MCA Chief Mate & Master of Yachts 500gt and 3000gt - Requirements

Prerequisites

This lesson covers the top of the yacht deck ladder: the MCA Chief Mate (Yachts less than 3000gt), Master (Yachts less than 500gt) and Master (Yachts less than 3000gt) Certificates of Competency. Before starting you should:

• Have read the lessons on Master 200 and on OOW (Yachts), since the Master certificates are built on the OOW.
• Hold, or be working towards, the RYA Yachtmaster Ocean shorebased certificate and the Yachtmaster Ocean Certificate of Competence, because the MCA requires both (or the IYT equivalent) for Master (Yachts).
• Be confident with the Yachtmaster Ocean celestial navigation, worldwide meteorology and passage planning material, which reappears in the MCA Celestial Navigation examination and the Seamanship and Meteorology module.
• Understand the stability concepts from the Coastal and Offshore courses (GZ curves, free surface, downflooding), which the Master Stability module develops.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• Place the Chief Mate and the two Master (Yachts) certificates in the ladder and state what each allows.
• State the sea service for Master (Yachts less than 500gt): 12 months as a deck officer with at least 120 days of watchkeeping on vessels of 15 m or more.
• State the sea service for Master (Yachts less than 3000gt): 24 months with at least 240 days of watchkeeping, including 12 months on vessels of 24 m or more or 6 months on vessels of 500gt or more.
• List the training modules and courses: Seamanship and Meteorology, Stability, Business and Law, Navigation Radar and ARPA simulator, the Celestial Navigation examination, Medical Care, HELM (Management), Advanced Fire Fighting, Medical First Aid and ECDIS, and explain the Yachtmaster Ocean requirement.
• Explain the written examinations: format, pass mark and validity (three years, one year for Celestial Navigation).
• Set out the Master oral syllabus and how it differs from the OOW oral.
• Explain why most candidates take Master 500 on the way to Master 3000.
• Plan the certificates realistically, including the recency and verification rules.

The Top of the Ladder

Above the OOW, the yacht deck ladder has three certificates under STCW Regulation II/2.

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All three are unlimited in area. MSN 1858 stops at 3000gt: it applies to yachts of 24 m load line length and over and under 3000gt, carrying no cargo and no more than 12 passengers (MSN 1858, sections 1.2 and 1.3). A yacht of 3000gt or more needs officers with full merchant certificates under MSN 1856 (the Chief Mate and Master routes for ships), and those officers may also serve on smaller yachts. Because 3000gt covers almost the entire yacht fleet, Master (Yachts less than 3000gt), usually called Master 3000, is the top of the superyacht deck ladder.

At this level the certificate's STCW functions change from operational to management. Navigation (function 1) and Controlling the operation of the ship and care for persons on board (function 3) are marked "M"; Radiocommunications (function 7) stays at "O" (MSN 1858, section 2.4).

Under the manning scale in MSN 1858, section 13.1, a yacht of 200 to under 500gt needs a master holding Master (Yachts less than 500gt) in every area, and a yacht of 500 to under 3000gt needs Master (Yachts), meaning the 3000gt certificate. On a 500gt-plus yacht going more than 60 miles from a safe haven, a Chief Mate (Yachts) is also required, and vessels of 500gt or more must carry a Safe Manning Document under MSN 1868. These are minimums: section 13 strongly recommends extra officers where needed to prevent fatigue, especially in intensive operations.

The Chief Mate certificate is simpler than many people think. Under MSN 1858, section 3.4, you need:

• an OOW (Yachts less than 3000gt) CoC, or all the OOW requirements met at the same time;
• an RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Certificate of Competence plus the Ocean shorebased course completion certificate (waived for an Ocean issued before 31 July 2003), or an IYT Master of Yachts Unlimited;
• the ancillary certificates in the section 5 table: basic safety, PSCRB (or the restricted yacht version), Advanced Fire Fighting, Medical First Aid, GMDSS GOC, ECDIS and HELM (Management);
• a valid ENG1.

There is no extra sea service, no Master module and no oral for Chief Mate. It can be applied for together with the OOW; if you do that you must complete both HELM (Operational) and HELM (Management) (MSN 1858, section 5.10). On the MSF 4343 form (rev 12/23) the Chief Mate upgrade fee was £77, plus postage. It is cheap, and it qualifies you for the chief officer post that the manning scale requires on 500gt-plus yachts, so get it as soon as you hold the Ocean.

Sea Service

Both Master certificates count only service done while serving as OOW (Yachts less than 3000gt), as a deck officer, on vessels of 15 m or more in load line length (MSN 1858, sections 3.5(b) and 3.6(a)). Master 500 also requires you to hold the OOW CoC (section 3.5(a)).

Watchkeeping service is actual seagoing service as the officer in full charge of a navigational watch for at least 4 out of every 24 hours while the vessel is on a voyage (MSN 1858, section 4.2). Three rules decide the count:

• It can be cumulative: every 4 hours of watch counts as one day, and need not fall in one 24-hour period. Two 2-hour watches on separate days make one day.
• More than 4 hours in 24 still counts as one day. A 12-hour watch in one day is one day, not three.
• Time at anchor during a passage, while you are keeping a bridge watch and within the same 24-hour voyage, counts.

The testimonials must state watchkeeping service explicitly, or it must be proved by separate certificates of service (MSN 1858, section 4.4). Testimonials are signed by the master; once you are master yourself, by the owner or a director or yacht manager of the management company. On a yacht that spends most of the season alongside, 240 watchkeeping days can take several years; this is the real constraint on the Master 3000 timetable. As with the OOW, all large-yacht service is verified by PYA or Nautilus before it goes to the MCA.

A worked count: a chief officer on a yacht making a 6-day passage keeps the 0400 to 0800 and 1600 to 2000 watches (8 hours a day). That is 6 watchkeeping days, not 12. On a coastal charter where she keeps only a 2-hour watch on each of 10 days, she accrues 20 hours, which is 5 days on the cumulative rule.

Training Modules and Courses

The Master (Yachts) certificates require the following, which the diagram shows with their validity periods.

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The written modules

Each module (except Celestial Navigation) needs a course completion certificate and an MCA examination pass; the exams are set and marked by the MCA or a body appointed by it, at approved centres (MSN 1858, sections 6.2 and 6.9). Training providers typically describe the written papers as around two and a half hours with a 60 per cent pass mark; check the current figures with your college. Other rules from MSN 1858, section 6:

• At least 90 per cent classroom attendance is required (section 6.3).
• Celestial Navigation has no compulsory course; you can sit the exam on self-study (section 6.4).
• Module passes are valid for three years; Celestial Navigation for one year (section 6.5), and the pass must be in date when the CoC is issued.
• One re-sit is allowed without repeating the course, if taken within 12 months; a second failure means retaking the module (section 6.7).
• Once you hold Master (Yachts less than 500gt), your module passes no longer need to be in date for Master 3000 (section 6.6), and the MSF 4343 notes say a Celestial Navigation pass used to gain Master 500 does not expire.
• If you go straight to Master 3000 without Master 500, every exam except Celestial Navigation must be passed before the NOE is issued, Celestial Navigation must be less than one year old and the others less than three years old when the CoC is issued (sections 3.6(c) and 3.6 note).

The other requirements

• RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Certificate of Competence and Ocean shorebased certificate, or the IYT Master of Yachts Unlimited. Strictly this is a Chief Mate requirement (MSN 1858, section 3.4(b)), but MSF 4343 states that candidates wanting to progress to Chief Mate or Master (Yachts) must have it, so the Ocean qualifying passage and oral are on the critical path.
• Advanced Fire Fighting and Medical First Aid (waived if already held for Chief Mate).
• Proficiency in Medical Care, the STCW A-VI/4-2 course required for Master but not for Chief Mate. On UK-registered vessels the person designated to take charge of medical care and medicines must hold it, or an updated certificate, issued within the preceding five years (MSN 1858, section 5.12, citing regulations 29(2) and 43(6) of the 2022 STCW Regulations and MGN 482). On a foreign flag, check that administration's rules before joining.
• GMDSS GOC, submitted with the NOE pass so the radio endorsement expiry can be lined up with the CoC (MSN 1858, section 11.3).
• HELM (Management): the management-level Human Element Leadership and Management course, if not already submitted for Chief Mate.
• ECDIS, if not already submitted; mandatory for all Master (Yachts) CoCs (MSN 1858, section 5.11).
• The STCW basic safety and PSCRB certificates, with five-yearly updating where required.
• ENG1.

The Master Oral

With the Notice of Eligibility issued, the candidate sits the Master (Yachts less than 500gt) or Master (Yachts less than 3000gt) oral with an MCA examiner. The published syllabus for Master 500 has four sections, shown below; the 3000gt syllabus covers the same ground in three sections at greater depth and with specific reference to the documentation required for a vessel under 3000gt.

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Navigation

• Plan and conduct safe navigation: voyage planning in restricted waters, in all weathers and in restricted visibility; ship reporting systems; electronic chart limitations; port radio services; buoyage.
• Establish and maintain safe watchkeeping arrangements: the principles of watchkeeping at sea, under pilotage, at anchor and in port, as master rather than as watchkeeper; the collision regulations; the principles of a safe engineering watch.
• Compasses: types, variation and deviation, siting, the purpose of correctors.
• Ship manoeuvring and the operation of small ship power plant: anchoring, berthing and unberthing, the factors affecting safe handling, and the power plant from the master's point of view.

Response to emergencies

• Navigational emergencies: disabled vessels, abandoning ship, collision and grounding, towing, emergency steering, search and rescue, the IAMSAR manual, GMDSS.
• Other emergencies: fire prevention and fighting, survival craft management and drills, loss of buoyancy, passenger safety, emergencies in port, medical information sources. The 3000gt syllabus adds damage control and its effect on stability, the operation, maintenance and testing of lifesaving appliances, and helicopter operations.

Onboard ship operation

• Pollution prevention: MARPOL including special areas, the SOPEP manual and the master's recording obligations.
• Seaworthiness: heavy weather management, watertight integrity, dry docking, stability and trim.
• The 3000gt syllabus adds crew management including discipline, and stowaways.

Legislative requirements

Merchant Shipping Notices; health and safety legislation; IMO conventions; crew documentation; MAIB reports and their lessons; load line requirements; lifesaving appliances; hours of work; pilotage obligations; the ISM Code; flag and port state control; the ISPS Code; the documentation required for the vessel.

Other administrations publish similar lists. The Australian (AMSA) syllabus for Master less than 500gt and less than 3000gt (Yachts) opens with a management section that the UK candidate will also meet: port state and flag state inspections, the ship's required certificates, documents and records, classification societies and surveys, the ISM Code, and the duties involved in joining a vessel as master or chief mate. It then covers watchkeeping in port, at sea, at anchor and under pilotage, voyage planning berth to berth, bridge resource management and protection of the marine environment. It warns that candidates can be asked to do radar plotting and chartwork in the exam, and that the examiner may ask lower-grade questions as they affect the safe operation of the vessel. The same is true of the MCA oral.

The shift from the OOW oral is from doing to deciding. The examiner asks what you, as master, would decide, authorise, record and be answerable for: whether to sail in the forecast conditions, how to manage a crew member's injury 400 miles from port, what to do when port state control boards, how to handle a stowaway, what the SOPEP requires you to record after a small spill, and whether the vessel's documents are in order to sail.

Bridge resource management with a pilot aboard

One command topic deserves its own example. US Coast Guard Safety Alert 09-13 (2013) describes a deep-draught tanker that struck a bridge in very poor visibility. The pilot was navigating with no real input from the ship's bridge team, although the pilot and both watch officers had done BRM training within the past five years and the company had BRM procedures. The Coast Guard's points are the ones a Master oral examiner will look for:

• The master remains ultimately responsible for the bridge team's conduct and safe navigation. A pilot's presence does not relieve the bridge team of its duties.
• A thorough master-pilot exchange before the pilot takes the con: the passage plan, the vessel's handling characteristics, defects, draught, intended speed and the abort points.
• The bridge team continues to monitor position, speed and the plan, and speaks up when something does not match, especially in restricted visibility, during manoeuvring and in heavy traffic.
• Language and cultural barriers must be actively managed by the master.

On a yacht with a small bridge team, the practical form is a briefed plan on the chart, a named officer monitoring position against it, and an agreed phrase for "I am not happy".

Why Master 500 First

Most candidates with the OOW aim at Master 3000 but take Master 500 on the way, for three reasons:

1. Service. Master 500 needs 12 months and 120 watchkeeping days; Master 3000 needs 24 months and 240 days with the larger-vessel condition. A candidate reaches the 500gt threshold a year or two earlier.
2. Module validity. The written module passes last three years. A candidate who passes the modules, then waits for 240 watchkeeping days, may find them expiring. Holding Master 500 means the module passes no longer need to be in date for Master 3000 (MSN 1858, section 6.6); the MCA itself advises candidates to obtain Master 500 for this reason (section 3.6, note).
3. Employment. A Master 500 can take command of the large majority of yachts (the 499gt fleet) while building service for 3000.

The route is therefore commonly OOW, then Chief Mate (on the Ocean), then the Master modules, Celestial Navigation, Medical Care and HELM (Management), then the Master 500 oral, then more service, then the Master 3000 oral.

Worked Example: Planning Master 500 and 3000

Carla holds an OOW (Yachts less than 3000gt), issued in January of year 0, and the Yachtmaster Ocean with an endorsement. She is second officer, then chief officer, on a 55 m motor yacht of 780gt and 48 m load line length.

Four and a half years from OOW to Master 3000 is quick, and only possible because the yacht sails a great deal. A yacht that spends nine months alongside each year might double the time.

Common Mistakes

• Letting the modules expire. Three years from pass to certificate; take Master 500 to bank them.
• Forgetting Celestial Navigation's one-year validity when going straight to Master 3000 without Master 500.
• Counting a 12-hour watch as three days. More than 4 hours in 24 is still one watchkeeping day.
• Thinking Chief Mate needs an oral or the Master modules. It needs the OOW, the Ocean and the management-level ancillary courses; not taking it promptly limits your jobs.
• Counting service done before the OOW CoC. Master service must be done while serving as OOW (Yachts).
• Thin watchkeeping evidence. Testimonials must state watchkeeping days explicitly; "served as officer" is not enough.
• Service on vessels under 15 m or, for Master 3000, failing the 12 months on 24 m or more (or 6 months on 500gt or more) condition.
• Not holding the Yachtmaster Ocean. The MCA requires both the Ocean Certificate of Competence and the Ocean shorebased certificate (or IYT Master of Yachts Unlimited); a candidate without a qualifying ocean passage cannot proceed.
• Preparing for the Master oral as if it were the OOW oral. The questions are about command decisions, documentation and law.
• Ignoring Medical Care updating for unlimited-area operation.
• Unverified service, as at every level.

Summary

• Above OOW sit Chief Mate (Yachts less than 3000gt), Master (Yachts less than 500gt) and Master (Yachts less than 3000gt), all under STCW II/2 and MSN 1858 (Amendment 1).
• Master 500: 12 months as a deck officer with at least 120 watchkeeping days on vessels of 15 m or more; Master 3000: 24 months with at least 240 watchkeeping days, including 12 months on vessels of 24 m or more or 6 months on vessels of 500gt or more; six months within the last five years; service counted from the OOW issue date and verified by PYA or Nautilus.
• Modules: Seamanship and Meteorology, Stability, Business and Law, Navigation Radar and ARPA simulator (written passes valid three years), the Celestial Navigation examination (valid one year), Medical Care (five years), HELM (Management), ECDIS, Advanced Fire Fighting, Medical First Aid; plus the RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Certificate of Competence and shorebased certificate.
• Chief Mate needs the OOW, the Yachtmaster Ocean and the management-level ancillaries, but no oral and no extra sea service.
• Watchkeeping days: at least 4 hours in charge of the watch; cumulative; never more than one day per 24 hours.
• Holding Master 500 frees you from module expiry for Master 3000; going direct means Celestial Navigation under one year and other passes under three years at issue.
• Above 3000gt, full merchant certificates under MSN 1856 are needed.
• The Master oral covers navigation, response to emergencies, onboard ship operation and legislative requirements from the master's point of view: deciding, authorising, recording and answering for the vessel.
• Take Master 500 first: earlier service threshold, banks the modules, and commands most of the fleet.

Check Your Understanding

1. State the sea service for Master (Yachts less than 500gt).

Answer: A minimum of 12 months of onboard yacht service as a deck officer, including at least 120 days of watchkeeping service, on vessels of 15 m or more in load line length, counted from the issue of the OOW certificate, with at least six months within the five years before the application.

1. What additional vessel-size condition applies to Master (Yachts less than 3000gt)?

Answer: Of the 24 months, at least 12 months must be on vessels of 24 m or more in load line length, or 6 months on vessels of 500gt or more.

1. Name the four Master (Yachts) training modules and the separate examination that accompanies them.

Answer: Seamanship and Meteorology, Stability, Business and Law, and Navigation Radar and ARPA Simulator, plus the MCA Celestial Navigation examination.

1. How long are module passes valid, and what is the exception?

Answer: Three years; the Celestial Navigation pass is valid for one year only (MSN 1858, section 6.5). Once you hold Master 500, the module passes no longer need to be in date for Master 3000 (section 6.6).

1. Why does the MCA advise candidates aiming at Master 3000 to obtain Master 500 first?

Answer: Because module passes are valid for only three years and the 240 watchkeeping days for Master 3000 can take longer than that to accumulate; Master 500, with its 12-month and 120-day requirement, banks the modules in a certificate.

1. What RYA certificates does the MCA require for Master (Yachts), and what is the alternative?

Answer: The RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Certificate of Competence and the Yachtmaster Ocean shorebased course certificate (the shorebased one is waived for an Ocean issued before 31 July 2003), or the IYT Master of Yachts Unlimited.

1. Which medical course distinguishes the Master certificates from the OOW, and how long is it valid?

Answer: Proficiency in Medical Care (STCW A-VI/4-2). On UK-registered vessels the person in charge of medical care must hold it or an update issued within the preceding five years.

1. Give three topics in the "legislative requirements" section of the Master oral.

Answer: Any three of: Merchant Shipping Notices; health and safety legislation; IMO conventions; crew documentation; MAIB reports; load line requirements; lifesaving appliances; hours of work; pilotage obligations; the ISM Code; flag and port state control; the ISPS Code; the vessel's documentation.

1. Since his OOW was issued, a chief officer has 20 months as a deck officer on a yacht of 30 m load line length (190gt) with 200 watchkeeping days, and 10 months on a yacht of 22 m load line length with 60 watchkeeping days. Does he qualify for Master 3000 on service?

Answer: Yes. All 30 months are on vessels of 15 m or more load line length, so all count: 30 months (24 needed) and 260 watchkeeping days (240 needed). The larger-vessel condition is met by the 20 months on the 30 m yacht (12 months on 24 m or more needed). He still needs six months of seagoing service within the last five years, verified service, the modules and the oral.

1. An officer keeps a 12-hour watch on each of three passage days, then three 2-hour watches on separate days. How many watchkeeping days does that give?

Answer: Four days, with 2 hours carried forward towards the next. Each 12-hour day counts as only one day (3 days), and the three 2-hour watches add 6 hours, which is one cumulative day with 2 hours left over (MSN 1858, section 4.2).

1. What is the fundamental difference in what the Master oral tests compared with the OOW oral?

Answer: The OOW oral tests the ability to keep a safe watch and respond correctly; the Master oral tests command: the decisions, authorisations, records and legal responsibilities of the person in charge of the vessel.

Sources

• MCA, MSN 1858 (M) Amendment 1: Training and Certification Guidance, UK Requirements for Deck Officers on Large Yachts (24 m and over).
• MCA, MSF 4343 (rev 12/23): Application for an oral examination leading to a yacht deck Certificate of Competency, with guidance notes.
• AMSA, Syllabus for the oral examination, Master less than 500 GT (Yachts) and Master less than 3000 GT (Yachts) (Australian; used for comparison).
• US Coast Guard, Safety Alert 09-13: Bridge Resource Management in Pilotage Waters (2013).

Further Reading

• HSS: requirements for Master (Yachts) less than 500gt or 3000gt: sea service, modules, validity.
• Edumaritime: MCA Master Yachts requirements: the 12/120 and 24/240 figures and the advice to take Master 500 first.
• gov.uk: certification for deck officers on commercial and private yachts: conversion routes, IAMI written examinations, module validity, Medical Care.
• MCA oral syllabus: Master (yachts less than 500gt) and Master (yachts less than 3000gt).
• Bluewater: MCA Masters courses and UKSA: Business and Law (Master Yachts): module content and examination format.
• MSN 1858 Amendment 1.
• RYA Yachtmaster Ocean exam: the RYA certificate the MCA requires.