The Deck Officer Ladder

Prerequisites

Read the earlier lessons in this course, especially the one on STCW basics. This lesson uses the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) rules in MSN 1856 (Amendment 1) as its worked model, because they are published in full and are typical of a White List administration. Other countries implement the same STCW minimums but differ in the detail, so treat the UK figures as an example and check your own administration's rules.

Learning Objectives

• Name the deck officer ranks and the STCW certificate of competency (CoC) that goes with each.
• State the UK requirements for Officer of the Watch (OOW), Chief Mate and Master unlimited: age, sea service, exams, courses and oral.
• Define "seagoing service" and "watchkeeping service" exactly as the MCA does, and calculate whether a record of service qualifies.
• Distinguish unlimited certificates from tonnage and area-limited ones.
• Explain the roles of each officer on the bridge and on deck, and how the watch is handed over.

The Ranks and Their Certificates

STCW splits deck officer competence into two levels. The operational level is the officer in charge of a navigational watch. The management level is the Chief Mate and the Master. Each UK deck CoC lists the STCW functions it covers and the level, shown as "O" or "M" on the certificate (MSN 1856, sections 2.2 to 2.4).

The functions on a merchant deck CoC are:

Notice function 2, cargo handling and stowage. It is the clearest difference from yacht CoCs, which carry only functions 1, 3 and 7 (MSN 1858, section 2.4).

The Full Range of UK Deck CoCs

"Unlimited" means any size of ship in any sea area. Below that sit limited certificates, which are useful on smaller ships and coastal trades (MSN 1856, section 2.1).

Most cadets aim straight for OOW unlimited, because it opens every rung above it.

What Counts as Sea Time

Everything on the ladder is measured in months of service, so you need the MCA definitions exactly (MSN 1856, sections 9.2 and 9.3).

• Seagoing service is time on board a ship, in the deck department, counted from the date of engagement to the date of discharge.
• It must be on merchant ships of at least 24 metres registered length or 80 GT, proceeding to sea: beyond the UK categorised waters, or beyond harbour limits elsewhere. Any flag counts.
• A month is a calendar month, or 30 days when made up of shorter periods.
• At least 6 months of the qualifying service must fall within the 5 years before the MCA receives your application, and again within the 5 years before the CoC is issued (sections 9.2 and 19.1).
• Watchkeeping service, needed for Chief Mate and Master, is time as the duty officer in full charge of a navigational watch for at least 4 hours in every 24 while the ship is on a voyage.
• For unlimited Chief Mate or Master, at least 6 months of watchkeeping must be on ships over 500 GT or on voyages outside the near-coastal area.

Some time can be credited in lieu, up to a combined maximum of 2 months for any CoC needing at least 12 months of service: standing by a new ship, dry dock or repairs; for cadets, full-mission bridge simulator training; and up to 1 month on vessels of 24 m or 80 GT in categorised C and D waters (section 9.3).

Proof is your discharge book entries or certificates of discharge, backed by testimonials signed by the Master covering conduct, ability, sea service and watchkeeping (section 9.4). Keep these from your first day at sea. Missing testimonials are one of the commonest reasons an application stalls.

Rung 1: Officer of the Watch (Unlimited)

To be issued OOW unlimited, STCW II/1, you must (MSN 1856, section 3.2):

1. Be at least 18.
2. Since the age of 16, have 12 months' approved seagoing service on an MCA-approved cadet programme, documented in a Training Record Book (TRB), including 6 months on bridge watchkeeping duties. The alternative is the experienced seafarer route: 36 months' seagoing service with 6 months on bridge watchkeeping, or 48 months if you have been a general purpose (GP) rating outside an approved route.
3. Hold the ancillary and safety course certificates (see the table below).
4. Complete approved education and training to the STCW A-II/1 standard: a degree, foundation degree, Scottish Professional Diploma, or HND/HNC.
5. Hold a Signals certificate issued in the previous 3 years.
6. Pass the MCA OOW Safety Examinations in Navigation, and Stability and Operations, unless exempt through a degree route.
7. Hold a valid ENG1 medical.
8. Pass the MCA oral examination.

The written exams and the oral must be passed within the 3 years before the CoC is issued. The 6 months of bridge watchkeeping must be confirmed by a statement from the Master that you stood watches under supervision, which can include lookout and helm duty (section 9.5).

Degree students can be exempted from the MCA written exams if they average 50% overall with at least 65% in Navigation and 60% in Stability and Operations (section 11.3). Note also the clock that starts at graduation: you must obtain your Chief Mate CoC within 7 years of the degree course completion certificate.

Rung 2: Chief Mate (Unlimited)

Requirements (MSN 1856, section 3.3):

1. Hold a valid OOW unlimited CoC.
2. Complete 12 months' watchkeeping service as OOW.
3. Hold the extra management-level courses.
4. Complete approved education to the STCW A-II/2 standard, which in practice is the HND-level programme in subjects such as stability and ship structure, cargo, law and management.
5. Pass the MCA Chief Mate/Master Safety Examinations in Navigation, and Stability and Structure. Since 1 September 2022 every candidate must sit these.
6. Hold a valid ENG1.
7. Pass the MCA oral.

Rung 3: Master (Unlimited)

Requirements (MSN 1856, section 3.4):

1. Hold Chief Mate unlimited.
2. Have 36 months' watchkeeping service as OOW, reduced to 24 months if at least 12 months of it was served as Chief Mate while holding the Chief Mate CoC.
3. Hold the applicable courses and a valid ENG1.
4. Pass the MCA Master oral. There is no further written exam.

The second rule matters for career planning. Promotion to Chief Officer after your Chief Mate ticket shortens the road to Master by a year.

Worked example: is this candidate eligible for Master?

Priya holds OOW and Chief Mate unlimited. Her record: 20 months as Second Officer standing the 12 to 4 watch, then 13 months as Chief Officer after gaining her Chief Mate CoC, all on bulk carriers over 30,000 GT in deep-sea trades.

1. Total watchkeeping as OOW or above: 20 + 13 = 33 months.
2. The standard requirement is 36 months, so she is short.
3. But 13 months were served as Chief Mate while holding the Chief Mate CoC, which is at least 12, so the reduced figure of 24 months applies.
4. 33 is more than 24. She also has well over 6 months on ships over 500 GT and recent service within 5 years. She is eligible to apply for a Notice of Eligibility and sit the Master oral.

The Courses on the Way Up

All UK deck CoCs need STCW Certificates of Proficiency. The table follows MSN 1856, section 10.3.

NAEST is the navigation aids and simulator course. NAEST (Operational) taken after 1 July 2005 covers the STCW ECDIS requirement. Otherwise you need a standalone MCA-approved ECDIS course, and that course is a prerequisite for NAEST (Management) (section 10.5). HELM is the leadership and human-element training. The management version is always a separate course, whatever route you followed (section 10.4).

The Oral Exam and Paperwork

The process is the same at every rung (MSN 1856, sections 16 to 19):

1. Apply on form MSF 4274 with your sea service evidence, course certificates and ENG1.
2. The MCA assesses the application and issues a Notice of Eligibility (NOE), which is your offer of an oral exam.
3. Sit the oral with an MCA examiner and bring your passport. The pass is valid for 3 years.
4. If you fail, you can resit after at least 2 weeks, then 2 weeks again, then 3 months for later attempts. If a candidate shows fundamental safety errors, the examiner can impose a sea service penalty, meaning more time at sea before the next attempt.
5. The CoC is valid for 5 years, and your ENG1 must be valid on the day of issue.

Who Does What on Board

STCW sets the certificates. Ship-by-ship duties come from the company's safety management system and the Master's orders. A typical three-watch deep-sea ship looks like this:

The OOW is the Master's representative on the bridge and is responsible for safe navigation until relieved. MGN 315, the MCA guidance on keeping a safe navigational watch, sets out the handover. The relieving officer must verify the ship's position, intended track, course and speed, dangers expected during the watch, tides, weather and visibility, compass errors and the status of bridge equipment. They must also read and understand the standing and night orders. The outgoing OOW must not hand over in the middle of a manoeuvre, or to someone who seems unfit to take the watch. In that case the Master must be told. MGN 315 dates from the STCW 95 era. Its watchkeeping principles still stand, though the convention has since been amended (Manila 2010).

Case Study: When the Ladder Breaks at the Top

MAIB Safety Digest 1/2008, Case 11, de-identified. A 3000 grt combi-freighter was crossing a traffic separation scheme at night in rough seas. The Master was keeping the watch alone. Once clear of the lane he fetched some paperwork, sat down and fell asleep. The ship passed very close to a lightship and then ran aground. The chief engineer reached the bridge first and put the engine astern. No general alarm was sounded and no VHF or DSC call was made to the coastguard. The Master had been drinking and was later jailed.

The MAIB's lessons map directly onto the ranks in this lesson:

• Rank does not protect against incapacity. A second person on the bridge, meaning the lookout that the regulations require at night, or a bridge watch alarm would have caught it.
• After a grounding or collision, sound the general alarm and alert the coastguard at once. Do not wait to find out later that help was needed.
• The Chief Officer fixed the position immediately once called. Junior officers must be ready to act when the person in command cannot.

Common Mistakes

• Assuming any time at sea counts. It must be on qualifying ships of 24 m or 80 GT, proceeding to sea, and documented with testimonials.
• Counting time as a cadet or lookout as "watchkeeping service". For Chief Mate and Master you must have been the officer in full charge of the watch.
• Letting recent service lapse. You need 6 months within the last 5 years, both when you apply and when the CoC is issued.
• Forgetting the 7-year clock from degree completion to the Chief Mate CoC.
• Letting 5-yearly safety courses expire. Port State Control expects evidence on board.

Summary

• The ladder runs cadet, then OOW (STCW II/1, operational level), then Chief Mate and Master (II/2, management level).
• UK OOW unlimited: age 18, 12 months' cadet sea service with a TRB including 6 months on bridge watches (or 36 or 48 months on the experienced seafarer route), courses, Signals certificate, written exams, ENG1 and oral.
• Chief Mate: 12 months' watchkeeping as OOW, HND-level study, written exams and oral.
• Master: 36 months' watchkeeping as OOW, or 24 if at least 12 were served as Chief Mate with the CoC, then the oral.
• Watchkeeping service means at least 4 hours in 24 in full charge of the watch on a voyage.
• Merchant CoCs include function 2, cargo handling and stowage. Yacht CoCs do not.

Check Your Understanding

1. Which STCW regulation covers the OOW unlimited CoC, and which covers Chief Mate and Master?

Answer: OOW is Regulation II/1 (operational level). Chief Mate and Master are Regulation II/2 (management level).

1. What is the minimum sea service for a UK cadet to obtain OOW unlimited, and what must it include?

Answer: 12 months of approved seagoing service on an MCA-approved cadet programme, documented in a Training Record Book, including 6 months on bridge watchkeeping duties (MSN 1856, section 3.2).

1. How does the MCA define watchkeeping service?

Answer: Time as the duty officer in full charge of a navigational watch for at least 4 hours in every 24 while the ship is on a voyage.

1. A Chief Mate CoC holder has 26 months as OOW, 14 of them served as Chief Officer while holding the Chief Mate CoC. Can they apply for Master unlimited?

Answer: Yes. Because at least 12 months were served as Chief Mate with the CoC, the requirement drops from 36 to 24 months, and 26 months is enough.

1. Which ships does seagoing service have to be on?

Answer: Merchant ships of at least 24 m registered length or 80 GT, proceeding to sea beyond categorised waters or harbour limits, under any flag.

1. Which written exams does a Chief Mate candidate sit in the UK?

Answer: The MCA Chief Mate/Master Safety Examinations in Navigation, and Stability and Structure. These have been compulsory for all candidates since 1 September 2022.

1. Which STCW function appears on a merchant deck CoC but not on a yacht CoC?

Answer: Function 2, cargo handling and stowage.

1. When must the OOW not hand over the watch?

Answer: During a manoeuvre, until it is complete, or when the relieving officer seems unable to carry out the duties effectively. In that case the Master must be told (MGN 315).

1. In the MAIB grounding case, which two actions should have been taken immediately after the grounding?

Answer: Sounding the general alarm to muster the crew, and alerting the coastguard by VHF or DSC.

Sources

• MCA, MSN 1856 (M) Amendment 1: UK requirements for Master and deck officers (merchant)
• MCA, MSN 1858 (M) Amendment 1: yacht deck officer certificates of competency (for the comparison of functions)
• MCA, MGN 315 (M): Keeping a safe navigational watch on merchant vessels
• MAIB Safety Digest 1/2008, Case 11 (older case; the lessons still apply)