STCW certificates

CHIEF. CV · Glossary

What each certificate is, who needs it and how long it lasts: STCW certificates of competency and proficiency, safety and security training, training for the ship type, the medical certificate, and the offshore and DP certificates companies ask for.

Revalidation and refreshers at a glance

Certificate	Revalidation
CoC (officers) and GMDSS	At least every five years: 12 months of sea service in the last five years, or 3 months in the last six months; otherwise an approved test or course, or 3 months as supernumerary or in a lower rank.
Survival, fire fighting, rescue boats	Refresher every five years: BST survival and fire parts, PSCRB, FRB, AFF.
Tanker certificates	Every five years: three months on tankers of that type, or an approved course.
Medical certificate	Two years at most.
OPITO BOSIET · GWO	Four years · two years.
NI DPO certificate	Five years.

These are the international minimums. The administration that issued your certificate decides how it is revalidated, and can ask for more. Start early: a revalidation can take weeks.

Certificates of competency and proficiency

The certificate that lets you serve in a rank. Officers hold a certificate of competency (CoC); ratings hold a certificate of proficiency (CoP). Each flag you sail under adds its endorsement of your CoC.

Deck officer CoC II/1, II/2, II/3

What: Officer in charge of a navigational watch (II/1), chief mate and master (II/2), and ships under 500 GT on near-coastal voyages (II/3).
Who: Every deck officer, for the rank and the tonnage written on it.
Validity: Revalidated at least every five years (see “Revalidation” above).

Engineer officer and ETO CoC III/1, III/2, III/3, III/6

What: Officer in charge of an engineering watch (III/1), chief and second engineer at 3,000 kW or more (III/2) or 750–3,000 kW (III/3), electro-technical officer (III/6).
Who: Every engineer officer and ETO, for the rank and the power written on it.
Validity: Revalidated at least every five years.

Ratings’ certificates of proficiency II/4, II/5, III/4, III/5, III/7

What: Rating forming part of a navigational watch (II/4) and able seafarer deck (II/5); rating forming part of an engineering watch (III/4) and able seafarer engine (III/5); electro-technical rating (III/7).
Who: Ratings who keep a watch or serve as able seafarers.
Validity: STCW sets no expiry; some administrations print one.

GMDSS radio operator: GOC and ROC IV/2

What: General Operator’s Certificate (GOC) for ships trading worldwide; Restricted Operator’s Certificate (ROC) for sea area A1 only.
Who: Deck officers who keep radio watch: in practice every deck officer on a ship in the GMDSS.
Validity: Revalidated every five years, like a CoC. Most flags also issue an endorsement of it.

Safety training

STCW chapter VI. Basic training is for everyone on board; the advanced certificates follow the duties you have in the muster list.

Basic Safety Training (BST) VI/1

What: Four parts: personal survival techniques, fire prevention and fire fighting, elementary first aid, personal safety and social responsibilities.
Who: Every seafarer with safety or pollution prevention duties: in practice everyone in the crew.
Validity: Personal survival and fire fighting are refreshed every five years. First aid and personal safety have no refresher.

Proficiency in Survival Craft and Rescue Boats (PSCRB) VI/2-1

What: Launching and handling lifeboats, liferafts and rescue boats, and taking charge of the survivors.
Who: Anyone in charge of a survival craft or rescue boat; administrations ask officers for it before a CoC.
Validity: Refreshed every five years.

Fast Rescue Boats (FRB) VI/2-2

What: Handling a fast rescue boat in a seaway, launching and recovery.
Who: The crew of a fast rescue boat, where the ship carries one (ro-ro passenger ships, offshore vessels).
Validity: Refreshed every five years.

Advanced Fire Fighting (AFF) VI/3

What: Leading a fire party, fire-fighting strategy and control on board.
Who: Seafarers who control fire-fighting operations: every officer.
Validity: Refreshed every five years.

Medical First Aid VI/4-1

What: Immediate first aid for accidents and illness on board.
Who: Seafarers designated to give first aid; asked before an officer’s CoC.
Validity: STCW sets no refresher.

Medical Care VI/4-2

What: Taking charge of medical care on board, with radio medical advice, for as long as the voyage lasts.
Who: The person in charge of medical care, usually the master; many administrations ask for it for the chief mate and master CoC.
Validity: STCW sets no refresher; some administrations ask for one every five years.

Security (ISPS)

Three levels, set by STCW regulations VI/5 and VI/6 for the ISPS Code.

Security Awareness Training (SAT) VI/6-1

What: Recognising security threats and reporting them.
Who: Every seafarer.
Validity: No expiry.

Designated Security Duties (DSD) VI/6-2

What: Carrying out the duties given to you in the ship security plan: access control, searches, watches.
Who: Seafarers with security duties in the ship security plan.
Validity: No expiry. It covers security awareness too.

Ship Security Officer (SSO) VI/5

What: Running the ship security plan, drills, inspections and contact with the company and port facility security officers.
Who: The officer the company names as SSO, often the master or the chief officer.
Validity: STCW sets no expiry.

Bridge and engine room courses

These skills are part of the CoC standards in the STCW Code, not separate regulations. Training centres issue a course certificate for each, and companies and administrations ask to see them.

ECDIS: generic and type-specific A-II/1, A-II/2

What: The generic course covers the use of electronic charts; type-specific familiarisation covers the make and model on board.
Who: Deck officers. The company must make sure you are familiar with the model on its ship before you keep a watch.
Validity: No expiry in STCW; a new model needs a new familiarisation.

Radar, ARPA and radar plotting A-II/1, A-II/2

What: Radar navigation, collision avoidance with ARPA, at operational and management level.
Who: Deck officers, before the CoC.
Validity: No expiry in STCW.

Bridge and Engine Room Resource Management (BRM, ERM), leadership A-II/1, A-III/1, A-II/2, A-III/2

What: Leadership and teamwork at operational level; leadership and managerial skills at management level.
Who: Deck and engineer officers, before the CoC of each level.
Validity: No expiry in STCW.

High voltage (over 1,000 V) A-III/2, A-III/6

What: Safe operation and maintenance of high-voltage systems: switching, isolation, earthing, permits to work.
Who: Management-level engineers and ETOs; many companies ask every engineer on a high-voltage ship for a course certificate.
Validity: No expiry in STCW.

Training for the ship type

STCW chapter V: certificates of proficiency for tankers, passenger ships, ships using gas or low-flashpoint fuels, and polar waters.

Oil and chemical tankers: basic and advanced V/1-1

What: Basic training for oil and chemical tanker cargo operations; advanced training for oil tankers and, separately, for chemical tankers.
Who: Basic: everyone with cargo duties. Advanced: master, chief engineer, chief mate, second engineer and anyone directly responsible for the cargo.
Validity: Revalidated every five years: three months of service on tankers in that time, or an approved course.

Liquefied gas tankers (LPG, LNG): basic and advanced V/1-2

What: Basic and advanced training for liquefied gas tanker cargo operations. One certificate covers LPG and LNG carriers.
Who: As for oil and chemical tankers, on gas carriers.
Validity: Revalidated every five years: three months on gas tankers in that time, or an approved course.

Passenger ships V/2

What: Crowd management; crisis management and human behaviour; passenger safety, cargo safety and hull integrity on ro-ro passenger ships; safety training for staff serving passengers.
Who: Crew of passenger ships, by duty: crisis management for the master, chief engineer, chief mate, second engineer and anyone responsible for passengers’ safety in an emergency.
Validity: Crowd and crisis management are refreshed every five years.

Ships using gas or low-flashpoint fuels (IGF Code) V/3

What: Basic and advanced training for ships running on LNG and other low-flashpoint fuels, such as dual-fuel container ships and car carriers.
Who: Basic: everyone with duties on the fuel. Advanced: master, engineer officers and anyone directly responsible for the fuel.
Validity: Revalidated every five years with service on such ships or an approved course.

Polar waters: basic and advanced V/4

What: Navigation and ship handling in ice under the Polar Code.
Who: Basic: officers of the watch on ships in polar waters. Advanced: master and chief mate.
Validity: Revalidated every five years with service in polar waters or an approved course.

Medical fitness

Not a training certificate, but the document crewing checks first after the CoC.

Seafarer medical certificate I/9

What: Issued by a doctor your flag or country recognises, for example the UK ENG1. It states fitness for duty, eyesight, hearing and any limitations.
Who: Every seafarer.
Validity: Two years at most, one year under the age of 18; the colour vision part six years at most.

Pre-employment medical (PEME) Company

What: A medical a company or its insurer asks for before a contract. It does not replace the flag medical certificate.
Who: Seafarers joining companies that require it.
Validity: Set by the company, usually one contract or one year.

Offshore safety: OPITO and GWO

Not STCW. Oil and gas operators ask for OPITO training before you fly to an installation; offshore wind operators ask for GWO.

BOSIET with CA-EBS, and the FOET refresher OPITO

What: Basic offshore safety induction and emergency training: helicopter safety and underwater escape (HUET) with a compressed-air breathing system, sea survival, fire fighting, first aid. T-BOSIET and T-FOET are the tropical versions.
Who: Anyone travelling by helicopter to an offshore installation.
Validity: Four years. FOET renews it if taken before the BOSIET expires; after that, the full BOSIET again.

GWO Basic Safety Training GWO

What: Five modules for offshore wind: first aid, manual handling, fire awareness, working at heights, sea survival.
Who: Crew of service operation vessels and crew transfer vessels who go onto turbines, and technicians.
Validity: Two years per module; renewed by the refresher course while the module is still valid.

Dynamic positioning (DP)

Not STCW either. The DP operator certificate most offshore companies ask for is issued by The Nautical Institute; IMCA guidance M 117 sets the training and experience for DP personnel. DNV runs a second DPO certification scheme.

DP Induction course (formerly “Basic”) NI, phase A

What: The principles of DP, its equipment and operations, with an online test. It opens the DP logbook.
Who: Deck officers starting on DP vessels; engineers and ETOs often take it too.
Validity: A step, not a certificate to renew: all phases must be completed within five years.

DP sea time NI, phases B and D

What: Days on board a DP vessel with DP watchkeeping and logbook tasks, in two blocks: before and after the simulator course; the NI standard sets the number of days.
Who: DPO trainees.
Validity: Signed by the master in the NI logbook.

DP Simulator course (formerly “Advanced”) NI, phase C

What: DP operations, failures and emergencies on a simulator.
Who: DPO trainees, after the first block of DP sea time.
Validity: A step of the scheme.

DPO certificate: Unlimited or Limited NI

What: Issued after the phases and the master’s statement of suitability (phase E). Unlimited needs DP sea time on DP2 or DP3 vessels; with time only on DP1 vessels it is Limited.
Who: DP operators: offshore supply, construction, drilling and shuttle tanker deck officers.
Validity: Five years. Revalidation counts recent DP days in your logbook and asks for continuing professional development or a course and an online exam; the rules changed from 2024, so check the current NI requirements.

DP for engineers and ETOs IMCA M 117

What: There is no NI certificate for engine room DP staff. Companies follow IMCA M 117: DP induction, a DP maintenance or technical course from a training centre, and a DP record of experience.
Who: Engineers and ETOs on DP vessels.
Validity: Set by the company.

Which of these each rank lists in a CV: Seafarer CV by rank →

Sources

These are the international minimums. The administration that issued your certificate decides how it is revalidated, and can ask for more. Start early: a revalidation can take weeks.