A ship captain (Master) on an international commercial vessel is typically offered about $10,325 USD per month, and LNG tanker captains are offered the most, at about $21,750 per month.
These numbers come from 720 job offers posted between July 2023 and October 2026.
Most of the offers (the middle half) were between $9,350 and $14,250 per month. They are advertised offers, not confirmed take-home pay, and not a count of every captain’s pay worldwide.
For what a Master actually does on board, see our ship master job description.
How Much Does a Ship Captain Make per Month?
Most advertised Master salaries fall between $9,350 and $14,250 USD per month. The typical offer, also called the median, is $10,325.
The median is simply the middle offer: if you line up all 720 offers from lowest to highest, half pay more than $10,325 and half pay less.
We use it instead of the average because a few very high or very low offers can’t pull it off course.
| What it shows | Monthly pay (USD) | What it means |
| Typical offer (median) | $10,325 | Half of offers pay more, half pay less |
| Most offers (the middle half) | 9,350-14,250 | A quarter of offers pay less than this range and a quarter pay more |
| Low end | $7,824 | 1 in 10 offers paid this much or less |
| High end | $16,000 | 1 in 10 offers paid this much or more |
| Lowest to highest | 2,000-23,900 | Smallest and largest offers we counted |
| Typical fixed-amount offer | $10,500 | Only offers with one set figure, not a range (443 offers) |
| Listings marked negotiable | 13.2% | 248 of 1,878 unique listings |
| Typical contract length | 4 months | Most contracts run 3 to 5 months |
Who this covers: International job offers from crewing companies that hire multinational crews. US-flag union contracts and UK Merchant Navy pay work differently and are often quoted per year.
Ship Captain Salary by Vessel Type
The type of ship is one of the biggest things that moves a captain’s advertised pay. In a nutshell, captains serving on tanker ships are offered more than those on dry cargo vessel.
Gas carriers and chemical tankers offered more than bulk carriers, container ships, and general cargo vessels.
The table lists every vessel type with at least 10 offers, highest pay first.
| Vessel type | Offers found | Typical monthly pay | Most offers fall between | Notes |
| LNG Tanker | 39 | $21,750 | 20,122-23,500 | Liquefied natural gas carriers |
| LPG Tanker | 49 | $16,000 | 15,000-16,100 | Liquefied petroleum gas carriers |
| Chemical Tanker | 69 | $14,450 | 13,000-14,900 | Ships carrying liquid chemicals |
| Crude Oil Tanker | 75 | $14,400 | 13,800-14,750 | Includes Aframax, Suezmax, and VLCC ships |
| Product Tanker | 18 | $13,125 | 10,875-13,988 | Refined oil products such as diesel and petrol |
| Ro-Ro / Vehicle Carrier | 25 | $10,700 | 10,150-10,900 | Includes car and truck carriers |
| Container Ship | 82 | $9,934 | 9,250-10,238 | Feeder ships to the largest container vessels |
| Bulk Carrier | 135 | $9,750 | 9,450-10,100 | Handysize to Capesize |
| General Cargo | 95 | $8,100 | 7,614-9,000 | Multi-purpose dry cargo ships |
| Coaster | 13 | $8,025 | 7,398-8,300 | Short-sea and regional trades |
The gap between the best-paid and lowest-paid vessel type is $13,650 per month: LNG Tanker at $21,750 versus Coaster at $8,025.
Where the other offers went: The 10 vessel types above cover 600 of the 720 offers. The other 120 are not in the table.
Of these, 50 did not say what type of ship it was (typical pay $9,710), and 70 were spread across 25 vessel types with fewer than 10 offers each, such as Heavy Lift (9 offers), Offshore AHTS (9 offers), and Tugboats (6 offers).
With so few offers, one unusual listing could make the figure misleading, so we left them out.
Offshore Master Salary: Daily Rates
Offshore Masters are often advertised with a daily rate instead of a monthly salary, so we looked at them separately.
| Position | Offers found | Typical daily rate | Most offers fall between |
| Offshore Master | 93 | $350 per day | 300-425 per day |
Don’t multiply these rates by 30 to guess monthly income. Offshore contracts often use rotation schedules and pay rules that differ from regular monthly employment.
What Decides a Ship Captain’s Salary?
Offers in our listings ran from $2,000 to $23,900 per month. These are the main reasons for the difference:
- Ship and cargo type: LNG and LPG carriers offered far more than bulk carriers and general cargo ships. These cargoes usually call for special cargo-handling experience.
- Tanker inspection standards: Oil and chemical tanker operators may ask for experience on specific ship types and with charterer inspection standards such as OCIMF SIRE 2.0.
- Trading area: Deep-sea ships can pay differently from regional and short-sea ships. Coaster captains in our listings were typically offered $8,025 per month.
- Contract length: The typical contract was 4 months, and most were between 3 and 5 months. Length may affect how pay is arranged.
- Union agreements: Ships covered by IBF or ITF agreements follow the pay scales and conditions in those agreements. Ships outside those agreements may be set up differently.
What we could not measure: Job listings rarely say whether the owner runs the ship directly or hires a ship manager, and they don’t show where the seafarer pays tax. So these two factors are not part of our comparisons.
Basic Pay vs. Total Earnings
A salary in a job advert does not always include the same things. Senior officer contracts commonly use one of two setups:
- One all-in fixed wage: A single monthly amount that covers the agreed duties and working hours, with no separate overtime pay.
- Basic wage plus guaranteed overtime: A basic salary plus a fixed overtime payment and, depending on the agreement, leave pay.
Advertised figures are usually before tax. What a captain actually takes home depends on the contract terms, deductions, and the tax rules where they live.
Ship Captain vs. Chief Officer and Chief Engineer Salary
A Master is typically offered a little more than a Chief Engineer and clearly more than a Chief Officer.
Here is how the three ranks compare:
| Rank | Department | Offers found | Typical monthly pay | Most offers fall between | Compared with Master |
| Master (Ship Captain) | Deck | 720 | $10,325 | $9,350-$14,250 | – |
| Chief Engineer | Engine | 884 | $10,000 | $9,000-$12,500 | $325 less (3.1%) |
| Chief Officer | Deck | 998 | $7,800 | $7,200- $10,500 | $2,525 less (24.5%) |
The pay ranges overlap a lot, and pay still depends on the ship type, the company, and the contract. On some bulk carriers and container ships, Masters and Chief Engineers may be offered similar pay.
Going from Chief Officer to Master also means taking on full command responsibility.
Looking for ratings, cadets, or other ranks? See our seafarer salary per month on international ships guide.
War-Risk Pay for Ship Captains
Captains and other seafarers on covered ships may get extra pay when the ship sails through an area officially listed as high-risk or warlike.
Under International Bargaining Forum (IBF) agreements, this may include:
- A 100% bonus on basic wage for time spent in a designated Warlike Operations Area.
- A minimum payment equal to five days, depending on the agreement.
- The right to refuse certain listed voyages, with repatriation (a paid trip home) under the agreement.
What a seafarer is owed depends on the ship’s union agreement and on which areas are currently listed. These areas change, so check the latest IBF and Joint War Committee guidance.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a ship captain earn per year?
It depends on how many months you are paid, your contract type, and your leave. It’s not as simple as multiplying the monthly salary by 12, because many international contracts pay only for the months you are on board, not the whole year. Use our Seafarer Salary Calculator to estimate your yearly earnings.
Do ship captains earn more than chief engineers?
Yes, but only a little more, in our listings. Masters were typically offered $10,325 per month and Chief Engineers $10,000, a difference of about 3.1%. The ranges overlap, and on some ship types the two ranks may be paid about the same.
Which vessel type pays the highest salary for a ship captain?
LNG tankers: typically $21,750 per month (39 offers). Next came LPG tankers at $16,000 (49 offers) and chemical tankers at $14,450 (69 offers). Bulk carriers were typically $9,750 (135 offers).
How does international ship captain pay compare with US or UK pay?
International offers are usually advertised as a monthly wage before tax. US and UK maritime jobs may follow national company or union pay scales, often quoted per year. Don’t compare the two directly without looking at contract length, tax, leave, and benefits.
Do ship captains receive war-risk pay?
Yes, if the ship and the seafarer are covered by an agreement that includes it and the voyage enters a listed area. Under IBF agreements this may be a 100% bonus on basic wage for at least five days. An extreme outlier was paid $100,000 a month for those transiting the Persian Gulf according to the Financial Times. The exact amount depends on the agreement in force.
How We Collected the Salary Data
We collected 2,311 Master listings, removed 433 repeats, leaving 1,878 unique listings. 720 had a usable monthly salary.
We removed repeats, put pay figures into the same format where we could, and calculated the results with a script. These are advertised wages, not what individual seafarers actually earned.
Where the listings went:
- 2,311 Master job listings were collected.
- 433 repeats were removed (the same advert reposted by agencies within 30 days), leaving 1,878 unique listings.
- 757 listings did not show any salary.
- 248 listings said the salary was negotiable.
- 93 listings gave a daily rate for offshore work.
- 2 listings gave an hourly or weekly rate.
- 58 listings had unrealistic figures (under $2,000 or over $30,000 a month) and were removed.
- 720 listings had a usable monthly salary. These are the offers behind every figure in this article.
We only published an overall figure when we had at least 30 offers, and a vessel type when we had at least 10.
As a cross-check, the typical fixed-amount offer ($10,500, from 443 offers) is close to the overall typical offer of $10,325 (720 offers). That suggests treating pay ranges as their midpoint did not distort the result.
Limits to keep in mind: Advertised pay can differ from the pay finally agreed. Only 38.3% of unique listings showed a usable monthly figure, so offers that hide the salary may not look like the ones we counted.
Conclusion
A ship captain’s pay depends mostly on the type of ship, experience, trading area, and contract terms. Across 720 international offers, the typical advertised salary was $10,325 USD per month.
LNG and LPG carriers offered the most, while bulk carriers, container ships, general cargo ships, and coasters offered less.
Use these numbers as a guide when you compare job offers, negotiate a contract, or plan your career.
Before you accept an offer, always check what the wage includes, how long the contract is, how leave works, and which union agreement applies.
What is your rank and how much are you getting paid?
May the winds be in your favor.
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