Orientation
Governing: MI-118 §2.8, §5.1 and §7.2. Builds on: L1.2.
The capacities issued to yacht officers
MI-118 §7.2 gives a short list for commercial yachts, PAXYs, PYLCs and YETs:
| Department | CoEs issued | Possible limitations |
|---|---|---|
| Deck | Master; Mate; OICNW | Yachts of not more than 3,000 GT; further limits by experience and qualifications |
| Engine (motor) | Chief Engineer; OICEW | Tonnage, propulsion power, or both; further limits by experience |
The merchant list in §3.3 is longer (Chief Mate, Second Mate, Third Mate and the assistant engineer grades), but yacht officers are endorsed against the yacht capacities.
For engineers who hold yacht certificates, the engine-room detail is covered in Engineers on RMI Yachts. The point to take here is that the RMI measures your power limitation against the single highest-rated engine, not the total installed power. IRI's own example: a yacht with two 3,000 kW engines on twin shafts needs engineers qualified for 3,000 kW.
Functions and levels
Every RMI CoC or CoE states the STCW functions you are qualified in and the level of responsibility (§2.8.2). A deck officer must hold functions 1, 2 and 3 (navigation; cargo handling and stowage; controlling the operation of the ship and care for persons on board). Master is a management-level capacity; OICNW is operational level.
Management-level applicants — Master and Chief Mate for ships of 500 GT or more, Chief Engineer and First Assistant Engineer for 750 kW or more — must also sign the MI-105 affidavit confirming they have read MI-105A, Familiarization with the National Maritime Legislation.
Expiry follows the national certificate
A CoE is issued for the unexpired term of the national certificate it recognises (§3.3.1, §7.2.1, Annex 7). If your MCA CoC expires in fourteen months, so does your RMI CoE. Renew the national certificate and you then apply to renew the endorsement (Lesson 4.1).
CAUTION — Two expiry dates, one career Crew often track their national CoC and forget the endorsement, or vice versa. Put both dates, and your SIRB and medical, in the same diary.
Training limitations carried across
MI-118 §5.1.1 lists competencies for which no SQC is issued because an unlimited CoC is itself the evidence: ECDIS, BRM, ERM, leadership and teamwork/managerial, high voltage, ARPA and radar observer.
ECDIS and HV are required only where the vessel is fitted with them. If you cannot evidence the training, the CoE is issued with a limitation to vessels not fitted with ECDIS or HV systems, and if that limitation already sits on your national CoC it will be carried across. To get it removed you must supply documentary evidence of the training.
Management-level deck officers have an alternative for ECDIS: at least three months' service in the last twelve on ECDIS-fitted vessels plus type-specific familiarisation (§5.1.2.4.2).
TIP — Read it the day it arrives Check your name, date of birth, capacity, tonnage and power limits, and any ECDIS or HV limitation against the yacht you are on. A wrong limitation is easier to correct before the inspector finds it than after.