Manning agency check — verify before sending money or documents

The 10-step verification process to run on any recruiter before sending originals, paying any 'fee', or accepting an offer. Pairs with the manning-agency scam checker tool.

Who this is for

Seafarers approached by a recruiter on WhatsApp / Telegram / Facebook / email. Cadets and new seafarers in particular — fake-agency scams target the inexperienced.

Practical steps

1. Ask for the agency's full legal name, licence number, and licensing regulator. Real agencies answer this in one message.
2. Look up the licence in the regulator's online directory: POEA / DMW (Philippines), DG Shipping (India), DGST / Hubla (Indonesia), Maradmin (Ukraine), Mercantile Marine Branch (Sri Lanka), Vinamarine (Vietnam).
3. Cross-check the published business address against the licence record.
4. Confirm the corporate phone number — call from a number the recruiter did not give you.
5. Look up the principal shipowner on /companies and on the principal's own corporate site.
6. Verify the vessel by IMO on /ships and on the flag-state register.
7. Compare the offered wage against /salaries via the wage checker.
8. Confirm the financial-security certificate (MLC A2.5.2 + A4.2.1).
9. Ask a working seafarer who has sailed with the agency — your union or the forum.
10. Read the SEA before flying.

Checklist

• Licence number provided and verifiable.
• Agency address matches licence record.
• Recruiter contactable via corporate domain email (not Gmail / Yahoo).
• Principal shipowner named (not just 'a major operator').
• Vessel name + IMO supplied before any commitment.
• No fee of any kind requested.
• Documents (passport / CDC) requested only as copies, not originals.
• Written SEA available before flying.
• No pressure to sign within hours.
• Bank-transfer destination is a corporate account, not a personal one.

Common mistakes

• Treating a glossy PDF offer as evidence of legitimacy.
• Paying a 'processing' / 'training' / 'visa' fee — every form of fee is a violation under ILO C181 + MLC A1.4(5)(b).
• Sending originals before there's a signed SEA.
• Trusting a recruiter who says 'the licence number isn't relevant to your country'.

FAQ

What if the agency claims to be 'in the process of getting licensed'?

Treat this as a refusal to disclose. Real licensing produces a verifiable number from day one. 'In process' is a known scam framing.

Last verified 5 months ago