Crewing agencies · guide
Crewing agency website: a 12-point checklist
I have built more than 15 websites for Batumi crewing agencies, and I am a seaman by training. Here is what, in my experience, separates a site that brings applications and shipowners' trust from a box-ticking business card.
For seafarers
- 1. Vacancies with clear fields: rank, vessel type, flag, joining date, contract length and, where possible, salary.
- 2. An online application that is easy on a phone: details, rank, experience, upload of passport, seaman's book, CoC and certificates.
- 3. Consent to personal data processing — as a separate tick box.
- 4. Contacts for seafarers: WhatsApp, Telegram, phone, office address and hours.
- 5. A light, fast site: seafarers often browse on a phone with weak internet.
For shipowners
- 6. A dedicated English page: who you are, which vessels and ranks you crew, how you select seafarers.
- 7. Company details and documents — the first thing a shipowner checks.
- 8. Email on your company domain, not a free mailbox — it is a matter of trust.
Technology and trust
- 9. HTTPS and spam protection on forms; seafarers' documents are never publicly accessible.
- 10. Backups of the site and applications.
- 11. A Google business profile with correct details — seafarers and partners find you there.
- 12. Managers add vacancies in a minute, and they go straight to your Telegram channel.
Common mistakes
Year-old vacancies, a Word application form to "download and send back", a single-language site, a free email address — all of these put off seafarers and shipowners alike.
AI
AI in your crewing work
- Forms, CVs and scans go straight into the database; the manager just checks.
- Letters to shipowners, vacancies and replies to seafarers — drafts in a minute.
- Seafarers' passports and documents stay in a local model, never sent online.
- I train your managers — I work with Claude Code, ChatGPT, LM Studio and Ollama myself.
FAQ
Questions and answers
How much does a crewing agency website cost?
A business-card site from 150 GEL; a site with vacancies and an online application depends on scope — you get the price before work starts.
How many languages do we need?
At least English — for shipowners — plus your seafarers' language, such as Russian or Georgian.