Mandatory DGS Eyesight & Physical Criteria
Unlike other professional courses where any student can register, the Merchant Navy enforces strict medical regulations mandated by the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS). If you do not meet these, you cannot join, regardless of your IMU CET rank.
Eyesight & Vision
Must have 6/6 vision in each eye (uncorrected, or corrected to 6/6 by surgery done and healed before admission). Glasses are not permitted for deck officers at sea. Candidates must have no colour blindness whatsoever — navigation lights require reliable colour distinction.
Eyesight & Vision
Minor corrective glasses up to 6/12 are allowed in each eye. However, candidates must have no colour blindness — electrical wiring and alarm systems use colour coding that is safety-critical.
Get checked before you prepare. A full DG-standard eye and medical examination takes a few hours and costs very little compared to a year of coaching fees or course fees. Do not invest a year planning around this career without confirming you clear the medical first. Confirm current eyesight rules on the DG Shipping website — they are periodically revised.
The Isolation Self-Check
Beyond physical fitness, assess your psychological readiness for seafaring:
- ›Are you okay spending 4 to 9 months continuously offshore with minimal internet access (satellite limits) and limited contact with family?
- ›Can you work under military-style authority, tight watch schedules, and intensive manual or engine-room labour?
- ›Are you comfortable in high-stress weather events (rough seas, storms) far from shore facilities?
- ›Do you have interests or habits you can sustain alone, indefinitely, with no audience?
The 'Fix Your Eyes Later' Myth — Read This First
A claim circulates in forums and WhatsApp groups that you can skip the medical via company sponsorship and simply do LASIK after your course. Do not build a plan on this.
You will hear that some companies sponsor cadets who haven't cleared the medical, and that you can do LASIK afterwards. Do not build a plan on it. DG Shipping medical fitness — including vision and colour-vision standards — is mandatory before you can sail, sponsorship or not. LASIK is age-gated and must be done and healed to standard before admission or sea service — not after you have sunk a year and lakhs into the course. Get a full DG-standard eye and medical check before you commit. Confirm current eyesight rules on the DG Shipping site — they are periodically revised.
The reason this myth persists: a small number of candidates in grey-area situations have described unofficial workarounds in online communities. These accounts are not evidence of a reliable path — they are exceptions that occasionally end badly. A plan built on "maybe they'll let it slide" is not a plan.