Seafarers Recruitment

Container Ship Jobs

Container ships carry cargo in standard containers, from small feeder ships to ships of more than 20,000 TEU on liner routes. Schedules are tight, port stays are short and the ships often call at many ports per voyage.

Work on board

Short port stays: officers and ratings handle frequent arrivals, departures and mooring
Dangerous goods in containers are carried under the IMDG Code; the officers check stowage and segregation
Reefer containers need power and monitoring; the ETO and engineers look after reefer plugs and faults
Large ships have high-power main engines (above 3,000 kW, STCW Reg. III/2 certificates) and high-voltage electrical plants

Certificates and training

No special STCW endorsement is needed. Officers need the normal certificates of competency, GMDSS and ECDIS training. Employers often ask ETOs and engineers for high-voltage (over 1,000 V) training and reefer experience.

What to put in your CV

Ship sizes in TEU, number of reefer plugs if you are an ETO or engineer, trade area, and the main engine make, model and power in kW.

Ranks on these ships

Jobs on container ships by rank

How to apply

Jobs on Seafarers Recruitment are open recruitment for crewing agencies and shipowners we work with. Create a free seafarer account, add your experience on container ships to your CV, and apply to your rank. Employers can search crew by vessel experience.

Create seafarer account All ship types

Other ship types

Seafarers: see how Seafarers Recruitment works for seafarers. Employers and crewing agencies: post a vacancy or search crew.