Orientation
Governing: MI-118 (Rev. Mar/2026) §2.2 and §7.0; MI-290 (Sept/2024) §4.6. Builds on: your national CoC and Basic Safety.
The problem the endorsement solves
A Certificate of Competency is issued by one administration and is valid, on its own, only under that administration's flag. When you join a yacht registered in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the RMI Maritime Administrator is the flag, and it wants its own paper that says it has looked at your certificate and accepted it. That paper is the Certificate of Endorsement (CoE) — sometimes loosely called the RMI endorsement or "RMI licence".
MI-118 is blunt about it: no person may perform the duties of Master, OICNW, Chief Engineer or OICEW on an RMI vessel unless the Administrator has issued a CoC or CoE (§2.2.1). GMDSS stations must also be operated by someone holding RMI documentation (§2.2.2).
Two routes to RMI paper
| Route | Form | Result | Typical yacht user |
|---|---|---|---|
| Endorsement of a recognised national CoC | MI-105 | CoE on form MI-105D, valid for the unexpired term of the national CoC | Almost everyone: MCA, USCG, AMSA, SAMSA holders |
| RMI examination | MI-105E | CoC on form MI-105C, valid up to five years | RMI yacht-specific CoCs (see Marshall Islands Master (Yachts) Unlimited Tonnage and Marshall Islands 350 GT Master / 500 GT Mate) |
This course deals with the first route. The CoE is not a new qualification; it is the flag's recognition of the one you already hold, under STCW Regulation I/10.
Which yachts need it
MI-118 §7.2 requires every deck and engineer officer on an RMI commercial yacht, PAXY, PYLC or YET to hold a valid CoC from a recognised administration and an RMI CoE. The IRI manning page says the same thing in plainer words: all masters and officers listed on the Minimum Safe Manning Certificate need a valid CoC and RMI endorsement.
MI-290 (the Yacht Inspector guidelines) adds that officers on private yachts of 3,000 GT and above must also hold original RMI CoCs or CoEs, matching the rule in MN 7-038-2 that such yachts have carried an MSMC since 1 September 2024.
CAUTION — Private does not mean paper-free A private yacht under 3,000 GT is not required by the Administrator to carry an MSMC, but the moment it takes charter guests under PYLC or YET status the commercial crew rules apply. Lesson 4.3 covers the detail.
The rest of the crew
Officers are not the only ones affected. MI-118 §7.1 requires every officer and crew member with safety, security or environmental duties on a commercial yacht, PAXY, PYLC or YET to hold an RMI Seafarer's Identification and Record Book (SIRB). Deckhands, stews and chefs with muster-list duties are all caught. Lesson 3.2 covers the SIRB.
Who is responsible
MI-118 §7.1 puts the responsibility on the owner/operator to ensure officers and crew have the right certificates, qualifications and experience for the yacht. In practice the captain and the management company run the process, but when an inspector finds a watchkeeper without an endorsement, "the agency said it was in hand" is not a defence.
TIP — Start before you sign If you are offered a job on an RMI yacht, ask on day one who will file your MI-105 and MI-273. The paperwork is not difficult, but it has a 90-day clock attached to it.