If you hold an OOW (Yachts) <3000gt or Chief Mate (Yachts) <3000gt CoC, you can move on to the Master (Yachts) <500gt or Master (Yachts) <3000gt CoC.
If you hold a Master (code vessels <200gt), OOW (Yachts <500gt) CoC you will need to achieve the OOW (Yachts <3000gt) CoC before moving on to these two Master CoCs.
In order to gain a Master (Yachts) <500gt or <3000gt CoC, you will need to do some classroom training, some yacht and watch keeping service, and finally an oral exam.
The course certificates that you must have for Master are:
(the first 3 only apply if you hold an OOW <3000gt CoC, and do not need to be re-submitted if you already hold a Chief Mate <3000gt CoC)
Advanced Fire Fighting Certificate
Medical First Aid Aboard Ship Certificate
RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Shorebased & Practical Certs (commercially endorsed) or IYT Master of Yachts 200 tonnes (Unlimited) Certificate
Master Seamanship & Meteorology Course Completion & Pass Certs
Master Stability Course Completion & Pass Certs
Master Business & Law Course Completion & Pass Certs
Master Navigation, Radar and ARPA Simulator Course Completion & Pass Certs
Proficiency in Medical Care Aboard Ship Certificate
Human Element Leadership & Management (Management Level) certificate (if this wasn’t submitted with your Chief Mate CoC application)
MCA Celestial Navigation Exam Pass Certificate (NOTE: this is NOT the RYA/IYT YM Ocean cert. This certificate expires after 1 year)
ECDIS certificate (if this wasn’t submitted with your OOW or Chief Mate CoC application)
Master <500gt: if you are yet to receive any of these certificates but have enough service, you can still apply for the Master <500gt NoE, but you will need to submit the certificates to the MCA before the CoC can be issued.
Master <3000gt: when applying for this you must either have the Master <500gt CoC already, or all of the above certificates before you can apply for the NoE, as stated in MSN 1858. If you hold the Master <500gt CoC and wish to upgrade to Master <3000gt, you do not need to resubmit any of the above certificates, unless they have been added to the requirements since your Master <500 CoC was issued.
NOTE: Updating Training for CoC applications– anyone serving on board ship, who holds any of the following certificates must have documentary evidence of either completing the training course or updating training within the last 5 years:
- Personal Survival Techniques
- Proficiency in Survival Craft & Rescue Boats (CPSC & RB)
- Proficiency in Fast Rescue Boats (PFRB)
- Basic Fire Fighting
- Advanced Fire Fighting
Required Service:
The main difference between the Master (Yachts <500gt) and the Master (Yachts <3000gt) is Yacht Service and Watchkeeping Service.
For Master (Yachts <500gt) you must be able to prove the following service:
A minimum of 12 months Onboard Yacht Service as a Deck Officer, including at least 120 days Watchkeeping Service, in vessels of 15 metres or over in loadline length. (starting from the date your OOW CoC was issued).
For Master (Yachts <3000gt) you must be able to prove the following service:
A minimum of 24 months Onboard Yacht Service as a Deck Officer, including at least 240 days Watchkeeping Service. All of this service must be completed in vessels of 15 metres or over in loadline length and include 12 months in vessels of 24 metres or over in load line length, or six months in vessels of 500gt or more. (starting from the date your OOW CoC was issued).
Calculating Sea Service & Watchkeeping
Service should be in the deck department onboard yachts and will be reckoned from the date of engagement to the date of discharge.
A minimum of 4 hours of working duty in 24 hours would count as 1 full day.
A month is defined as a calendar month or 30 days if made up of periods less than 1 month.
At least 6 months of the qualifying seagoing service must have been performed within the 5 years immediately preceding the date that the MCA receive your application.
Service may be performed on vessels of any flag.
Candidates who are serving in a dual engine and deck capacity will have their service counted at the rate of 50%.
Sea Service Verification Process – any service gained on Yachts must have been verified by Nautilus/PYA. Please click here to read about the regulations.
Service Definitions:
Yacht service is counted as the time spent on the vessel, irrespective of the vessel activity, and excludes leave and other non-working time.
Actual Sea Service is the time spent at sea, which may include time at anchor or river and canal transits associated with a passage. If the time at anchor, on a buoy or mooring is part of a passage (i.e. short period at anchor whilst waiting for a berth or to transit a canal or lock) then it may be counted as actual seagoing service but on no occasion may a period of seagoing service at anchor, on a buoy or mooring, exceed that of the previous voyage. If the period at anchor, on a buoy or mooring is at the conclusion of a passage (i.e. the vessel goes to anchor rather than to a berth) then time will be counted as stand-by service.
Standby service is the time immediately following a voyage while the vessel is under preparation for a subsequent voyage. A maximum of 14 consecutive days may be counted at one time, but on no occasion may a period of standby service exceed that of the previous voyage. Therefore, under no circumstances can your total standby service exceed your actual seagoing service.
Yard service is the time when standing by a build, refit or repair.
Watchkeeping service is the actual seagoing service spent as a watchkeeping officer in full charge of a navigational watch for not less than 4 out of every 24 hours while the vessel is engaged on voyage. Watchkeeping service may be recorded on a cumulative basis. This means that every 4 hours watchkeeping accrued may be counted as 1 day of watchkeeping service and does not need to be completed in a 24 hour period. Time spent at anchor associated with a passage, whilst the Officer is engaged in a bridge watch and if this passage is part of the same 24 hour voyage, can also be accepted. Completing more than 4 hours watchkeeping within a 24 hour period cannot be counted as more than 1 day watchkeeping time, e.g. a 12 hour watch within a 24 hour period can only be counted as 1 day of watchkeeping time.
Applying for an NoE:
To do the final oral exam for Master Yachts <500/3000gt, you will need a Notice of Eligibility. This document is issued once the MCA have assessed your eligibility, and an oral exam cannot be booked until the NoE is issued.
Your service needs to be proved with 2 forms of evidence for each vessel on which you are claiming service time. Usually a Testimonial and a Certificate of Discharge. If you have a discharge book, this can be used with a testimonial for each vessel, or if you are a member of the PYA they will attest your PYA logbook.
You must send a form of ID with your application. You can send a copy of your passport, signed by your Captain and with their CoC number noted, but you can also send any form of National ID – birth certificate or Discharge Book are usually easier to cope without!
It should be noted that written exam pass certificates have a validity of only three years. If your module pass certificates are more than 3 years old when you apply for an NoE you will have to submit new pass certificates to the MCA before they will issue an NoE.
Click here to view MSN 1858 (the testimonials and certificate of discharge can be found as annexes of the M Notice – note that there are different testimonials for service gained by Deckhands and Officers)
You will need to download the application form. You must complete the form and send all of your original certificates and testimonials to the MCA.
The NoE will be processed in about 28 days. Once the NoE is issued you are deemed eligible to take the oral exam.