Nauti Test ProIndependent practice for the ICS Marlins English Language Test for Seafarers
The ICS Marlins English Language Test for Seafarers (often searched as "Marlin test") is a computer-based test of maritime English: 85 questions in about 60 minutes covering Listening, Different sounds, Grammar, Vocabulary, Time and numbers and Reading. There is no pass mark — Marlins recommends a minimum by rank, from 45 % for an OS to 85 % for a Master, and your employer decides.
2,464 maritime English questions organised like the real test — Listening with audio recordings, Grammar, Vocabulary, Time & Numbers with dictation and Reading — plus an 85-question timed simulation with the section weighting Marlins publishes and an explanation after every answer.
Marlins has two other tests: for the hotel department of a cruise ship — see Marlins test for Cruise Ship Staff — and for oil and gas and offshore wind — see Marlins test for Offshore Workers.
The ICS Marlins English Language Test for Seafarers is the English assessment most crewing agencies and shipowners use before signing a contract. It is taken on a computer, has 85 questions, a recommended time of 60 minutes, and the result is a percentage. There is no pass mark: each employer sets its own, and Marlins publishes a recommended minimum for every rank — from 45 % for an OS or a wiper to 85 % for a Master. Two of its sections are audio-based, which is where most candidates lose points. (Format as described on Marlins' own page about the tests.)
| Section | Questions | What it tests |
|---|---|---|
| Listening comprehension | 25 | Bridge and engine-room exchanges, VHF calls, PA announcements, instructions |
| Grammar | 30 | Tenses, prepositions, conditionals, reported speech in shipboard contexts — plus putting words in order to make a sentence |
| Vocabulary | 15 | Ship parts, operations, safety equipment, documents |
| Different sounds and pronunciation | 9 | Words that are easy to confuse by ear (fifteen / fifty, ship / sheep) |
| Time and numbers | 5 | Times, positions, channels, quantities — spoken and written; some you hear and type |
| Reading | 1 | One task, worth a point per gap or heading: complete a short shipboard text, place words in sentences, or match headings to paragraphs |
| Ranks | Minimum |
|---|---|
| Master | 85 % |
| Chief Officer · Chief Engineer | 80 % |
| 2nd & 3rd Officer · 2nd Engineer · ETO | 70 % |
| Cadets · 3rd & 4th Engineer · Bosun · Pumpman · Chief Cook | 65 % |
| AB · Watchkeeping ratings · Fitter | 55 % |
| OS · Wiper · Galley ratings | 45 % |
Source: Marlins help centre, "minimum acceptance score" by rank (January 2022). Marlins may update these, and each employer can set its own — the figures for cruise lines and offshore operators are different and come from other sources: see what score you need, by rank and by test.
What people ask before the test, answered with the source and the date next to every figure.
The minimums Marlins recommends by rank, what cruise lines and Saudi Aramco ask for, and how many questions you can miss.
Tactics for every section, the two-plays rule, the mistakes that cost the most marks and a study plan.
How much it costs, where and how you take it, how long the licence and the certificate are valid.
Ten questions each, two with audio, every answer explained — no account needed.
12 short tests in the format of the three written Marlins tests, ten questions each with two recordings and the answer explained. No account needed.
410 listening items recorded with British voices — VHF calls, engine-room handovers, emergency announcements, port calls. You get two plays before answering, exactly like the test; afterwards you can replay freely and read the transcript.
179 items on times, positions, VHF channels, draughts and quantities — 100 of them dictated as audio, with the classic traps (thirteen / thirty, "decimal", swapped digits) as the wrong options, and dictations where you type the number you hear, like in the test.
85 questions in 60 minutes with the weighting Marlins publishes: 25 Listening, 9 Different sounds, 30 Grammar, 15 Vocabulary, 5 Time & numbers and 1 Reading. Your result shows a percentage per section, next to the minimum Marlins recommends for each rank.
Every question explains the rule, the term or the sentence in the passage that gives the answer. The questions, the recordings and the transcripts are in English; the explanation is in English, Spanish or Portuguese — picked by your country, and you can switch it on the question itself.
Tap an option to check it. The free demo has more, no sign-up needed.
What ETA did the vessel give at the port entrance buoy?
Plays left: 2
Which sentence demonstrates the correct use of inversion for emphasis in a formal maritime context?
Choose the correct sentence.
Or take a whole practice test, ten questions with the answers explained: test 1 · the pilot boarding, modals of duty and engine-room words; test 2 · a rescue-boat drill, the third conditional and freeboard; test 3 · the passive, "at anchor for" and a bearing from the lookout; test 4 · a draft survey, the past perfect and words like reefer; test 5 · helm orders, the future passive and port clearance; test 6 · exhaust temperatures, the keel and "although" — the last free one. Thirty more with the reasoning behind every answer, by section: Marlins test questions and answers.
Many companies ask for the Marlins Test of Spoken English (TOSE) too: a short interview where an assessor asks about your duties and what you would say in a given situation, and grades you in one of six levels, from Beginner to Advanced. Marlins recommends Upper Intermediate for a Master, Intermediate for a Chief Officer or Chief Engineer, and Elementary for an AB or an OS. Here is one task, with a model answer you can listen to.
“Your vessel is arriving in port. Describe what you do to get ready for mooring — from the moment the bridge calls stations until the first line is ashore. Speak for about a minute.”
What the assessor listens for
A model answer
Transcript: When the bridge calls stations, I put on my helmet, gloves and life jacket and go forward with the bosun. First we check that the windlass and the winches are running, and that the stoppers and the heaving lines are ready. Then we take the mooring ropes out of the locker and lay them on deck, clear of the fairleads. When the pilot boat comes alongside, we rig the pilot ladder and report to the bridge by radio. As the ship comes closer, I throw the heaving line to the linesmen on the quay. After the first line is ashore, we heave it tight and make it fast on the bitts.
The full speaking pack is free for members: interview questions, situations, discussion topics and role-plays in four tracks (deck, engine, ratings and hotel staff), each with two model answers to listen to. How the TOSE works and what is in the pack.
Create a free accountThe ICS Marlins English Language Test for Seafarers is a computer-based test of maritime English used by crewing agencies and shipowners to check a candidate before a contract. It has 85 questions across Listening comprehension, Grammar, Vocabulary, Different sounds and pronunciation, Time and numbers and Reading, a recommended time of 60 minutes, and it reports a percentage score.
The Seafarers test has 85 questions and a recommended maximum time of 60 minutes — about 42 seconds a question. Marlins' About the tests page says there is no hard time limit; once you open a test with your licence code you have 36 hours to finish it.
No. Marlins sells each test as a licence code: the list price in its help centre is USD 23 for the Seafarers and Cruise Ship Staff tests and USD 40 for Offshore Workers (as last updated by Marlins in April 2023), and an approved test centre adds its own fee; ask your agency whether it pays. Marlins' own practice test is free, and so is the practice on this page.
No. Every rank takes the same Seafarers test — 85 questions, the same sections. What changes with your rank is the score you are asked for: Marlins recommends 45 % for an OS up to 85 % for a Master. Marlins does have separate tests for cruise ship hotel staff (50 questions) and for offshore workers.
On this site, with no account: six free Marlins practice tests of ten questions each (two with audio, every answer explained), a 30-question reviewer with answers, guides to each section and a 5-question demo. A free account adds tokens for the full bank and the timed 85-question simulation.
Nauti Test Pro works as an app: it is a web app you can install on your phone from the browser (Add to Home screen), with no app store. It is an independent practice tool, not an app made by Marlins.
Marlins itself does not set one — each employer decides. What Marlins publishes is a recommended minimum per rank: 85 % for a Master; 80 % for a Chief Officer or a Chief Engineer; 70 % for 2nd and 3rd Officers, 2nd Engineers and ETOs; 65 % for cadets, 3rd and 4th Engineers, bosuns, pumpmen and chief cooks; 55 % for ABs, watchkeeping ratings and fitters; and 45 % for OSs, wipers and galley ratings. The listening sections are where candidates most often fall short.
Yes. 510 of the 2,464 questions are audio-based: 410 listening items (comprehension and different sounds) and 100 time-and-numbers dictations, recorded with British voices. Before answering you can play each recording twice, like in the test; afterwards you can replay it and read the transcript.
It draws 85 questions in 60 minutes with the weighting Marlins publishes — 25 Listening comprehension, 9 Different sounds, 30 Grammar, 15 Vocabulary, 5 Time and numbers and 1 Reading — shuffles the answer order and reports your percentage per section, next to the minimum Marlins recommends for each rank. It is practice written by us in the format of the test, not the test itself.
No. Nauti Test Pro is an independent practice tool, not a Marlins test centre, and a result here is not a Marlins certificate. Our questions are written by us to mirror the format and skills of the test and are not the test's own questions.
The questions, the recordings and the transcripts are in English, like the test. The explanation shown after each answer is in English, Spanish or Portuguese: the app picks one from your country and you can switch it on the question itself. The app interface is available in English and Spanish.
Each practice — a 50-question unit, a drill or the full simulation — costs one token. International accounts start with 10 free tokens and get 5 more when the email and the phone are verified; after that you buy small packs by card, with no subscription.
The spoken test is a short interview with an assessor who grades you in one of six levels, from Beginner to Advanced: Marlins recommends Upper Intermediate for a Master, Intermediate for a Chief Officer or Chief Engineer, and Elementary for an AB or an OS. This page has a free sample task with a model answer you can listen to, and members get the full speaking pack free — interview questions, situations, discussion topics and role-plays in four tracks, each with two model answers.