Seafarer salaries: October 2026
What employers offer seafarers in vacancies: median pay and range for 23 ranks, based on 12,163 vacancies from 238 companies open in July–September 2026.
- Vacancies
- 12,163with pay, no duplicates
- Companies
- 238crewing agencies and shipowners
- Ranks
- 23from 30 vacancies and 5 companies
- Contract
- 4 monthstypical length
This is the permanent address of edition 10/2026; its figures never change. The report comes out monthly: current edition
Contents7
1Key figures
- Vacancies offer a Master $11,000 per month (median), a Chief Engineer $10,250, a Chief Officer $8,200 and a Second Engineer $8,200.
- A Master's pay depends on the vessel type: on gas carriers the median is $16,500, on oil tankers $14,000, on general cargo and multipurpose vessels $8,500.
- Ratings: Able Seafarer Deck (AB) $2,000, Ship's Cook $2,300, Ordinary Seaman (OS) $1,400.
- Medians barely moved over three months: for 8 of 9 main ranks, September differs from July by less than 5%.
- The most common contract is 4 months: 14 of 15 main ranks.
2Salaries by rank
Monthly pay in US dollars, as stated in the vacancy. Officers and ratings have separate scales, so the spread within each group stays visible.
- median: half of the vacancies offer more, half offer less
- middle half of vacancies, 25th to 75th percentile
- 80% of vacancies, 10th to 90th percentile
Officers
| Rank | Median | Pay distribution | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deck officers | |||
| Master946 vacancies | $11,000 | middle half $9,500–14,000 | |
| Chief Officer1,572 vacancies | $8,200 | middle half $7,450–11,000 | |
| Second Officer760 vacancies | $4,100 | middle half $3,750–4,600 | |
| Third Officer737 vacancies | $3,500 | middle half $3,200–3,950 | |
| Engine officers | |||
| Chief Engineer1,569 vacancies | $10,250 | middle half $9,000–13,500 | |
| Second Engineer1,632 vacancies | $8,200 | middle half $7,500–10,500 | |
| Third Engineer881 vacancies | $4,050 | middle half $3,750–4,600 | |
| Fourth Engineer609 vacancies | $3,500 | middle half $3,100–4,000 | |
| Electro-Technical Officer (ETO)910 vacancies | $6,500 | middle half $6,000–7,100 | |
Ratings and galley
| Rank | Median | Pay distribution | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deck ratings | |||
| Bosun147 vacancies | $2,500 | middle half $2,050–2,800 | |
| Able Seafarer Deck (AB)491 vacancies | $2,000 | middle half $1,700–2,400 | |
| Ordinary Seaman (OS)264 vacancies | $1,400 | middle half $1,250–1,600 | |
| AB-Cook73 vacancies | $2,500 | middle half $2,300–2,800 | |
| Deck Cadet66 vacancies | $1,500 | middle half $850–2,000 | |
| Engine ratings | |||
| Fitter-Welder291 vacancies | $2,700 | middle half $2,400–3,000 | |
| Ship's Electrician158 vacancies | $4,550 | middle half $4,150–6,000 | |
| Pumpman123 vacancies | $3,000 | middle half $2,700–3,100 | |
| Oiler278 vacancies | $2,000 | middle half $1,700–2,200 | |
| Wiper91 vacancies | $1,400 | middle half $1,250–1,700 | |
| Engine Cadet34 vacancies · one company holds a large share | $1,500 | middle half $850–1,800 | |
| Galley | |||
| Chief Cook48 vacancies | $2,500 | middle half $2,150–2,800 | |
| Ship's Cook280 vacancies | $2,300 | middle half $2,100–2,700 | |
| Galley Hand99 vacancies | $1,250 | middle half $1,100–1,600 | |
3By vessel type
Median pay for each rank by vessel type; below it, the difference from the rank's median across all vessels. Shaded cells are 10% or more above the median. More on each rank page.
| Rank | Oil tanker | Chemical tanker | Gas carrier | Bulk carrier | Container ship | General cargo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Master | Oil tanker$14,000+27% | Chemical tanker$13,850+26% | Gas carrier$16,500+50% | Bulk carrier$10,000−9% | Container ship$9,500−14% | General cargo$8,500−23% |
| Chief Officer | Oil tanker$10,750+31% | Chemical tanker$11,000+34% | Gas carrier$13,000+59% | Bulk carrier$8,000−2% | Container ship$7,600−7% | General cargo$6,450−21% |
| Second Officer | Oil tanker$4,700+15% | Chemical tanker$4,600+12% | Gas carrier$5,500+34% | Bulk carrier$3,900−5% | Container ship$3,750−8% | General cargo$3,800−8% |
| Third Officer | Oil tanker$3,800+9% | Chemical tanker$4,000+14% | Gas carrier$4,500+29% | Bulk carrier$3,400−3% | Container ship$3,100−11% | General cargo$3,300−6% |
| Chief Engineer | Oil tanker$14,000+37% | Chemical tanker$13,500+32% | Gas carrier$16,000+56% | Bulk carrier$9,950−3% | Container ship$9,500−7% | General cargo$8,350−18% |
| Second Engineer | Oil tanker$10,500+28% | Chemical tanker$11,000+34% | Gas carrier$11,550+41% | Bulk carrier$7,800−5% | Container ship$7,600−7% | General cargo$7,500−9% |
| Third Engineer | Oil tanker$4,600+13% | Chemical tanker$4,500+11% | Gas carrier$5,500+35% | Bulk carrier$3,900−4% | Container ship$3,800−6% | General cargo$3,700−9% |
| Electro-Technical Officer (ETO) | Oil tanker$7,000+8% | Chemical tanker$7,000+8% | Gas carrier$7,500+15% | Bulk carrier$6,200−5% | Container ship$6,300−3% | General cargo$6,000−8% |
| Able Seafarer Deck (AB) | Oil tanker$1,900−5% | Chemical tanker$2,250+13% | Gas carrier$2,650+33% | Bulk carrier$1,900−5% | Container ship$1,800−11% | General cargo$2,300+14% |
| Ship's Cook | Oil tanker$2,500+8% | Chemical tanker$2,500+8% | Gas carrier– | Bulk carrier$2,400+3% | Container ship$2,000−14% | General cargo$2,250−2% |
- 10–25% above the rank median
- 25–50% above
- 50% or more above
- – fewer than 10 vacancies or 3 companies
4Trend
No notable change for 8 of 9 main ranks
Median pay of new vacancies by month; small print shows how many there were. A month's median needs 10 vacancies from 3 companies. A difference under 5% is within normal variation; if any month has fewer than 100 vacancies, there is no conclusion.
| Rank | July | August | September | Line | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masterjuly $10,550 · august $11,200 · september $11,000 no notable change | $10,550 272 | $11,200 294 | $11,000 353 | no notable change | |
| Chief Officerjuly $8,200 · august $8,200 · september $8,200 no notable change | $8,200 385 | $8,200 583 | $8,200 574 | no notable change | |
| Second Officerjuly $4,200 · august $4,050 · september $4,100 no notable change | $4,200 183 | $4,050 270 | $4,100 283 | no notable change | |
| Third Officerjuly $3,450 · august $3,500 · september $3,500 no notable change | $3,450 185 | $3,500 256 | $3,500 278 | no notable change | |
| Chief Engineerjuly $10,500 · august $10,300 · september $10,000 no notable change | $10,500 389 | $10,300 517 | $10,000 622 | no notable change | |
| Second Engineerjuly $8,500 · august $8,000 · september $8,200 no notable change | $8,500 391 | $8,000 572 | $8,200 630 | no notable change | |
| Third Engineerjuly $4,300 · august $4,000 · september $4,000 −7% | $4,300 198 | $4,000 306 | $4,000 356 | −7% | |
| Fourth Engineerjuly $3,500 · august $3,450 · september $3,500 no notable change | $3,500 153 | $3,450 220 | $3,500 222 | no notable change | |
| Electro-Technical Officer (ETO)july $6,500 · august $6,500 · september $6,500 no notable change | $6,500 246 | $6,500 271 | $6,500 375 | no notable change | |
| Bosunjuly $2,500 · august $2,500 · september $2,300 too few vacancies to conclude | $2,500 48 | $2,500 53 | $2,300 44 | too few vacancies to conclude | |
| Able Seafarer Deck (AB)july $2,000 · august $2,000 · september $2,000 too few vacancies to conclude | $2,000 92 | $2,000 165 | $2,000 223 | too few vacancies to conclude | |
| Ordinary Seaman (OS)july $1,450 · august $1,450 · september $1,300 too few vacancies to conclude | $1,450 56 | $1,450 92 | $1,300 112 | too few vacancies to conclude | |
| Oilerjuly $2,000 · august $2,000 · september $2,000 too few vacancies to conclude | $2,000 55 | $2,000 105 | $2,000 115 | too few vacancies to conclude | |
| Fitter-Welderjuly $2,700 · august $2,600 · september $2,700 too few vacancies to conclude | $2,700 69 | $2,600 109 | $2,700 111 | too few vacancies to conclude | |
| Ship's Cookjuly $2,300 · august $2,300 · september $2,350 too few vacancies to conclude | $2,300 75 | $2,300 88 | $2,350 107 | too few vacancies to conclude |
5Methodology
- Source: vacancies from the platform and from open job sites and crewing agency sites, published on Rynda Crewing in July–September 2026. Every vacancy passed the platform's checks.
- One vacancy, one vote: a repost of the same vacancy (same employer, rank, vessel type, pay and joining date) counts once.
- Only monthly pay counts; negotiable and daily pay do not. This version covers vacancies paid in US dollars or euros on seagoing vessels, converted to US dollars at the rate on the day the vacancy appeared on the platform.
- Where a range is given, the lower bound is used: the minimum the employer promises.
- Median, not mean: one inflated vacancy moves the mean but barely moves the median. Rates below a quarter or above four times the rank's median are treated as errors and excluded (41 of 12,204).
- The median is shown from 10 vacancies and 3 companies, the middle half from 30 vacancies and 5 companies, and the 80% band from 100 vacancies.
The report shows what employers promise in vacancies. Actual pay depends on the vessel, the company, experience and the contract.
6How to cite
Cite the edition: its figures never change, while the current page is updated monthly.
Rynda Crewing, “Seafarer salaries: October 2026”. Vacancies 01/07–30/09/2026: 12,163 vacancies from 238 companies. https://crewing.rynda.io/en/salaries/2026-10
According to Rynda Crewing, vacancies for the Master rank in July–September 2026 offered a median of $11,000 per month (946 vacancies).
Data may be used with attribution and a link to Rynda Crewing.
Edition data as CSV: download
Need a breakdown that is not on the page? Write to info@rynda.io.
7Questions and answers
Is this take-home pay?
It is the amount stated in the vacancy by the employer. The platform does not adjust for taxes or deductions: it is an employer's offer, not a payslip.
Why is my rank missing?
A rank enters the report once it has 30 vacancies from at least 5 companies over three months; otherwise a single company could move the figure. Vacancies for every rank are open in the Jobs section.
Where do the data come from?
From vacancies on the platform and on open job sites and crewing agency sites. Every vacancy in the calculation passed the platform's checks and was published on it.
Why did the figures change?
Since edition 10/2026, each vacancy counts once and the report covers vacancies paid in US dollars or euros on seagoing vessels. Previously, reposts of the same vacancy were counted separately, which pulled the median down.
How often is the report updated?
Monthly, on the 2nd, covering the last three full months. Past editions stay at their own addresses, and their figures never change.
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