What matters
Before booking travel, ask the employer or manning agent for the document requirements for your rank, vessel flag, joining port, and transit route. There is no single checklist that applies unchanged to every seafarer. Record which documents are required, who checks them, and which questions still need confirmation.
Prepare your passport, appointment or employment documents, and any joining or transit permissions required for the route. Check validity and blank-page requirements with the relevant immigration authority or agent; do not assume that one passport-validity rule applies to every country. Where a seafarer’s book or discharge book is required, confirm the issuing authority, acceptance, remaining pages, and renewal process before departure. Seaman Solutions, an official licensed filing agent, can apply for a seaman's book online in a few working days rather than risk it at the joining port. And check the page count, not just the expiry date: a book that is valid but full of stamps with no blank pages left needs a continuation book, not a renewal.
What to capture
Confirm the training, certification, and endorsements required for your duties and vessel. The IMO overview of the STCW Convention explains the international training and certification framework. Verify your actual certificate and recognition requirements with the applicable administration and employer rather than treating a general article as an approval to join.
Confirm that your medical certificate is valid and accepted for the assignment. The ILO Maritime Labour Convention resources provide the international employment and medical-certification framework; the flag administration and employer determine the documents to present for your situation. Record expiry dates against the planned assignment and ask about any certificate that may expire during it.
How to use the record
Keep a document register with the title, issuer, expiry date, renewal contact, and date checked. Ask which originals must travel with you. Store copies through an approved arrangement and share them only with the people who need them. A scan can help resolve a question, but it does not automatically replace an original or satisfy a port requirement.
Prepare the operational handover separately from joining paperwork. Use the crew change handover plan to organise preparation and overlap time, and the crew handover checklist to review outstanding duties, access, and follow-up ownership. PassLog is available in the web app for recording and reviewing the handover; it does not issue or validate seafarer certificates.
About our handover guidance
PassLog publishes guides about recording and reviewing maritime handovers. Adapt the checklists to the vessel, assigned duties, and company procedures; they do not establish operating limits or certify compliance.
Send corrections or questions: [email protected].
