Career roadmap
Merchant Navy to Offshore & DP
Courses, sea time, logbooks and landing the first offshore contract.
YouTube channel
Launching soon
Five strands, one channel
Voice-over episodes with documents and graphics on screen. For deck and engine officers, DPOs and SDPOs, rig and OSV crews, cadets and shore-side offshore staff.
- Strand 1DP & offshore vessel opsReference systems, ASOG, CAMO, footprints, drills and DP incidents.
- Strand 2Oil & gas field opsThe 500 m zone, SIMOPS, rig moves, anchor handling, jack-ups and drilling basics.
- Strand 3Navigation & rulesCOLREGs, bridge watchkeeping and stability.
- Strand 4HSE & incident lessonsShort, shareable lessons from real incidents.
- Strand 5Career & examsOrals, the DP certification route, and moving from merchant navy to offshore.
Up next: Position reference systems · Caught in the Net
Subtitles: English · हिन्दी · Tagalog next
Free tools
Live
Practise between watches
Simulators, trainers and apps that run in your browser, plus an exam trainer with 1,150 questions, 134 concept animations and a library of programs and simulators. No sign-up. Available in 12 languages.
Bridge & navigation
Bridge Simulator
Ten ships from container ship and VLCC to tug, PSV, AHTS and CSOV, with telegraph, helm, thrusters, azimuths, joystick and tugs.
Open ↗ Bridge & navigationShip Handling Trainer
Single-screw ship: turns, crash stop, channel work, berthing and turning short round.
Open ↗ Bridge & navigationCOLREGs Challenge
A timed quiz on lights, day shapes and give-way situations.
Open ↗ Bridge & navigationCOLREGs Animated
Every key rule animated: encounters, lights and shapes from three views, and sound signals you can hear.
Open ↗ Bridge & navigationChartwork Simulator
Practice chart: compass error, three-bearing fix, running fix, course to steer and distance off, with ruler and dividers.
Open ↗ Bridge & navigationCelestial Sight Simulator
Take Sun sights with a sextant, correct them, reduce by intercept and fix by Sun-run-Sun.
Open ↗ Bridge & navigationCompass Error Trainer
Amplitude and azimuth practice with worked steps, error broken into variation and deviation, gyro high or low, a deviation card builder and an ETA calculator.
Open ↗ Cargo & stabilityCargo Loading Simulator
Load holds and tanks; check drafts, GM, the GZ curve, shear force and bending moment at every step.
Open ↗ Bridge & navigationRadar Plotting Simulator
Plot targets by hand, find CPA and TCPA, then try a manoeuvre and get COLREG feedback.
Open ↗ Cargo & stabilityTanker Cargo Simulator
Checklist, loading and topping off, discharge with inert gas, and cargo quantity calculations.
Open ↗ Cargo & stabilityContainer Stowage Simulator
Plan a bay: stack weights, restows, reefers, DG, line of sight, GM and list.
Open ↗ Dynamic positioningDP Watch Standing Trainer
A question bank for the DP watch, growing from 124 towards 250 questions.
Open ↗ Dynamic positioningDP Decision Trainer
Make ASOG decisions across ROV, diving, pipelay, walk-to-work, FPSO cargo and drilling.
Open ↗ Dynamic positioningDP Position Reference Failure Trainer
Live position reference pooling with freeze, variance and median tests. Inject failures, including common-mode DGNSS, and watch the ASOG panel across 10 scenarios.
Open ↗ Dynamic positioningDP Sea Log
Keep sea time, DP hours and certificate expiries in one place. Your CV updates as you log. Prototype.
Open ↗ Offshore field opsJack-up Simulator
Tow to location with tugs, then jack, preload and handle a punch-through.
Open ↗ Offshore field opsAHT Operations Simulator
Practise anchor-handling tug operations on deck and at the winch.
Open ↗ Offshore field opsSubsea Simulator
Diving and ROV operations alongside a DP vessel.
Open ↗ Offshore field opsCrane Operations Simulator
Offshore lifting practice: loads, radius and sea state.
Open ↗ Offshore field opsDrilling Operations Simulator
Drilling basics for marine crews working on and around the rig.
Open ↗ Safety & riskRisk Assessment & JSA Trainer
12 ship and offshore scenarios on a 5×5 matrix with the hierarchy of control, model answers and a score, a printable JSA sheet and a 24-question quiz.
Open ↗ Daily readingWatch Brief
News, incident lessons, regulations, training and a short lesson each day.
Open ↗ Exam prepExam Trainer
1,150 quiz questions, 357 orals flashcards and mock exams across all 72 study chapters.
Open ↗ Cargo & stabilityLoad Line & Draught Calculator
Fresh and dock water allowance, load-to-the-mark and draught survey calculators with step-by-step working and six practice problems.
Open ↗ Cargo & stabilityCargo Pump & Tank Gauging
Pump and system curves with NPSH and cavitation, gauging corrections, and an ODME discharge-limit trainer.
Open ↗ Offshore field opsRope & Wire Inspection Trainer
Wire and synthetic rope anatomy, a 15-case inspection game and a working load calculator.
Open ↗ Offshore field opsAnchoring, Mooring & Fire Monitor Calculators
Scope, holding power, a drag-alarm watch circle, mooring line angles, and foam and monitor calculations.
Open ↗ Safety & riskPilot Ladder Rigging Checker
Rig a ladder against the ship's side, spot defects and work out steps and length.
Open ↗ Safety & riskSDS Reader Trainer
Find your way round the 16 sections of a fictional safety data sheet, with GHS pictograms and emergency scenarios.
Open ↗ Dynamic positioningDP Power Plant & Bus-tie Simulator
Trip generators, open and close bus-ties and check worst-case failure on a DP power plant diagram.
Open ↗ Bridge & navigationNav Tools & Signals Trainer
Morse with sound, signal flags, IALA buoyage and navigation calculators.
Open ↗ LibraryPrograms & Simulators Library
34 programs, simulators and CBT-style tools from the learning library, grouped by subject, with which Study Hub chapter and animation each one supports.
Open ↗Free learning aids. Not approved training, and they do not count towards sea time, DP hours or course hours.
Study Hub
Live
Every chapter, one place
72 study chapters and over 1,000 topics from cadet to Master and Chief Engineer, plus DP and offshore, with 511 free official sources and 325 reference books. Newly added: ropes and wires, anchors and mooring, towage, pilot transfer, helicopter operations, ROV, gas cylinders, DP power and assurance, competence and MOC, case studies, noise, drydocking, propulsion, gas carriers, cargo pumping and gauging, safety data sheets, firefighting and spill response, load line, ocean passages and OSV deck cargo. Each chapter has what to learn, the rules behind it, free official sources, the reference books to buy or borrow, original study notes and likely orals questions. Cadets get Study Paths: DNS deck cadets by semester and marine engineering cadets by subject group. Search it, and tick off chapters as you go.
- 12 chaptersDeck: navigation & watchkeepingCoastal and celestial navigation, compasses, ECDIS, COLREGs, BRM, met, GMDSS, ship handling, ocean passages.
- 16 chaptersDeck: ship, cargo & lawStability, load line, construction, cargo, tankers, gas carriers, IMDG, seamanship, ropes, anchors, towage, pilot transfer, maritime law, Master's duties.
- 12 chaptersEngineMain engines, propulsion, auxiliaries, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, electrical, electronics and automation, fuels, watchkeeping, MARPOL.
- 18 chaptersOffshore & DPDP systems, operations, power and assurance, position reference systems, oil and gas basics, anchor handling, OSV deck cargo, helicopters, ROV, subsea, lifting, W2W.
- 14 chaptersSafety, rules & careerSOLAS, conventions, ISM/ISPS, vetting, inspections and PSC, HSE, case studies, noise, SDS, firefighting and spill response, medical, MLC, competence, and the CoC and orals route.
Guides & books
Coming soon
Read it before you sign on
Written from the bridge and the DP desk, in the languages crews actually read.
Trainee & junior DPOs
DP Handbook
Reference systems, ASOG, CAMO, alarms and the watch routine, explained plainly.
Exam prep
Orals Question Bank
Master and Chief Mate oral questions grouped by topic, with model answers.
Print · 2027
Seafarer's & Offshore Diary 2027
Contract planner, sea time and DP hours tracker, and certificate expiry pages.
Keep at the console
Quick-reference cards
Lights and shapes, ASOG colours, DP alarms and emergency drills.
Want a copy when they are released? Send a message.
Coaching & courses
Prepare for the exam room
Small-group coaching for Master and Chief Mate orals, plus short video courses on DP and offshore operations.
Orals coaching batch
Master / Chief Mate orals
- Length
- 4 weeks
- Format
- 10 live sessions and a one-to-one mock oral
- Seats
- Up to 10 per batch
- Next batch
- Dates announced soon
Video courses
Short courses, in preparation
A mini-course and 76 scripted video lessons are being produced, built on the same public standards as the channel.
- Lessons
- 76 scripted
- Format
- Voice-over with documents and graphics
- Status
- In production
Consulting
DP & offshore consulting
Fixed-scope reviews, delivered remotely, written for the people who have to use them on board.
Documents
DP documentation review
- ASOG, CAMO and TAM review
- DP operations manual gap review
Readiness
Audit & inspection readiness
- OVID, CMID and IMCA-style mock review
- DP trials and FMEA findings follow-up
After the event
DP incident review
- Root cause analysis
- Lessons learned
- Crew briefing pack
Also available: rig move and anchor-handling planning, and SIMOPS procedures.
- Step 1Scoping callFree, 20 minutes. We agree what you need.
- Step 2Fixed quote & NDAA clear price and confidentiality before any documents move.
- Step 3Remote deliveryYour material is reviewed and findings written up.
- Step 4Review callWe go through the findings and agree next steps.
Shop
Merchandise
Gear for the bridge & DP desk
Mugs, tees, the 2027 diary and quick-reference cards.
Visit the store ↗
App
DP Sea Log
Scan CDC stamps, DP logbook pages and certificates. Sea time adds up and expiry dates are tracked for you.
Try the prototype ↗About
Capt. Ravinder Kumar Dhindwal
Master Mariner, Fellow of The Nautical Institute and Senior DPO. Most of what The Offshore Bridge teaches was learned on the bridge and at the DP desk, often when the plan and the weather disagreed.
Today that experience goes into the channel, the free trainers, the guides, orals coaching for officers, and consulting for offshore teams who want their DP documents and procedures to work on board.
- Built only from public standards: IMO, IMCA, GOMO and COLREGs.
- No company or vessel secrets, ever.
- Produced in English, with real subtitle files in other languages.
Contact
Send a message
For coaching, consulting, guides or anything else. Include your name, rank and what you need. Replies can take longer during a voyage.
Email
captravinder81@gmail.com