The edge cases
Governing: CY Notice 15; CYC 2025 17.3, 17.5. Builds on: L3.1–L3.2.
Assistant engineers
The CYC manning tables (17.4.4, 17.4.5) include an Assistant Engineer post on many yachts. CY Notice 15 Note 3 splits AEs by what they hold:
| AE holds | CY Notice 15 treatment |
|---|---|
| Non-STCW engine qualification (TM AEC, MCA AEC) | Written confirmation from the Yachts Section |
| STCW CoC under III/1, III/2 or III/3 | Malta endorsement "strongly recommended" to avoid problems with foreign port state control |
"Strongly recommended" is not "required", but a PSC officer in a French or Italian port will see a III/1 CoC with no flag endorsement and ask why. Endorse it.
Officers the MSMC does not ask for
CY Notice 15 is direct: even where a post is not required by the MSMC, "e.g. OOW Engineers or Electro Technical Officers", any officer on board holding a non-Maltese STCW CoC "shall hold a valid Malta Endorsement". The CYC has no ETO requirement, yet an ETO with a III/6 CoC still needs endorsing. The same goes for a third officer carried above the minimum.
Mixed holdings
Where an officer holds a non-STCW CoC (say TM Master on Yachts or a Yachtmaster) and a non-Maltese STCW certificate (say a GOC), CY Notice 15 says the STCW certificate gets a Flag State Endorsement and the non-STCW CoC gets written confirmation. Two processes, one officer.
GMDSS carriage (CYC 17.3)
| Yacht | Minimum radio certification |
|---|---|
| <300 GT, Sea Area A1 | One SRC or ROC |
| ≥300 GT and <500 GT, A1 only | One ROC |
| ≥300 GT and <500 GT, beyond A1 | One GOC |
| ≥500 GT | Two deck/navigation personnel with GOC (ROC if A1 only) |
Remember the Lesson 2.1 point: a deck CoC is endorsed together with a GOC or ROC.
Dual deck and engine roles (CYC 17.5)
A dual role may be accepted if:
- the officer is qualified and experienced in both disciplines;
- only one officer on board acts in a dual role;
- that person is not the Master;
- the yacht has full UMS, or has bridge control of main engines, high-level bilge alarms and engine and fire alarms relayed to the bridge;
- and the crew is not less than three.
CY Notice 15 requires formal written confirmation from the Yachts Section. It cites "Section 17.6 of the CYC 2025", but the dual-role text is at 17.5. Treat this as a cross-referencing slip until TM says otherwise.
WARNING — The mate-engineer on a small yacht On a 28 m yacht with three crew, the mate who "also does the engines" is the commonest dual role in the Med. Without written confirmation, the MSMC's engineer post is simply unfilled.
TIP — One email, several questions If an officer needs written confirmation for an AEC and for a dual role, ask both in one email with all certificates attached.
Cross-refer: Engineers on Malta Yachts for the engineering side; GMDSS in the MCA library.