How to Create Your Maritime Profile Using CV Upload

If you have been putting off creating your Crew Connect profile because it looks like a lot of form-filling, there is now a faster way. You can upload your CV or a photo of your discharge book and we will extract your maritime data automatically — sea service history, certificates, rank, vessel types, and more — and build your profile from it.

This guide covers exactly how the process works, what gets imported, what to do when your profile is live, and how to get a performance reference from your captain directly from the platform.

What You Can Upload

The upload page accepts four types of file:

• CV as a PDF — the most common route. Upload the same PDF you send to recruitment agencies.
• CV as a Word document (.doc or .docx) — same process, different file format.
• Photo of your discharge book page — a phone photo works. We use AI image reading to extract each voyage: vessel name, company, flag, rank, join and sign-off dates. Clear photos read accurately. If the handwriting is partially unclear, we flag specific entries so you can verify them before they go live.
• DP logbook page — if you hold a DP certificate, upload a photo of your DP logbook and we will import your watchkeeping hours directly into your DP Log.

What Gets Imported Automatically

The system reads your document and extracts every maritime-relevant field it can find. Across a typical CV or discharge book scan, the following are imported:

• Rank and career stage — your current working rank, auto-classified as cadet / newly qualified / experienced / senior
• Sea service history — each vessel, company, flag state, rank held, and contract dates, saved as individual entries in your Sea Service log
• Certificates — every certificate mentioned, with certificate number, issuing body, issue date, and expiry date (where visible). STCW, CoC, GMDSS, ECDIS, DP, medical, and all endorsements
• ENG1 medical expiry — automatically mapped to the dedicated ENG1 field used by recruiter filters
• DP log entries — if DP watchkeeping records are present, individual entries are created in your DP log with vessel, DP class, system type, and hours
• Nationality, home port, and contact details
• Languages spoken
• Preferred sector, trade, and flag state
• LinkedIn URL if listed
• Professional bio — a short 2–3 sentence summary written from your CV, which you can edit after import

Handwritten Discharge Books

The platform uses Claude AI (Claude Vision) to read images. Typed text and printed pages read perfectly. Clear handwriting reads well. Where the handwriting is difficult — cramped entries, faded ink, or photos taken at an angle — the system will flag those specific entries rather than guess.

Entries with uncertain dates or vessel names are marked with an amber ⚠ Verify badge when you log in. Next to each flagged entry, there is a green ✓ Confirm button. When you check the entry against your discharge book and confirm it is correct, the badge clears and the entry is marked as verified.

Missing Certificate Expiry Dates

CVs often list certificates without expiry dates — the certificate name is there, but not when it expires. The system imports these certificates and adds them to your profile, but flags them separately in your welcome email: “We found the following certificates but could not find their expiry dates — please log in and add them.”

Go to your profile, find the certificate in your Certificates section, and add the expiry date. Recruiters filter on certificate validity — a certificate without an expiry date is effectively invisible to those filters.

What to Do When Your Profile Is Live

You will receive an email when your profile has been built. For new accounts, this email includes your login details and a temporary password. Three things to do when you first log in:

1. Update your availability date. This is the most important field on the platform. Set the date you are actually available to join a vessel. Recruiters using the Reliever Pipeline search by availability date — if this field is wrong or blank, you will not appear in results even if you are the right rank.
2. Check any ⚠ Verify entries in your Sea Service tab and confirm the ones that are correct.
3. Add expiry dates to any certificates listed in the email as missing them.

Requesting References from Your Captain

Once your sea service is on the platform, any completed voyage — where the sign-off date is in the past — shows a 📝 Request Ref button. Click it, enter your captain’s or chief engineer’s email address, and select their role. They receive an email with a structured performance review form covering six categories: Skill, Reliability, Conduct, Sobriety, Attitude, and Professionalism — plus a Hire Again indicator.

When they complete it, their rating is attached to your profile. Recruiters see it when they open your record. It is not a comment or a testimonial — it is a structured, timestamped record from the officer who commanded the vessel. You can request references from your captain, your chief engineer, or the company’s HR / manning department.

Go to /upload-cv/

If you have a CV to hand, the fastest path to a complete Crew Connect profile is to upload it now. The whole process — upload to profile live — typically takes a few hours. New accounts are created automatically.

Go to crew-connect.net/upload-cv/