Small Vessel EOOW (Limited to Yachts) CoC

The MCA has introduced an Engineer Officer of the Watch (EOOW) <9,000 kW/<3,000 GT Small Vessel Engineering CoC that is Restricted to Yachts, to provide a pathway for experienced engineers working within the Yacht sector to progress through the SV Engineering structure, without having to obtain the large amount of actual sea service required for the full version of this CoC. This is a similar level to the old Y4 CoC and is detailed in MSN 1904 & MIN 642  

Getting Started – Yacht/Sea Service & Training Record Book:

To obtain an EOOW Small Vessel CoC restricted to Yachts only, you must first contact an MCA-approved training provider to purchase a Training Record Book (this is described in the MSN as ‘registering on a study programme’ and you can undertake your training at any accredited training provider once you have the TRB).

JPMA can issue your Training Record Book, and you must submit proof of meeting the following requirements for us to do this: 

Proof of 24 months yacht service on vessels of at least 200 kW, which must include a minimum of 6 months actual sea service (90 days yard time can be submitted as yacht service, but not sea service).

(we need to see 2 forms of evidence of this service – usually a testimonial backed up by certificate of discharge/discharge book/PYA SRB. We can accept scanned copies at this stage and it does NOT need to have been verified by PYA/Nautilus at this point. Any yard service needs to be detailed in a report verified by the Master/Chief Engineer/Company).

NOTE: You can use an additional 3 months of yard/dry dock time to count towards the yacht service requirements above. This service above the initial 90 days permitted must be documented in the form of a company letter/proposal and be emailed to the MCA for approval, before using it to apply for a TRB;

Once you have obtained a Training Record Book, in addition to meeting the above requirements, you must complete the following requirements to be issued with a Notice of Eligibility (NOE) to sit an MCA Oral examination:

A further 12 months yacht service on vessels of at least 350 kW,

This must include a minimum of 4 months actual sea service. The sea service must all be completed whilst maintaining a watch.

You must show a total of 6 months of watchkeeping service – 2 months of this may be completed while at anchor or made fast to the shore, as long as the yacht is using its own power, and other related auxiliary machinery is running;

Completion of SV Training Record Book during this 12 months service;

2 Weeks MCA-approved initial Workshop Skills Training followed by; 2 weeks actual sea service on yachts of at least 350 kW or 2 weeks of MCA-approved additional Workshop Skills Training.

The courses that you must undertake for this CoC are:

Course Exemptions:

You may apply to IAMI for exemptions from AEC I & II and Workshop Skills Training, if you have relevant training and experience that qualify you for an exemption. Email IAMI on exemption@iami.org.uk to access their exemption service.

You must also have a valid ENG1 Medical certificate.

If you are yet to receive any of these certificates, you can still apply for the NoE, but you will need to submit the certificates to the MCA after you have undertaken your oral exam

¹ NOTE: if you submit an Advanced Sea Survival/Restricted PSC&RB certificate, your CoC will be endorsed as follows: “not for use on ships equipped with davit launched lifeboats”

Your oral examination will be for Engineer Officer of the Watch on Small Vessels less than 9000 kW, less than 3000 GT, unlimited area, III/2, but your certificate will carry the following limitation: “Less than 9000 kW, less than 3000 GT, Unlimited Area, limited to Yachts”.

Calculating Sea Service

The qualifying service must be performed in the Engineering department. In the case of a dual role Engine⁄Deck candidate, half of the service is counted.

Yacht service is counted as the time spent on the vessel and excludes leave and other non-working time.

Sea service means proceeding to sea, and cannot include any yard time if gained on Yachts.

You are able to claim 3 months of the required Yacht service for service in shipyards, repair berth, anchorage and at lay-up. Any yard service needs to be detailed in a report verified by the Master/Chief Engineer/Company. Refer to MSN 1904, section 5.5 for full details of this.

You can use an additional 3 months of yard/dry dock time to count towards the yacht service requirements leading up to application for a TRB. This service above the initial 90 days permitted must be documented in the form of a company letter/proposal and be emailed to the MCA for approval, before using it to apply for a TRB.

A minimum of 6 months of your seagoing service must be spent performing engine room watchkeeping duties or UMS duties. This duty can be performed in a subsidiary capacity. A minimum of 4 hours of engine room watch in 24 hours would count as 1 full day of watchkeeping service.

At least 6 months of the qualifying sea service must have been performed within the 5 years immediately preceding the date your application is received by the MCA.

A month is defined as a calendar month or 30 days if made up of periods less than 1 month.

Sea service may be performed on vessels of any flag.

Yacht Sea Service Verification Process – please click here to read about regulations for service gained on Yachts.

Applying for an NoE

To do the final oral exam, you will need a Notice of Eligibility. This document is issued once the MCA have assessed your eligibility, and an oral exam cannot be booked until the NoE is issued.

Your service needs to be proved with 2 forms of evidence for each vessel on which you are claiming service time. Usually a Testimonial and a Certificate of Discharge. If you have a discharge book or PYA SRB, this can be used with a testimonial for each vessel.

This is all laid out in MSN 1904 & MIN 642 (there are different types of Engineer testimonial, depending on what type of vessel you are on. The Yacht testimonial can be found as an annex of MIN 642. The Certificate of Discharge and other types of Testimonial can be found as an annex of MSN 1904)

Update to Electronic NoE application process & online oral exams – the MCA have updated the application process to allow for applications to be made online using the submission of electronic documents. If this is your first UK/MCA qualification, you will still need to post your application.

You must send a form of ID with your application. You can send a copy of your passport, signed by your Captain and with their CoC number noted, but you can also send any form of National ID – birth certificate or Discharge Book are usually easier to cope without!

It should be noted that written exam pass certificates have a validity of only three years. If your module pass certificates are more than 3 years old when you apply for an NoE you will have to submit new pass certificates to the MCA before they will issue a CoC.

You will need to download the NoE application form. You must complete the form and send all of your original certificates and testimonials to the MCA.
The NoE will be processed in about 28 days. Once the NoE is issued you are deemed eligible to take the oral exam.

Removing the Yacht only restriction and Progression

Once you hold a Yacht Restricted SV CoC, you can choose to progress down the SV ‘Restricted to Yachts’ CoC route, or you may apply for an upgrade to an Unrestricted SV CoC when you meet the applicable sea time requirements listed in MSN 1904.  

JPMA offers oral preparation courses for the Small Vessel Engineer oral exams. Click here for details.