Seafarer Documents Manager

Seafarer Documents Manager (SDM) is a personal organiser for maritime professionals. It keeps all your certificates, sea service records, and personal details in one secure place on your device — no cloud, no account required.

Navigation

• Documents — certificate and document storage
• Sea Service — voyage log and sea time tracker
• Personal — personal and contact information
• CV — one-tap PDF résumé generation
• Settings — language, theme, backup, modules

Optional modules (Settings → Modules)

• DP Log — Dynamic Positioning hours tracker
• MPC — UK 12 nm Midnight Position Check (auto-record)

The Documents screen stores all your maritime certificates, passports, licences and other paperwork with expiry tracking.

Adding a document

1. Tap the + button (top right).
2. Select a category from the chips: Passport, Seaman's Book, Diplomas, Medical Certificates, STCW Certificates, Offshore Certifications, National Endorsements, Other.
3. Enter the document name (required).
4. Enter document number, issue date, expiry date and place of issue.
5. Tick "No expiry date" for permanent documents.
6. Add notes in the Notes field if needed.
7. Attach a PDF with the paperclip button (see "Attaching a file" below).
8. Tap Save.

Attaching a file

Tap the paperclip and choose one of three options:

• From my scans — pick a PDF you captured earlier on the Scans screen
• From phone files — choose any PDF already on your device
• Scan with camera — take a photo now; it is cropped and saved as a compact PDF

Attached files are renamed automatically to match the document (e.g. Passport_2030-05-09_1.pdf). PDFs up to 3 MB are accepted.

Expiry badge colours

• Red — expires in less than 60 days
• Yellow — expires in 60–90 days
• Green — more than 90 days remaining

Search and filter

Use the search bar to find documents by name, number or category. The category filter chips above the search bar narrow the list to one document type. The icon button toggles between grouping by type and sorting by expiry date.

Editing and deleting

Tap a card to view details. Use the pencil icon to edit or the bin icon to delete. Deleting a document also removes its attached PDF scan.

The Sea Service screen is a voyage log that tracks every contract and automatically calculates your total sea time and STCW revalidation service.

Adding a voyage

1. Tap + (top right).
2. Enter Vessel Name (required) and Position (required).
3. Select Vessel Type from the list or type a custom value.
4. Enter Flag, Gross Tonnage, Engine Type, Engine Power.
5. Set Sign-On date. Leave Sign-Off blank if still on board.
6. Enter Company name.
7. Fill in DP Class and DP System if applicable.
8. Add Comments for any additional details.
9. Attach a PDF with the paperclip button.
10. Tap Save.

Attaching a file

The paperclip offers three sources: From my scans (PDFs captured on the Scans screen), From phone files, or Scan with camera. Attached files are named automatically after the vessel and position. PDFs up to 3 MB.

Sea time calculation

The header shows Total Days (all voyages) and Revalidation Service (months + days). Revalidation service counts only voyages with the R badge active (green). Tap the R badge on any card to toggle whether that voyage counts toward revalidation.

Sorting

Voyages are sorted with the most recent sign-off first. The active voyage (no sign-off date) always appears at the top.

The CV screen generates a professional PDF résumé from your data with a single tap and shares it via the system share sheet.

What is included

• Full name, photo (if added), applied position
• Career preferences: desired vessel type, minimum day rate, availability date
• Personal details: date/place of birth, nationality
• Contact information: phone, email, WhatsApp, address, nearest airport
• Sea service table: vessel, position, type, sign-on / sign-off — sorted newest first
• Documents table: name, number, issue date, expiry date
• Education and language skills
• Next of Kin (basic info on free plan, full details on Unlimited)
• Notes (if "Include in CV" is enabled in the Notes screen)

Choosing a design

Pick one of four résumé styles in the CV Design selector: Classic, Executive, Minimal, or Offshore (dark sidebar with vessel and certificate tables). The selected style is used for the generated PDF.

Generating the PDF

1. Fill in your Personal Info, Sea Service, and Documents first.
2. Open the CV tab.
3. Tap "Generate & Share PDF".
4. Choose where to send it: email, messenger, save to Files, etc.

The QR screen generates a vCard QR code that anyone can scan with a smartphone camera to instantly save your contact details.

What is encoded

• Full name and applied position
• Mobile phone number
• Email address
• Telegram handle (with deep link to open Telegram)
• WhatsApp number (with deep link)
• Microsoft Teams handle

Using the QR code

1. Open the QR tab — the code generates automatically from your Personal Info.
2. Show the screen to the other person.
3. They scan it with the camera app.
4. Contact is saved to their phone contacts instantly.

The contact preview below the QR code shows exactly which fields will be shared.

The Scans screen is a single place that gathers every file stored in the app — PDF scans attached to Documents and Sea Service records, plus photos you capture with the camera. From here you can review, bundle and share, or delete them in bulk.

What you see

The header shows three counters: total files, currently selected, and the combined size of the selected files. Each row shows the file name, the document it belongs to, its size and the date it was added.

Scan a document with the camera

1. Tap the + button (top right, next to the counter).
2. Grant camera access the first time you are asked.
3. Take a photo of the document.
4. Crop away the excess on the editing screen and confirm.
5. The app compresses the image and saves it as a compact PDF named SDM_scan_DDMMYYYY_HHMM.pdf.
6. The new PDF appears at the top of the list automatically.

Preview and rename

Each scan row has two icons on the right: the eye opens the PDF in a built-in viewer (scroll and zoom without leaving the app), and the pencil lets you rename the file.

Select, archive and share

1. Tap a file (or its checkbox) to select it — selected rows glow cyan.
2. Select as many files as you need.
3. Tap "Archive & Send" to pack them into a single ZIP and open the system share sheet (email, messenger, Files, etc.).

Deleting

Select one or more files and tap Delete. This permanently removes the files from the device and detaches them from their document or sea service record. This action cannot be undone.

Personal Info is the foundation of your CV, QR code, and document header. The more you fill in, the richer your generated CV.

Sections

• Photo — tap to add from gallery or camera
• Full Name — first, middle, last name
• Date and Place of Birth
• Nationality
• Applied Position — shown prominently in the CV header
• Contact: phone, email, WhatsApp, Telegram, Teams
• Address, city, country, nearest airport
• Visa information: USA B1/B2, Schengen, Australia
• Career Preferences: desired vessel type, minimum day rate (with currency and negotiable flag), availability date

Biometrics

A separate Biometrics section stores height, weight, shoe size, overall size, eye colour, hair colour and blood type. This section is stored separately and not included in the main CV PDF.

The Education screen stores your academic background and language skills. This information appears in the CV PDF.

Fields

• Educational Institution name
• Degree / qualification
• Specialisation
• Year of Graduation
• Languages spoken
• English level (e.g. B2, Upper-Intermediate)
• Additional skills (free text)

Next of Kin stores your emergency contact information. It appears at the bottom of your generated CV.

Fields

• Name (required to include in CV)
• Relationship (spouse, parent, sibling, etc.)
• Phone number
• Email address
• Address

Notes is a free-text field for anything that does not fit elsewhere: special endorsements, remarks for employers, medical notes, or personal reminders.

Include in CV

Toggle "Include Notes in CV" to append the notes section to the bottom of your generated PDF résumé. Useful for a cover letter paragraph or special remarks.

DP Log is an optional module for Dynamic Positioning officers. Enable it in Settings → Modules → DP Log.

What it does

Tracks DP hours on vessels across 30-minute time slots (48 slots per day). Records are grouped by day. Total Active and Passive DP hours are calculated automatically.

Setup

1. Enable DP Log in Settings → Modules.
2. Restart the app — the DP tab appears in the bottom navigation.
3. On the DP screen, enter vessel name, IMO, GRT, DP class, contract dates.
4. For each day, tap time slots to mark them as Active (blue) or Passive (grey).
5. Export the month as a PDF DP Time record.

MPC (Midnight Position Check) is an optional module for seafarers working in UK waters. It automatically records your vessel's GPS coordinates at midnight London time and checks whether you are inside or outside the 12 nautical mile UK territorial waters zone.

Why it matters

UK seafarers may need to prove they were outside territorial waters at midnight on each day to avoid NI contribution liability. MPC automates this daily record.

Enabling auto-record

1. Enable MPC in Settings → Modules.
2. Restart the app — the MPC tab appears.
3. On the MPC screen, turn on the "Auto-record" toggle.
4. Grant "Always" (background) location permission when prompted.
5. The app will automatically record your midnight position every night.

How auto-record works

A background location task runs every ~10 minutes. At 23:55–00:05 London time it captures the most recent GPS fix, checks the UK 12 nm zone polygon, and saves a record with status OUTSIDE or INSIDE. A silent notification confirms the save.

Manual records

Tap "+ Add Record" to enter a position manually. Use the GPS button to fill coordinates automatically. Tap a record to edit it.

PDF export

Select a month tab and tap "Export PDF" to generate a Midnight Position Check report with your name, rank, vessel name and the full month's records.

All data is stored locally on your device. Use the backup feature to export and restore your data, or to transfer it to a new device.

Exporting a backup

1. Go to Settings → Data Management → Export Backup.
2. The app creates a .sdm file with all your data.
3. Share it to iCloud Drive, Google Drive, email, or any storage app.
4. The file name includes a timestamp: seafarer_backup_YYYY-MM-DD.sdm

Restoring a backup

1. Go to Settings → Data Management → Import Backup.
2. Select the .sdm file from your storage.
3. All existing data will be replaced with the backup contents.
4. A success message confirms the restore.

Old .json backups

Backups from older versions use .json format. SDM can still import them. After importing a .json backup, export a new .sdm backup for future use.

Clear all data

Settings → Data Management → Clear All Data permanently deletes everything from the device. This cannot be undone. Export a backup first.

SDM Reader is a free companion web tool that opens your .sdm backup files right in a browser — handy for reviewing a profile on a computer, or for a crewing manager to look through a seafarer's documents and sea service. It runs entirely in your browser: nothing is uploaded, and no account is needed.

Opening a profile

1. In the app, export your data: Settings → Data Management → Export Backup (creates a .sdm file).
2. Open SDM Reader in any browser.
3. Tap Import .sdm and select one or more backup files.
4. Each seafarer appears as a row — name, position, nationality, contacts and counts of documents and sea-service entries.
5. Tap a name to open the full profile: Profile, Documents, Sea Service and Education tabs.

What you can do

• View the photo and a professional summary (position, nationality, preferred vessel, day rate, availability)
• Tap the contact buttons to open Email, Call, WhatsApp or Telegram directly
• Browse the full Documents and Sea Service tables, search by name/position/nationality and sort columns
• Load several backups at once to compare profiles side by side

Attaching scans

You can also load the document scans that belong to a profile so they appear next to each document row:

1. In the app, open Scans, select the files and tap Archive & Send to create a ZIP of PDFs.
2. Save that ZIP, then in SDM Reader tap Import scans and select the ZIP (or the individual PDFs).
3. Each PDF is matched to its document automatically by name and date — a 📎 View link appears in that document's row and opens the scan.
4. Camera scans and any file that can't be matched are listed separately under “Unmatched scans”.

SDM has a free tier and an Unlimited plan. The free tier lets you explore the app with limited data.

Free plan limits

• Maximum 5 documents
• CV PDF shows document names only (numbers and dates hidden)
• Next of Kin: name only in CV
• No Export / Import backup

Unlimited plan includes

• Unlimited documents
• Full CV PDF with all document details
• Full Next of Kin details in CV
• Export and Import backup (.sdm)
• All future premium features

Purchase options

• Monthly subscription — auto-renews monthly
• Lifetime — one-time payment, never expires

Restoring a purchase

If you reinstall the app or switch devices, open Settings and your subscription is restored automatically when the app starts. If not, tap your subscription status — the app will refresh from the store.