The Training Record Book (TRB) is the official proof of your sea training. It must be complete and endorsed before you can sit your competency exam. Leaving it to the last week is the most common — and most costly — cadet mistake.
What is the TRB?
It records that you have gained, in practice on board, the competences required by STCW. It contains:
- ship particulars and your sea service records,
- the list of tasks you must perform,
- the training officer's assessment and signature for each task,
- periodic reviews by the master (or chief engineer).
How to fill it in
- Write every week. Record the work in the same week, while details are fresh.
- Do the task first, then get it signed. Officers don't want to sign for work they haven't seen.
- Don't let signatures pile up. If the officer signs off, you can't get them.
- Don't forget the ship's stamp and date.
- Record your sea service days carefully.
- Photograph the book regularly as a backup.
Image: A.A. Buyskes / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
Working with your training officer
- Show the book when you join and agree which tasks can be done on this ship.
- Ask for a short weekly talk: what you learned, what comes next.
- Ask for chances to do missing tasks (anchoring, cargo operations, paralleling a generator).
Learning effectively
- Ask why. Seeing how it is done is not enough.
- Read the manuals: the safety management system, equipment and machinery manuals.
- Be active on watch: a deck cadet plots positions and assesses COLREG situations; an engine cadet logs readings and looks for anything abnormal.
- Join every operation: manoeuvring, loading, drills, maintenance.
- Keep a diary. Your own notes, alongside the TRB, are your best source for exams and interviews.
Academy assignments
Finish the reports and projects your academy requires while you are on board; the information is hard to get once you are ashore.
Practical tip: when you later apply for maritime jobs, interviewers ask "what did you do as a cadet?". A cadet with a well-kept TRB and diary answers with concrete examples.
Full series: Cadet Guide
