Oral Exam Prep

Malta OOW (Yachts) <3000 GT — Written Papers and Oral Preparation

MT-OOW3000YIssued by Transport Malta

Modules
6
Lessons
24
Questions
120

Independent study. xplor is not affiliated with Transport Malta and awards no certificate, endorsement or Certificate of Competency. The written papers and oral can only be passed through a TM-approved course, an approved nautical college and a TM-appointed examiner, and this course does not count towards any approved training hours. AI-drafted content pending subject-matter-expert review.

Drafted from S.L.234.17 Merchant Shipping (Training and Certification) Regulations (L.N. 153/2013 as amended by L.N. 26/2021); Transport Malta OOW on Yachts <3000 GT / Master on Yachts <500 GT Framework and Syllabus (2020 edition); Commercial Yacht Code 2025 (5th ed., Rev 1, effective 1 Jul 2025) and MS Notice 194 (30 May 2025); S.L.234.49 Accident and Incident Safety Investigation Regulations (L.N. 275/2011); MS Notice 92 Rev.2 (28 Jun 2022); MS Notice 118 Rev.2 (23 Sep 2026); CY Notice 15 (24 Apr 2026); TM Model Course 2.01 (2022); the STCW Convention and Code (Table A-II/1, section A-VIII/2); COLREG 1972; SOLAS Chapter V; IMO Res. A.893(21); UNCLOS; IAMSAR Vol. III; and IMO Model Course 7.03. MaritimeMT course information is secondary and labelled so..

Rule notes (13)

  1. Rule to know

    Foreign officer CoCs need a Malta endorsement before joining

    Every officer holding a non-Maltese STCW CoC needs a Malta Flag State Endorsement, applied for on the Seafarer Portal under MS Notice 92 Rev.2 (28 Jun 2022). The fee is €60 (€30 reissue, plus €25 courier), and deck officers must be endorsed together with a GOC or ROC. You may serve for up to 3 months on the application acknowledgement, so apply before you join.

    Sources

  2. Recent change

    CY Notice 15 sets the endorsement or written-confirmation route

    Commercial Yachting Notice 15 (24 Apr 2026) is a decision flow: recognised STCW CoCs get an endorsement, while non-STCW yacht certificates used outside the CYC 17.2.5 limits, dual deck/engine roles and CoCs from non-recognised administrations need written confirmation from the Yachts Section. A law-firm summary dates the notice 6 May 2026; the TM list says 24 Apr 2026. The notice also cites CYC "17.6" for dual roles, where the CYC 2025 dual-role paragraph is 17.5.

    Sources

  3. Not confirmed

    Recognised countries: no RMI, South Africa or Cayman

    No current TM-published list of recognised administrations was found. The undated EMSA DONA profile lists the EU plus 36 other states, including the UK, USA and Australia, but not the Marshall Islands, South Africa or Cayman; AML (Jul 2025) speaks of 40, including Brazil. Holders of RMI, SAMSA or Cayman CoCs should ask the Yachts Section for written confirmation before accepting a job.

    Sources

  4. Recent change

    CYC 2025 replaces CYC 2020

    The fifth edition of the Commercial Yacht Code took effect on 1 July 2025 (MS Notice 194, 30 May 2025), revoking MS Notice 164 and CYC 2020. A yacht certified to CYC 2020 must comply by its first renewal survey after 31 December 2025. Quote the edition when applying for a Minimum Safe Manning Certificate.

    Sources

  5. Sources disagree

    Does the Commercial Yacht Code start at 15 m or 24 m?

    TM's CYC web page still says "15+ metres", but CYC 2025 §3.1.1 applies from 24 m Load Line length, with the Small Commercial Yacht Code 2024 covering 12–24 m. TM's manning page also says commercial yachts of 24 m or less are exempt from the MSMC, while CYC 17.1.5 says "all yachts". The web pages appear to predate the sCYC; go by the Code.

    Sources

  6. Sources disagree

    SRC-only deck officers: the CYC and CY Notice 15 do not fit

    CYC 2025 §17.3.1 accepts one SRC holder on yachts under 300 GT in Sea Area A1. CY Notice 15 (24 Apr 2026) says deck STCW CoCs are endorsed together with a GOC or ROC. An officer holding only an SRC may meet the yacht's radio requirement and still have the endorsement held up; ask TM, or get the ROC.

    Sources

  7. Not confirmed

    ENG1 and other national medicals

    MS Notice 107 Rev.1 (8 Oct 2024) accepts a certificate from a practitioner "authorised … in the jurisdiction where the certificate is issued", which implies the UK ENG1 is accepted, but no TM document names it. Under CYC 17.8 the medical is renewed every 2 years, and every year from age 61.

    Sources

  8. Not confirmed

    Private yachts of 500 GT and over

    The CYC 2025 excludes pleasure yachts not in commercial use (§3.1.8); private yachts of 500 GT and over "shall comply as far as reasonable and practicable" (§1.13.2). No TM document found says whether they need an MSMC, endorsed officers or STCW crew. Ask the Yachts Section before relying on either answer.

    Sources

  9. Recent change

    The Maltese Seaman's Record Book is now digital only

    MS Notice 118 Rev.2 (23 Sep 2026) makes the Seaman's Record Book digital only, issued through the Seafarer Portal for €60 (plus €25). It has not been confirmed whether existing paper books stay valid, so keep your paper book and service testimonials until TM says otherwise.

    Sources

  10. Sources disagree

    Chief Mate and Master (Yachts) <3000 GT are missing from the regulations

    The consolidated S.L. 234.17 (as amended by LN 26/2021) lists only OOW (Yachts) <3000 GT and Master (Yachts) <500 GT. TM Model Course 2.01 (2022 ed.) and the PYA (10 Aug 2022) say Malta issues Master (Yachts) <3000 GT, and Chief Mate (Yachts) <3000 GT is its entry grade. No amending Legal Notice was found; the certificates are issued, but their legal basis is unconfirmed.

    Sources

  11. Sources disagree

    Qualifying sea service: 15 m for OOW, 24 m for Master

    OOW (Yachts) <3000 GT counts service on vessels of 15 m or 80 GT (S.L. 234.17 and the 2020 Framework). Master (Yachts) <500 GT needs 24 m or 80 GT, and Master (Yachts) <3000 GT needs 24 m LOA or 80 GT (Model Course 2.01). Time on a 20 m yacht may count towards OOW but not towards a Master grade.

    Sources

  12. Rule to know

    CYC engine tests are per engine, not total power

    The CYC 2025 manning notes test individual engine power (the 300 kW and 500 kW thresholds) and give no aggregate formula, so twin 450 kW engines still pass "no engine over 500 kW". MCA Y-ticket limits, by contrast, are set on total propulsion power. Check both on the same yacht: one per engine for the manning table, one combined for the ticket.

    Sources

  13. Sources disagree

    Seven written papers or six?

    The TM OOW (Yachts) <3000 GT / Master (Yachts) <500 GT Framework and Syllabus (2020 ed.) lists seven written papers, including Maritime Law. MaritimeMT's course page refers to six written subjects. TM publishes no pass marks, durations or question formats; confirm the current paper set with your approved institute.

    Sources

MT-OOW3000Y-M1 · The Transport Malta route and how you are examined

3 lessons

MT-OOW3000Y-M1-A Eligibility, sea-service reckoning, the seven written papers, the oral and the paperwork that gets you to issue.

In preparation
MT-OOW3000Y-L1.1Eligibility, sea service and the Training Record BookMost delays happen before the first paper: service on the wrong size of vessel, leave counted as sea time, or **no evidence of six months' bridge watchkeeping**.PreviewMT-OOW3000Y-L1.2The seven papers, the oral and what Transport Malta does not publishThe TM framework names **seven written papers and an oral** across a 312-hour course. It does not publish pass marks, durations or question formats, so prepare to the STCW A-II/1 standard.LockedMT-OOW3000Y-L1.3Application, ancillaries and what happens after you passPassing the papers does not put a certificate in your hand. **Ancillaries, eyesight, medical and service evidence** all have to be in the file, and the CoC then needs revalidating every five years.Locked

MT-OOW3000Y-M2 · Stability (Yachts) and Yacht Construction

5 lessons

MT-OOW3000Y-M2-A Hydrostatics, transverse and longitudinal stability, GZ curves against CYC 2025 criteria, dry-docking and the hull itself.

In preparation
MT-OOW3000Y-L2.1Hydrostatics, density and load linesDisplacement, TPC, FWA and dock-water allowance are the arithmetic behind every loading question. **Get the density right first** and the rest follows.LockedMT-OOW3000Y-L2.2Transverse stability: KG, GM, free surface and listThe loading table, free surface correction and a list calculation are the core of the stability paper. **Lifting a tender is the yacht version** of every derrick question.LockedMT-OOW3000Y-L2.3GZ curves and the CYC 2025 intact stability criteriaThe GZ curve is where calculation meets the Code. **Simpson's rules give the areas; CYC 2025 section 8.2 gives the pass line.**LockedMT-OOW3000Y-L2.4Trim, draughts and dry-dockingLongitudinal problems use **TPC, MCTC and LCF** in a fixed order. Dry-docking adds the upthrust P and the virtual loss of GM when the stern touches the blocks.LockedMT-OOW3000Y-L2.5Yacht construction, watertight integrity and corrosionThe construction paper asks how the hull carries load, how water is kept out, and how dissimilar metals are kept apart. **CYC 2025 sections 4, 8 and 9** give the Malta detail.Locked

MT-OOW3000Y-M3 · Meteorology

3 lessons

MT-OOW3000Y-M3-A Observation and weather services, synoptic analysis and Mediterranean winds, general circulation and tropical revolving storms.

In preparation
MT-OOW3000Y-L3.1Instruments, observations and weather servicesThe examiner expects you to read a barometer properly, estimate wind and sea without instruments, and know **where forecasts reach a yacht at sea**.LockedMT-OOW3000Y-L3.2Pressure systems, fronts, fog and Mediterranean windsReading a synoptic chart means turning isobars into wind, cloud and sea state. In Malta's waters, **local winds** matter as much as the big systems.LockedMT-OOW3000Y-L3.3General circulation, currents and tropical revolving stormsYachts cross oceans on delivery, and the Caribbean season means **TRS avoidance is an examinable, practical skill**. Know the rules and apply them to a real wind shift.Locked

MT-OOW3000Y-M4 · Passage Planning and Celestial Navigation

6 lessons

MT-OOW3000Y-M4-A Appraisal to execution, tides and streams, sailings and wheel-over, then the sextant, the almanac and the celestial fix.

In preparation
MT-OOW3000Y-L4.1Appraisal, planning and under-keel clearanceA passage plan is berth to berth, written down and checked by someone else. **No-go areas, UKC and abort points** are what the examiner will test.LockedMT-OOW3000Y-L4.2Tidal heights, secondary ports and tidal streamsMediterranean ranges are small, but yachts spend winters in the Solent, Brittany and the Channel Islands. The paper expects **secondary-port heights and a course to steer** worked cleanly.LockedMT-OOW3000Y-L4.3Sailings, great circles and wheel-overOcean deliveries make the great circle a real decision, and every coastal turn needs a **wheel-over point** worked out before you reach it.LockedMT-OOW3000Y-L4.4Time, the sextant and altitude correctionsEvery celestial answer depends on **the right UTC and a correctly corrected altitude**. Most lost marks come from signs, not spherical trigonometry.LockedMT-OOW3000Y-L4.5Meridian passage and PolarisLatitude by meridian altitude is the simplest celestial fix and the one examiners expect you to get right **every time**. Polaris gives latitude at twilight in the northern hemisphere.LockedMT-OOW3000Y-L4.6Intercepts, position lines and compass errorThe Marcq St Hilaire intercept turns any sight into a position line. The same almanac data give **azimuths and amplitudes to check the compass**, which the framework names outright.Locked

MT-OOW3000Y-M5 · Bridge Watchkeeping and the Collision Regulations

3 lessons

MT-OOW3000Y-M5-A Collision avoidance and radar plotting, lights, shapes, sounds and buoyage, and the routine and emergency procedures of a yacht's watch.

In preparation
MT-OOW3000Y-L5.1Collision avoidance: Rules 5 to 19 and the radar plotThe steering and sailing rules are examined twice: in the written Bridge Watchkeeping paper and again in the oral. **A worked radar plot** is the bridge between the two.LockedMT-OOW3000Y-L5.2Lights, shapes, sound signals and IALA buoyageRecognition is pure recall, and the oral tests it at speed. **Learn the arcs, ranges and shapes for yachts under 50 m and over**, and the cardinal marks cold.LockedMT-OOW3000Y-L5.3Watch routines, rest hours and bridge emergenciesThe framework's biggest watchkeeping outcome is procedure: handover, standing orders, **when to call the master**, rest hours and what to do when equipment fails.Locked

MT-OOW3000Y-M6 · Maritime Law (Malta) and the Oral

4 lessons

MT-OOW3000Y-M6-A Legal foundations, the conventions and Maltese legislation for the law paper, then emergency drills and a full mock oral.

In preparation
MT-OOW3000Y-L6.1Legal foundations, UNCLOS and the IMO conventionsThe law paper starts with **how law is made and applied** and moves to the conventions that govern a yacht at sea. Know the zones and the flag state's duties.LockedMT-OOW3000Y-L6.2Maltese legislation, documents, casualties and commercial lawThis is the Malta-specific half of the law paper: **Merchant Shipping Act, subsidiary legislation, TM notices, the CYC 2025, MSIU reporting**, and the protest, charter and salvage questions every master meets.LockedMT-OOW3000Y-L6.3Oral preparation: COLREG, buoyage and emergency drillsThe oral preparation outcomes in the TM framework are **COLREG and buoys, emergencies, seamanship and legislation**. This lesson drills the first two in examiner style.LockedMT-OOW3000Y-L6.4Mock oral: seamanship, core subjects and legislationThe last two framework oral outcomes pull the whole syllabus together: **seamanship, stability and passage-planning publications, and Maltese and international legislation** for yachts under 3000 GT.Locked