Attestation and Visa Documentation for Indian Seafarers & Maritime Professionals Going to Singapore

A Chief Engineer from the Indian Maritime University Mumbai with sixteen years at sea on Anglo-Eastern Ship Management container vessels, BE Marine Engineering from IMU Mumbai 2010, valid STCW Class 1 (Engineer Officer) Certificate of Competency from the Directorate General of Shipping Mumbai (the DG Shipping office at Jahaz Bhavan), six years as Second Engineer and four years as Chief Engineer on Maersk and MSC time-chartered tonnage, with an Anglo-Eastern Singapore shore-based offer for a Senior Technical Superintendent role at the Singapore HQ on Tuas in hand. SGD 14,500 monthly base on a Singapore Employment Pass. The Anglo-Eastern HR file in Singapore needed apostille on his IMU Mumbai BE Marine Engineering degree, MEA apostille on his class-twelve Maharashtra State Board certificate, MEA apostille on his STCW Class 1 Chief Engineer CoC from DG Shipping Mumbai, his sea-time service records countersigned by Anglo-Eastern Mumbai HR, MEA apostille on his marriage certificate from the Mumbai Sub-Registrar, and a fresh PCC from the Mumbai Passport Seva Kendra Lower Parel. Singapore has been a Hague apostille destination for Indian documents since 16 September 2021, which removed the older Indian High Commission Singapore attestation step entirely. The Maharashtra HRD step ran through the State Higher Education Department Mantralaya Mumbai. MEA apostille at Patiala House Delhi. Typically four weeks end to end. His Singapore Employment Pass was approved at the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) Singapore in two weeks. The typical arrival is at Changi for the May 2026 start.

That sequence is the sequence behind most Indian senior maritime moves to Singapore in 2026. Singapore is one of the world's largest ports and the global maritime centre by container throughput, ship management, marine insurance and bunker fuel sales. The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) terminals at Tuas, Pasir Panjang and Brani, the major ship management companies (Anglo-Eastern, Synergy Marine, Bernhard Schulte, Wallem, Eastern Pacific Shipping, Pacific International Lines), the classification societies (DNV, Lloyd's Register, ABS, Bureau Veritas, ClassNK, Korean Register, RINA, Indian Register of Shipping), the marine insurance market (Lloyd's Asia, The Standard Club, Britannia P&I, Skuld, North P&I), and the maritime IT and digital shipping startups all hire Indian senior maritime professionals. Officer ranks, marine engineering teams, ship superintendents, port captains, marine surveyors, marine claims handlers and shore-based MPA-recognised employer roles use the Employment Pass.

The maritime documents that anchor a Singapore seafarer file

A senior maritime file for Singapore carries a heavier and more specialised document set than a general engineering file. Each one of these is required for the MPA-recognised employer's hiring file and for the Singapore Employment Pass or Work Permit application.

The INDoS (Indian National Database of Seafarers) number certificate, which uniquely identifies the candidate in the Directorate General of Shipping records at Jahaz Bhavan Mumbai.

STCW (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping) certificates: STCW Basic Safety (PST, EFA, FPFF, PSSR), Advanced Firefighting, Medical First Aid, Medical Care, Proficiency in Survival Craft and Rescue Boats (PSCRB), Ship Security Officer, ECDIS, BRM, ERM.

The Continuous Discharge Certificate (CDC) issued by the Indian DG Shipping, recording the candidate's sea service.

The Certificate of Competency (CoC) at the appropriate rank: Officer of the Watch, Chief Officer / Second Mate, Chief Engineer / Second Engineer, Master Mariner.

Specialised cargo certificates where the candidate has the experience: oil tanker (basic and advanced), chemical tanker (basic and advanced), liquefied gas tanker (basic and advanced), passenger ship.

Pre-Sea training certificate from an MTI-DGS approved maritime institute (TS Chanakya, IMU Chennai, AMET, BP Marine Academy, Tolani Maritime Institute, Anglo Eastern Maritime Academy, the academies at Mumbai, Kolkata, Visakhapatnam, Kochi and Goa).

The marine engineering, naval architecture or nautical science degree for officer-rank roles.

The seafarer's medical fitness certificate (the eDAS certificate from a DG Shipping-approved doctor).

The Indian passport and the Continuous Discharge Certificate (sometimes called the seafarer's passport).

The marriage certificate, the children's birth certificates and the spouse's documents for Dependant Pass applications.

PCC from the Regional Passport Office.

The MPA seafarer endorsement and Singapore Employment Pass route

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) maintains a separate seafarer registration and an MPA-recognised employer list. Shore-based maritime professionals at MPA-recognised employers (Anglo-Eastern Singapore, Synergy Marine, Bernhard Schulte Singapore, Wallem, Eastern Pacific Shipping, Pacific International Lines, the major classification societies, the marine insurance market) use the standard Singapore Employment Pass under COMPASS.

Junior crewing positions on Singapore-flag ships use the MPA seafarer Work Permit route, which is administered by MPA in coordination with MOM.

The Singapore Employment Pass application from a maritime employer goes through MyMOM the same way a tech EP does. The COMPASS scoring (six factors, 40-point threshold) applies. Salary, Qualifications (the IMU BE or BTech in Naval Architecture, Marine Engineering or Nautical Science scores well), Diversity (employer workforce mix) and Skills Bonus (the Shortage Occupation List includes some maritime roles) are the factors most relevant.

After IPA from MOM, the candidate completes ICA biometric registration at the ICA Building Kallang Road and the EP card is issued.

The apostille bundle, post-September 2021

Singapore has been a Hague Apostille destination for Indian documents since 16 September 2021. MEA apostille is now the standard authentication, replacing the older Indian High Commission Singapore attestation step.

State HRD attestation on the marine engineering or nautical science degree at the relevant state directorate (Maharashtra Mantralaya Mumbai for IMU Mumbai; Tamil Nadu DTE Guindy for IMU Chennai and AMET; AP SHED Mangalagiri for IMU Visakhapatnam; West Bengal SHED Bidhan Bhavan Kolkata for IMU Kolkata; Karnataka SHED Multistoreyed Building Bengaluru for southern academies; Goa SHED Panaji for Tolani Maritime Institute): five to fourteen working days.

MEA apostille at the Patiala House Delhi counter on the degree, marksheets, STCW certificates, CoC, CDC, INDoS certificate, marriage certificate, birth certificates and PCC: three to five working days for the bundled set.

Certified English translation is rarely needed because Indian maritime documents are in English. The DG Shipping issues CoC, CDC, INDoS and STCW certificates in English.

PSK Police Clearance Certificate: seven to twenty-one working days.

Tracked return courier inside India: three to seven working days. To a Singapore ship management company: seven to fourteen working days.

If everything is in order, the route runs three to five weeks in parallel.

What we run from Noida on a Singapore seafarer file

When you first send us scans on WhatsApp at +91 9220161774, we read the maritime and personal documents for Singapore MOM and MPA fit. We tell you which documents go through state HRD, when to start MEA apostille, and how the steps time against the joining or boarding window. We share the realistic timeline and the cost end to end before any payment is taken.

When the originals reach our Noida office at C-25, C Block, Sector 8, we run the authentication in India. State HRD where applicable, MEA apostille at Patiala House Delhi on the bundled maritime and personal documents, PCC apostille after the RPO issues the PCC, and tracked return courier to you in India or to your Singapore-based ship management company. Named SiZA staff carry the documents between offices in Delhi NCR.

We do not file the Singapore Employment Pass or Work Permit. The Singapore ship management company or MPA-recognised employer does that with MOM through MyMOM. We do not run the MPA seafarer registration. We do not handle the seafarer's joining at a Singapore port. We do not arrange the eDAS medical or the joining medical at the Singapore port. We do not handle anything inside Singapore after you arrive.

For a free scan-review of your Singapore maritime file, send a WhatsApp message to +91 9220161774 with photos of your INDoS certificate, your CoC, your CDC, your STCW certificates and your Singapore employer offer (if you have one).

Two pages on the SiZA site that follow on from this: Singapore country documentation guide, embassy attestation services.