How To Become A Port Captain: What It Is and Career Path

What is a port captain and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Do you feel the call of the water? If that's the case, then your port of call might be becoming a port captain. A port captain is in charge of making sure all vessels are fully prepared to embark on their voyages. To do this, they verify that ships contain the necessary equipment and crew to perform their missions successfully. As part of the job, the port captain uses a wide range of equipment, including radios, depth finders, radars, and depth measuring equipment.

If you decide to become a port captain, you'll need to be in good shape because this job involves plenty of physical work, including heavy lifting. If you enjoy working outside, this will be the perfect job for you. However, you'll also need to be comfortable working during inclement weather. Withstanding rough waters when boarding a vessel is also a must.

Some of the tasks you'll be involved in include inspecting vessels, directing the steering and operation of vessels, as well as monitoring loading or discharging of cargo. If you're hoping to become a port captain, you'll need a Bachelor's degree from a maritime college or university and a US Coast Guard deck license. Since port captain is not an entry-level position, you can expect to work up to five years in the industry before advancing to this position.

ScorePort CaptainUS Average

Salary

4.5

Avg. Salary $57,720

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.5

Growth rate 1%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.08%

Asian 3.14%

Black or African American 6.87%

Hispanic or Latino 8.92%

Unknown 4.73%

White 75.25%

Gender

female 6.09%

male 93.91%

Age - 40.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40.5

Stress level

9.5

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.6

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a port captain

Explore port captain education requirements

Most common port captain degrees

Bachelor's

64.6 %

Master's

15.0 %

High School Diploma

11.5 %

Start to develop specific port captain skills

Skills	Percentages
Vessel Operations	27.49%
Safety Program	14.84%
USCG	13.34%
Cargo Operations	6.79%
ABS	5.37%

Complete relevant port captain training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New port captains learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a port captain based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real port captain resumes.

Research port captain duties and responsibilities

Lead a platoon that earn numerous awards for jamming opposition force artillery nets and conducting counterattacks on opposition electronic warfare platoons.
Maintain boats to USCG standards in image and maintanence.
Supervise all schedules, budgets, payroll, and inspections including maintenance and USCG.
Direct the installation, operation and maintenance of military radio and telecommunications assets for combat infantry units and fix telephone facilities.

Prepare your port captain resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your port captain resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a port captain resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable port captain resume templates

Build a professional port captain resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your port captain resume.