates because of our excellent personal relations with the schools. We will continue to encourage our clients to induct cadets on their vessels because we see this as the best possible investment in building a large pool of exceptional talent.