Deck and engine crew on offshore support vessels
These vessels leave the Kakinada berths for the installations, and their managers commonly list an OPITO survival certificate next to the seafarer's own training.
Course snapshot
CourseTropical Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training (T-BOSIET)
OPITO code5501
Duration3 Days
Fee₹35,000
Validity4 Years
CourseT-BOSIET, OPITO 5501
Fee and length₹35,000 for 3 days
Certificate validity4 years
Train, Samalkot to KochiAbout 23 h 40 min
Nearest airportRajahmundry (RJA)
Where the KG basin comes ashore at Kakinada
From Kakinada the offshore fields are out of sight, so the working picture here is made of shore-side links. The first is the deep-water port. Its rating agency, ICRA, wrote in 2025 that the port's closeness to the KG basin brings in offshore supply vessel traffic, and described Kakinada as a transit base for exploration and production companies prospecting in the basin. The same report puts the port's total throughput at 17.8 million tonnes in 2024-25.
The second link is ONGC's asset organisation. A reply in Parliament records that ONGC created a separate Eastern Offshore Asset at Kakinada to speed up the monetisation of its KG offshore discoveries. The third is the set of onshore terminals. Cluster-2 of the KG-DWN-98/2 block sends its production to a terminal at Odalarevu, and the onshore facilities for its U-field gas were dedicated in November 2022. Terminal staff are not offshore every week, but shutdown and commissioning work can send them to the installations that feed the terminal.
What those installations look like matters for the course. Cluster-2 is described by Offshore Technology as an anchored FPSO in about 413 metres of water, plus a fixed gas-processing platform joined by a bridge to a separate living-quarters platform, with 34 wells and roughly 425 km of subsea pipeline. People are carried to a structure like that and then live on it, which is the situation T-BOSIET was written for.
A newer port is being built at Thondangi by Kakinada Gateway Port Limited, with a first berth expected by the end of 2026, according to a July 2026 report. A planned berth is not a vacancy, so book the course when an employer names the certificate, not when a project is announced.
ONGC Eastern Offshore Asset
Created at Kakinada to speed up development of ONGC's KG offshore discoveries, according to a reply in Parliament.
Kakinada Deep Water Port, offshore vessel traffic
ICRA calls the port a transit base for KG basin exploration and production companies; 17.8 million tonnes handled in 2024-25.
Odalarevu onshore terminal
Receives hydrocarbons from Cluster-2 of KG-DWN-98/2; U-field onshore facilities were dedicated in November 2022.
Cluster-2 installations
An FPSO in about 413 m of water and a gas-processing platform linked by bridge to a living-quarters platform.
Kakinada Gateway Port, Thondangi (planned)
First berth expected by end-2026; the SEZ has allotted it 1,600 acres for offshore logistics.
Who in Kakinada is likely to be asked for T-BOSIET
Terminal and process technicians at Odalarevu and Gadimoga
A shutdown or a tie-in can send ground staff to the platform that feeds the terminal. The induction is easier to arrange before the call than after it.
Riggers, crane operators and cargo handlers at the shore base
Some contracts move base staff onto vessels or installations for lifts and backloading. Check the contract wording before paying for the course.
Inspection, NDT and commissioning technicians
Specialist contractors mobilise through Kakinada for short campaigns and are normally asked for the induction before boarding.
Engineering graduates and diploma holders starting out
With the certificate already in hand, a graduate can answer a vacancy without waiting for a training date.
Choosing the version, and the format, from Kakinada
Start with the paper in front of you. If an offer, a tender or a vessel manager names T-BOSIET, OPITO 5501, book that. The tropical version suits warm-water installations such as those in the Bay of Bengal, and the fee equals the standard course, so the choice is about what the client accepts. Get the exact wording from the client. Because Kakinada is a day's travel from Kochi, the format matters too: digital delivery puts the theory online and leaves one practical day at the campus, saving two hotel nights and two working days but not money. The classroom suits people who learn better in a room.
Tropical Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training (Digital Delivery) →
You can finish the online theory in Kakinada and want a single practical day in Kochi. Confirm with the client that the digital certificate is accepted.
Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training with EBS (BOSIET with EBS) →
The vessel owner or operator names the standard BOSIET (OPITO 5700), or the crew could be sent to cold-water or international assets.
Tropical Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (T-HUET) →
Your other tropical modules are still in date and the contract calls only for helicopter underwater escape training. One day, ₹25,000, valid four years.
Basic H2S Training →
Your terminal or well-site rules call for hydrogen sulphide awareness. It is half a day at ₹12,500 and stays valid for two years.
The four units, read against Kakinada work
OPITO sets T-BOSIET at 19 guided learning hours. The first unit is all theory and the other units are roughly 40 per cent theory and 60 per cent practical. At our campus the practical work is done in an indoor pool with a Modular Egress Training Simulator and on a fire ground, and assessment is continuous against the OPITO standard.
- 01
Safety induction
Offshore hazards, the rules and management systems that apply, and who is responsible for what. For a terminal technician it is the language of permits, musters and safety zones.
- 02
Helicopter safety and escape (tropical HUET)
Brace positions, emergency procedures and escape from a capsized, submerged helicopter. If your rotation to a Cluster-2 type installation includes a flight, this is the exercise you will be glad to have repeated.
- 03
Sea survival and first aid
Lifejackets, life rafts and survival in tropical water without an immersion suit, with attention to heat and its effects on the body, plus basic first aid. Vessel crews who know boats will find the structured sequence after abandonment is the new part.
- 04
Fire fighting and self-rescue
Portable extinguishers on the fire ground and escape from a smoke-filled space. On a platform linked by bridge to its accommodation, getting out in poor visibility is a basic skill.
For Kakinada vessel operators, contractors and terminal teams
Buyers here are offshore vessel operators and ship managers, drilling and construction contractors, shore-base and logistics firms, terminal operators and manning agents. One safety or training coordinator often books for a mixed group: a few vessel crew, a few terminal technicians and a few new joiners, each with a different contract clause.
Standards that shape training in Andhra Pradesh
OPITO T-BOSIET standard (5501)Defines the tropical induction and sets medical entry options; the certificate is valid for four years.
Petroleum and Natural Gas (Safety in Offshore Operations) Rules, 2008Cover petroleum operations at sea in India, with OISD as the competent authority. The operator then writes its own training list into contracts.
Directorate General of ShippingSets STCW training for Indian seafarers, which vessel crew hold in addition to any OPITO certificate.
Operator and contractor induction listsThe practical rule. Each operator names the courses and codes it wants, and the contract wording decides.
What employers commonly ask for
| Course | Requirement note |
|---|---|
| Tropical Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training (T-BOSIET) | Commonly asked for warm-water Indian installations and the vessels serving them. Confirm against the scope of work. |
| Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training with EBS (BOSIET with EBS) | Sometimes written into contracts that may move crew to non-tropical or overseas assets. |
| Tropical Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training (Digital Delivery) | A way to cut days away from a vessel rotation; check that the client accepts it before nominating anyone. |
| Basic H2S Training | Asked for on some gas and sour-service sites. Track its two-year cycle separately from the four-year survival certificates. |
Planning a group booking
- A corporate account (portal.imostacademy.in/register) keeps your people, rate-card prices and bookings in one place.
- Indian entities in Andhra Pradesh are invoiced in rupees with GST, and statements are available in the account. Purchase orders can be referenced on the booking.
- Send headcount, the exact course code each person needs and the earliest mobilisation date. Groups from Kakinada usually share one train.
- Upload certificate scans so expiry dates are visible when crews rotate between a vessel and the shore base.
- Credit terms are possible for companies that pass a credit assessment; ask our team how the assessment works.
Operators and clients set their own requirements; confirm with your contract or HSE department.
From Kakinada to the campus at Njarakkal
Kakinada has no airport and we could confirm no direct flight to Kochi, so the dependable options are a train from Samalkot or Rajahmundry, or a flight from Rajahmundry with a change. Samalkot Junction is roughly 13 km from Kakinada Town, Rajahmundry airport about 60 km by road.
Visakhapatnam to Kollam Express (18567) from Samalkot
Listed as leaving Samalkot Junction at 09:35 and Rajahmundry at 10:15, and reaching Ernakulam Town at 09:15 the next morning, about 23 hours 40 minutes from Samalkot. One timetable site lists it daily and another mentions a single weekday, so confirm running days on the railway enquiry service.
Tatanagar to Ernakulam Express (18189)
Daily on the same timetable site, leaving Samalkot at 22:30 and Rajahmundry at 23:15 and arriving at Ernakulam Junction at 01:55 on the third day. It is a long ride, and the small-hours arrival means arranging where to wait.
Rajahmundry with a change at Chennai or Hyderabad
IndiGo flies from Rajahmundry to Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru among other cities. Chennai to Cochin is a direct flight of about 1 hour 15 minutes. Rajahmundry to Kochi was not listed as non-stop when we checked, so price a connection against the train.
Shared vehicle for a group
Allow around 1,250 to 1,300 km and more than 20 hours of driving. It only works for a group with two drivers.
A six-day plan from Kakinada
- 1
Day 1: confirm, then board at Samalkot
Get the course name and code from the vessel manager, contractor or recruiter. Ask our team for a batch that starts at least a day after your train arrives. Board 18567 at Samalkot in the morning and pack swimwear and a towel where you can reach them.
- 2
Day 2: arrive, rest, check in
The train gets in around 09:15. Cross to the campus side in the afternoon, keep your photo ID ready and bring any medication you take so you can mention it to the instructor on the first morning.
- 3
Days 3 to 5: the course
Induction, helicopter escape and sea survival in the pool, then the fire ground and assessment. The order is set by the instructors, so ask our team for the batch timetable. If you are a nervous swimmer, say so at the start and not during an exercise.
- 4
Day 6: head home with the certificate
Ask for the finish time before booking the return train. Photograph the certificate, send a copy to your manager and note the four-year expiry.