Engineers on Marshall Islands Yachts

Marine Notice 7-038-2 (Rev. Jul/2024, §A.2.19) sets the engineer grade by the power of the single highest-powered propulsion engine, not the total installed power. Industry press reported it in March and April 2024; the rule itself appears to have come in with the Feb/2024 revision. Check the yacht's engine plate figures, not the brochure total.

MI-103 Yacht Code 2026 (Rev. May/2026) took effect on 1 January 2026. Some RMI documents have not caught up: MN 7-038-2 (Jul/2024) still cites the 2021 Code, and MI-103A (Nov/2022) still says the Inventory of Hazardous Materials applies only on EU port calls, which the 2026 Code contradicts. Where they differ, the 2026 Code is the newer text.

MI-118 (Rev. Mar/2026) gives 21; the MI-280 Filing Agents Manual (Rev. Jan/2025) gives 19. MI-118 is the certification requirement itself and the more recent revision, but confirm with the Administrator if a candidate falls between the two.

When the national CoC being endorsed is more than a year old, MI-118 §2.11.18 accepts a medical issued within 2 years, MI-118 Annex 7 says 1 year, and form MI-105 says 24 months. Sending a medical under a year old satisfies all three.

A Certificate of Receipt of Application (MI-151B) or an Urgent Authorisation lets an officer serve for up to 90 days while the endorsement is processed. Neither can be extended, because STCW gives the Administrator 90 days to issue. After a UA, the completed MI-105 must arrive within 15 calendar days or the UA may be invalidated.

MI-118 Annex 7, which lists the administrations whose CoCs the RMI will endorse, was last updated in Dec/2017 and repeats some countries. Confirm the current list with the Administrator before relying on it.

No RMI document gives a normal processing time for a Certificate of Endorsement or an SIRB. The only fixed figure is the 90-day STCW limit covered by a CRA. Fees are published in Marine Notices 1-005-1 and 1-005-2.

MN 7-038-2 says engineer grade follows the single largest engine, but does not say whether that same figure also chooses the power column in Tables A2 and A6. It matters on twin-engine yachts whose combined power is 3,000 kW or more.

The RMI issues no yacht engineer CoC; engineers serve on an endorsement of their existing CoC. No RMI source says how MCA Small Vessel, legacy Y1–Y4, USCG, AMSA or SAMSA yacht-limited engineer CoCs are graded. MI-118 §3.1.3–3.1.5 allows limitations to be carried onto the endorsement. The general RMI engineer exam counts service on "foreign-going trading vessels", and it is unclear whether yacht service is credited.