Ways In: Cadetships, Academies and Ratings

Prerequisites

Read the first lesson of this course. This lesson is career guidance. The UK figures come from the MCA's MSN 1856 (Amendment 1) and the international minimums from STCW and the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) 2006. Funding, colleges and sponsors change, so check current details with your national administration and training providers.

Learning Objectives

• Describe the four UK routes to a first deck CoC: cadetship, the overseas collaborative programme, the experienced seafarer route and the rating's route.
• Explain how a sponsored cadetship works, including the Training Record Book and the exam exemptions.
• List what you must hold before your first trip to sea.
• Compare the main officer training systems in other countries.
• Avoid the common traps: failing the eyesight test late, and losing track of documents.

Before Anything Else: Check Your Medical

The MCA advises anyone considering a seagoing career to have a medical and sight test, including colour vision and visual acuity, before starting training (MSN 1856, section 1.2). Deck officers need good colour vision to read navigation lights and charts. Failing the colour vision standard means you will not get an unrestricted medical, whatever your grades.

In the UK the seafarer medical is the ENG1, issued by an MCA-approved doctor. Under the MLC a medical certificate is valid for at most 2 years, or 1 year if you are under 18, and a colour vision certificate for at most 6 years (MLC Standard A1.2). The minimum age for any work at sea is 16 (MLC Reg 1.1). Night work and hazardous work have higher limits for under-18s.

What You Need Before Your First Trip

Whatever the route, before your first sea voyage you must hold (MSN 1856, section 1.3):

• A valid ENG1 or accepted equivalent.
• Personal Survival Techniques (STCW Table A-VI/1-1).
• Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting (A-VI/1-2).
• Elementary First Aid (A-VI/1-3).
• Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities (A-VI/1-4).
• Security Awareness (A-VI/6-1).

Apart from the ENG1, these are STCW Certificates of Proficiency. Cadetship sponsors normally arrange them in the first college phase.

Route 1: The UK Officer Cadetship

A cadetship is a sandwich course: college phases alternate with sea phases over about three years. It leads to an academic award and the OOW unlimited CoC (STCW II/1).

The academic options

• Honours degree, foundation degree or Scottish Professional Diploma (HD/FD/SPD). If you average 50% overall, with at least 65% in Navigation and 60% in Stability and Operations, you are exempt from the MCA's written OOW Safety Examinations (MSN 1856, section 11.3).
• HND/HNC route. This gives the same sea time reduction, from 36 months to 12, but you sit the MCA OOW Safety Examinations in Navigation, and Stability and Operations (section 11.4).

The MCA requires at least 80% classroom attendance on approved programmes (section 11.2). Sponsors often demand more.

The sea phases

You need 12 months' approved seagoing service, including 6 months on bridge watchkeeping duties, recorded in an MCA Training Record Book (TRB) (section 3.2). Up to 2 months of full-mission bridge simulator training can count towards it (section 9.3). The TRB is a set of tasks, from mooring stations to position fixing and cargo watches, each signed off by an officer. Your college letter confirming your programme, the completed TRB and the Master's testimonials all go with your OOW application.

Sponsorship

Most UK cadets are sponsored by a shipping company or a training management company. The sponsor usually:

• pays college fees;
• provides berths on its ships for the sea phases;
• pays a training allowance;
• often offers a junior officer job on qualifying, though this is not guaranteed.

Entry is competitive. Typical requirements are GCSEs including maths, English and a science for HND routes, and A levels or equivalent for degree routes, plus a pass on the ENG1. The Merchant Navy Training Board's Careers at Sea site lists sponsors and colleges. The main UK nautical colleges are in places such as Southampton, Glasgow, South Shields, Fleetwood, Plymouth and Liverpool.

Worked example: a typical cadetship timeline

1. Months 0 to 4, college phase 1: STCW basic training, ENG1, foundation navigation and seamanship.
2. Months 5 to 10, sea phase 1: about 6 months on a sponsor's ship, starting the TRB. Lookout and helm duty start to count towards the 6 months of bridge watchkeeping.
3. Months 11 to 18, college phase 2: navigation, stability, cargo, plus courses such as Proficiency in Survival Craft, Advanced Fire Fighting and Medical First Aid.
4. Months 19 to 25, sea phase 2: the rest of the 12 months, with the TRB completed and the Master's testimonials collected.
5. Months 26 to 34, final college phase: NAEST (Operational), GMDSS GOC, EDH, HELM (Operational), Signals, final exams.
6. Apply on form MSF 4274, receive the Notice of Eligibility and pass the MCA oral. The OOW CoC is issued.

Route 2: The Overseas Collaborative Programme

Some UK colleges oversee "one plus one" programmes, with a year of training overseas and a year in the UK. Cadets complete the HND/HNC elements, and the sea service requirement is set out in the college letter (MSN 1856, sections 3.1 and 11.4).

Route 3: The Experienced Seafarer Route

If you have been at sea without a cadetship, you can still qualify for OOW unlimited with 36 months' seagoing service, including 6 months on bridge watchkeeping duties. You also study the HNC/HND units, pass the MCA Safety Examinations and pass the oral. A general purpose (GP) rating who is not on an approved route needs 48 months (MSN 1856, sections 3.2 and 11.4).

Route 4: Ratings and the Hawsepipe

Ratings are the non-officer crew: deck ratings and able seafarers, engine ratings and motormen, cooks and stewards. You can start with basic training and an ENG1. Deck ratings then add qualifications such as watch rating and Able Seafarer Deck, and the Efficient Deck Hand (EDH) course. Working up from rating to officer, the traditional hawsepipe route, is done through the experienced seafarer route above. The trade-off is longer sea time, typically 36 to 48 months against 12, in exchange for being paid throughout.

Other Countries

All these systems train to the same STCW Code standards, which is why their certificates can be endorsed by other White List states.

Graduates and Career Changers

Graduates can sometimes join accelerated cadetships. If you are already at sea, for example as a fishing, tug or offshore crew member, or on yachts, the MCA counts some of this service, sometimes at reduced rates (MSN 1856, Annex F). Yacht crew should read the final lesson of this course.

Paperwork Discipline From Day One

Every rung of the ladder depends on documents. Get these right from day one:

1. Keep your discharge book up to date and check every entry when you sign off.
2. Get a Master's testimonial for every ship, covering conduct, ability and the type of service.
3. Keep originals and scans of every course certificate. Some must be updated every 5 years.
4. Note your ENG1 expiry date. You cannot sail, or be issued a CoC, without a valid one.

The MCA checks every document and refuses certificates to anyone who submits fraudulent service records (MSN 1856, section 20).

Common Mistakes

• Paying for training before passing the colour vision test.
• Treating the TRB as a box-ticking exercise at the end. Tasks must be signed off on board, during the trip.
• Missing the 6 months of bridge watchkeeping in the 12 months of sea time. Ask your Master early.
• Not knowing your contract. Under the MLC you must have a signed seafarer employment agreement and the chance to review it before signing (MLC Reg 2.1). That includes cadets on paid placements.

Summary

• The main UK route is a sponsored cadetship: about 3 years, 12 months at sea recorded in a TRB including 6 months on bridge watches, an academic award and the MCA oral.
• Degree routes can exempt you from the MCA written exams if you reach 50% overall, 65% in Navigation and 60% in Stability and Operations.
• Without a cadetship you need 36 months' sea service, or 48 as a GP rating.
• Before your first trip you need an ENG1 and the five basic safety and security certificates.
• Minimum age at sea is 16, and an ENG1 lasts at most 2 years (1 year if you are under 18).

Check Your Understanding

1. What does a UK cadetship sponsor usually provide?

Answer: College fees, sea time on its ships and a training allowance, and often a junior officer job on qualifying.

1. How much sea time does a UK cadet need for OOW unlimited, and how is it recorded?

Answer: 12 months, including 6 months on bridge watchkeeping duties, recorded in an MCA Training Record Book.

1. What marks must a degree cadet achieve to be exempt from the MCA OOW written exams?

Answer: An overall average of 50%, with at least 65% in Navigation and 60% in Stability and Operations.

1. How much sea service does the experienced seafarer route need, and how much for a GP rating?

Answer: 36 months, including 6 months on bridge watchkeeping. A GP rating not on an approved route needs 48 months.

1. List what you must hold before your first trip to sea.

Answer: A valid ENG1, plus Personal Survival Techniques, Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting, Elementary First Aid, Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities, and Security Awareness.

1. Why should you take the medical before you start training?

Answer: Deck officers must pass colour vision and eyesight standards. Failing them means no unrestricted medical, so training money would be wasted.

1. How long is a seafarer medical valid under the MLC?

Answer: At most 2 years, or 1 year if the seafarer is under 18. A colour vision certificate is valid for at most 6 years.

1. What is unusual about the French ENSM officer qualification?

Answer: It is dual-purpose (polyvalent), covering deck and engine together.

Sources

• MCA, MSN 1856 (M) Amendment 1: UK requirements for Master and deck officers (merchant)
• ILO, Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (Regs 1.1, 1.2, 2.1 and Standard A1.2)