<![CDATA[Maritime English-speaking proficiency is a critical competency for seafarers to ensure safe and effective international maritime communication. However, speaking performance among vocational maritime cadets in Indonesia routinely falls below required global standards. This qualitative descriptive study, employing a narrative inquiry approach, investigated the specific English-speaking difficulties and underlying influencing factors among twenty purposively selected fourth-semester Marine Engineering cadets at Barombong Merchant Marine Polytechnic. Data collected via in-depth interviews and non-participant classroom observations were systematically analyzed utilizing the Miles and Huberman framework. The findings reveal that cadets confront severe linguistic barriers (restricted vocabulary, pronunciation errors, and grammatical deficiencies) alongside profound psychological hurdles (debilitating anxiety, low self-confidence, and fear of making mistakes). Furthermore, these difficulties are compounded by an interplay of internal and external factors, including socio-economic backgrounds, conventional instructor pedagogy, substandard language facilities, senior peer pressure, and exhaustive physical training schedules. Collectively, these multi-dimensional constraints severely impede communicative competence. This study underscores the urgent need for targeted pedagogical interventions, curriculum alignment, and institutional policy reforms to enhance Maritime English proficiency and ensure global maritime workforce readiness.]]>
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