MT-END-L1.2

The Recognised-Country List

MT-END-M1 · Recognition: The Legal Gate · MT-END-M1-A What a Malta endorsement is, which administrations Malta recognises, and what to do when yours is not listed.

Before anything is filed, check whether Malta recognises your issuing administration. **The UK, USA and Australia are on the list. The Marshall Islands, South Africa and Cayman are not.**

The first filter

Governing: CY Notice 15 (24 Apr 2026), Note 1; S.L. 234.17 reg 9(1). Builds on: L1.1.

Step zero

CY Notice 15 opens its operational notes with a plain instruction: before anything else, check that the STCW CoC was issued by an administration on the list of countries recognised by Malta. If it wasn't, the endorsement route does not open, however good the certificate is.

The notice does not reproduce the list or link to it. The most complete published version we found is the EMSA DONA country profile for Malta. It is undated, so treat it as a working copy, not gospel.

What the DONA list shows

EU administrations (26 listed): Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden. (Malta itself is the 27th.)

Non-EU administrations (36 listed): Argentina, Australia, Cabo Verde, Canada, China, Cuba, Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia, Ghana, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Lebanon, Montenegro, Myanmar, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam.

What it means for yacht crew

CoC issuer On DONA list? Likely route
UK (MCA) Yes Endorsement via Seafarer Portal
USA (USCG) Yes Endorsement via Seafarer Portal
Australia (AMSA) Yes Endorsement via Seafarer Portal
EU states (e.g. France, Italy, Croatia) Yes Endorsement via Seafarer Portal
Marshall Islands No Written enquiry to TM Yachts Section
South Africa (SAMSA) No Written enquiry to TM Yachts Section
Cayman Islands No Written enquiry to TM Yachts Section
Brazil No (DONA) / Yes (AML) Confirm with TM

WARNING — The list may not be current A Maltese law firm (AML, July 2025, secondary) describes "about 40" recognised countries including Brazil, which DONA does not list. We found no current list published by Transport Malta. Before you promise a candidate a start date, have the management company confirm the issuer's status with TM in writing.

Why the gaps matter

Recognition under STCW I/10 needs the flag to be satisfied about the other administration's system, usually after an assessment and an exchange of undertakings. RMI and South Africa are STCW Parties, so reg 9(4) (non-Parties) is not the problem. The problem is simply that Malta has not listed them. Lesson 1.3 covers what a captain can do about it.

TIP — Look at what is actually printed on the document Crew often describe a certificate by the flag they served under. A "Cayman ticket" is often a Cayman endorsement of a UK CoC. Malta looks at the issuing administration of the CoC itself, so read the certificate, not the crew CV.

Cross-refer: RMI Endorsements for Yacht Crew and the SAMSA library cover how those administrations treat foreign CoCs in the opposite direction.

Practice questions

5 questions

recall · core

According to CY Notice 15, what should be checked first for an STCW CoC? (a) That it is under 5 years old (b) That the holder has served 12 months on a Malta yacht (c) That it has an RYA commercial endorsement (d) That it was issued by an administration on Malta's recognised list

recall · core

How many non-EU administrations does the EMSA DONA Malta profile list? (a) 40 (b) 36 (c) 12 (d) 26

recall · core

Which of these administrations appears on the DONA list of countries recognised by Malta? (a) Marshall Islands (b) South Africa (c) Australia (d) Cayman Islands

recall · core

Why should the DONA list be treated with caution? (a) It only covers engineers (b) It was revoked by CY Notice 15 (c) It is undated and a law firm cites a different count, so it may not be current (d) It is a UK list, not a Maltese one

scenario · core

A crew agent sends you a Filipino Chief Engineer with a III/2 CoC and a South African Chief Officer with a II/2 CoC for your Malta yacht. Which one is likely to need extra time and written contact with TM before the endorsement route is even open? (a) Neither, both countries are listed (b) The South African Chief Officer (c) The Filipino Chief Engineer (d) Both, because neither country is in the EU

Independent study. xplor is not affiliated with Transport Malta and awards no certificate, endorsement or Certificate of Competency. Endorsements and written acceptances are issued only by the Merchant Shipping Directorate on application, and nothing in this course guarantees that any certificate will be accepted. AI-drafted content pending subject-matter-expert review.