MARINA sea service, CoC and SRB: a guide for Filipino seafarers

Who issues what

Since RA 10635 (2014) the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) is the single administration for STCW in the Philippines. Its STCW Office runs the theoretical examinations and practical assessments and issues certificates of competency (CoC) and their certificates of endorsement (CoE). The PRC no longer licenses deck and engine officers.

The circulars that set the rules for seagoing officers are SC-2021-03 (Masters, Chief Mates and officers in charge of a navigational watch on ships of 500 GT or more) and SC-2021-06 (Chief and Second Engineers, officers in charge of an engineering watch and ETOs on ships of 750 kW or more). Certificates of proficiency (CoP) for Basic Training, tanker courses and the like come under separate circulars, SC-2021-04 and SC-2021-05.

How sea service is counted and proved

MARINA counts approved seagoing service on ships of the size the certificate is for: 500 GT or more for deck, 750 kW or more for engine. For the larger certificates (Chief Mate and Master on 3,000 GT or more, Second and Chief Engineer on 3,000 kW or more) the service has to be on ships of that size.

The STCW Convention counts a month as a calendar month, or 30 days made up of shorter periods. Count your days on board from your documents and let the evaluator make the final count: the result can differ by a few days depending on how short contracts are added up.

Sea service is proved by two documents that must agree with each other:

• a notarized Certificate of Sea Service from the shipping company or manning agency, showing ship, rank and dates;
• the entries in your Seafarer’s Record Book (SRB), or in your old SIRB, for the same contracts.

Both are uploaded to your MISMO account with the application. For cadets, the 12 months of onboard training count only when they are recorded in an approved Training Record Book. Shore work in a technically relevant job can replace sea service for revalidation only, at two days ashore for one day at sea (MARINA Advisory 2021-45).

Count your days and STCW months with the free sea-time calculator →

Sea service for each certificate

MARINA follows the STCW minimums. The figures below are the approved seagoing service; you also need the approved training, the theoretical examination and the practical assessment for the level.

MARINA’s own forms word the Master and Chief Engineer requirements in more than one way. Check the current SC-2021-03 or SC-2021-06 table for your certificate before you apply.

Revalidating your CoC

A CoC and its CoE are valid for five years. To revalidate, you need approved seagoing service in the functions of the certificate of at least 12 months in total during the last five years, or 3 months in total during the last six months, plus a valid medical certificate and the updating training that applies.

Without enough sea service, MARINA accepts one of these instead:

• passing the practical assessment;
• completing a MARINA-approved updating course;
• at least 3 months of approved sea service as a supernumerary or in a lower officer rank (not accepted for a CoC that has already expired);
• shore service in a relevant job under the equivalency matrix of Advisory 2021-45, at two days ashore for one day at sea.

Apply online through MISMO, three months before the certificate expires. Certificates are issued as digital documents with a QR code and appear in your MISMO account once the fees are paid. Book only through MISMO: MARINA treats the use of fixers as fraud.

How often each STCW certificate is revalidated →

SIRB, SRB and SID

The old Seafarer’s Identification and Record Book (SIRB) has been split in two: the Seafarer’s Record Book (SRB), the record of your sea service, valid for ten years, and the Seafarer’s Identity Document (SID), the biometric identity document under ILO Convention 185. A valid SIRB stays usable until it expires. The current rules are MARINA Circular MD-2024-01.

Since 13 May 2026 appointments for issuing, renewing or replacing the SRB and SID are booked only through the eGovPH app (MARINA Advisory 2026-24). MARINA advises applying when your SIRB has six months or less left.

At sea in international waters the SRB alone is not an identity document: carry a valid SID or a valid SIRB. MARINA applies a penalty when both are expired (Advisory 2026-29).

Common mistakes

• Company certificate and SRB entries that do not match: the evaluator checks both, and a difference in dates or rank sends the application back.
• Following superseded rules: the 2018 circulars and the COVID-era advisories (one-year validity, blanket extensions) no longer apply.
• Mixing up CoP and CoC: training certificates (Basic Training, tanker) and officer certificates come under different circulars.
• Using the supernumerary route for an expired CoC: it is accepted only while the certificate is valid.
• Counting shore work day for day: it counts two days ashore for one at sea, and only for revalidation.
• Sailing with only an SRB: it does not replace the SID or SIRB as identity.