Where engineers stand on the Malta flag
Governing: CYC 2025 ss.17.2–17.4; S.L. 234.17 reg 4. Builds on: your own flag's engineer CoC.
The short version
Malta's Merchant Shipping Directorate writes yacht deck CoCs (OOW, Master and Chief Mate (Yachts)), but it has no yacht-restricted engineer CoC. S.L. 234.17 reg 4 provides only the general STCW engineer grades:
| Maltese CoC | STCW reg | Power band (propulsion power) |
|---|---|---|
| Officer in charge of an engineering watch | III/1 | 750 kW or more |
| Chief / Second engineer | III/2 | 3,000 kW or more |
| Chief / Second engineer | III/3 | 750–3,000 kW |
| Electro-technical officer | III/6 | 750 kW or more |
These are merchant tickets, earned through cadetship or long engine-department service. Hardly anyone in yachting holds one. In practice the Malta engine room runs on foreign yacht tickets.
What CYC 2025 accepts
Section 17.2.5 is the "List of Commercial Yacht Qualifications accepted onboard Commercial Yachts". The engineering items are:
- 6. Transport Malta (TM) AEC
- 7. MCA Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4
- 8. MCA Engineer Officer Small Vessel CoC (SV CoC), in line with MCA MIN 524
- 9. MCA "full/new" AEC (AEC 1 + AEC 2)
- 10. MCA "old" AEC
- 11. MCA MEOL(Y)
- 15. Any STCW qualification, subject to Malta endorsement; other non-STCW qualifications "may be accepted" by the Administration via the Yachts Section.
Every other engineer, including those holding RMI, AMSA, SAMSA, USCG, Dutch or Italian tickets, comes in under item 15. That route is covered in L1.3.
CAUTION — the list is not a licence Both manning tables open with "Seafarer certification is subject to prior acceptance by the Administration" (17.4.4.1 and 17.4.5.1). Being on the list gets a certificate considered. The MSD then decides whether it fits the yacht when it issues the Minimum Safe Manning Certificate (MSMC).
The TM AEC
Malta's only yacht engine qualification is the TM Accredited Engine Course (Yachts), set out in CY Notice 5 / MS Notice 165 Rev.1 (28 June 2022). Candidates need to be 18, hold a medical and basic training, and complete an approved course. The certificate is valid for 10 years. It is a course certificate, not a CoC, and it is non-STCW.
What the list leaves out
The CYC prints rank and area limits against the deck items (for example "Master ≤ 200 GT & ≤ 150 nm"). The engineering items carry no printed limits at all. The note under the list says ranks "marked in red" are concessions, and that colour is lost in the version of the Code this course was built from. So nothing in the CYC text states which rank a TM AEC or an MEOL(Y) may fill. In practice:
- the manning table says which positions the yacht needs (L2.1, L2.2);
- the certificate's own limits (for example the MCA Y-ticket GT/kW limits) say which positions the holder may fill (L1.2);
- CY Notice 15 sends any mismatch to the Yachts Section for written confirmation (L1.3).
TIP — private yachts The CYC covers yachts in commercial use. No Malta document found sets engineer certification for private (pleasure) yachts. Check with the Yachts Section rather than assuming the CYC applies.
Where this sits among other courses
For the MCA engineering route itself (AEC 1/2, MEOL(SV), SV and Y-ticket orals), see the MCA library courses on the SV engineering route. For the whole CYC manning picture, including deck, see Malta Commercial Yacht Code 2025 and Safe Manning.