I don’t get it, are they the military or are they not? Aren’t the ships privately owned? Can you not be a ship captain without going to the Merchant Marine Academy?
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Someone once explained the Merchant Marine *world* to me like this:
The Earth is 70% covered in oceans; and more than 95% of that are considered “international waters.” What that really means is that no nation/sovernty holds jurisdiction over those areas. They are the last “uncivilized” places on the planet.
Since we are a global comunity, businesses need commerce to travel across these lawless expanses. And just like settlers expanding away from their home, that means not only do they need to know how to do their jobs to support their team (sic. crew), they need to know how to protect themselves and take care of themselves. When something bad happens, *there likely won’t be any emergency help available.* So unlike in a typical business, they all need to learn how to keep the ship alive no matter what. Otherwise they’ll all die, and no individual wants that for themselves, really.
Most boats & ships are insured; there are several famous ones all around the world. And the policies are quite lucrative: Sailors often live sending their earnings back to their families. If no one’s on a boat earning, the family starves. So historically, the payouts when there is an accident is quite substantial. Because of that, these insurers ***need*** to know that every meaningful precaution is taken. Is the boat in safe conditions to operate? Are they operating in hostile waters? If there is an incident, what is the crew’s capability to mitigate? What is the captain’s ability to manage a crew in a crisis? The list goes on…
Generally speaking, ***YES***, you can become a captain of a merchant marine vessel without going to school. And the proof is that this is how most pirates operate! They know they’re doing illegal things, so they want to keep away from prying eyes as much as possible. So, kidnapping victims may find themselves “learning on the job” in the middle of the ocean. Some folks “fall into it”. And others desparate enough to become a pirate find their way to sign up and learn as they go.
But the difference between those sort of sailors and ones with schooling is the difference between a mafia enforcer versus someone working for Blackwater Security. You get access to better training from schooling, better equipment & tools, and a community that is well-supported by their home nations.
*Source*: I used to be a surface-to-surface warfare subject matter expert for the U.S. Navy. You can’t learn how to protect your forces if you don’t know who all is in the field and how they operate.
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