Maritime Application

Information on vital aspects of your application for a Certificate of Competency. Jump to the section on:

Applying for a Maritime Certificate of Competency

To work as a crew member on a commercial vessel you must have a Certificate of Competency issued by NSW Maritime.

• Complete a NSW Maritime Application for Marine Certification form;
• Provide proof of your identity; valid driver's licence, boat licence, birth certificate, passport, and Medicare card;
• Supply two colour passport photos on white background;
• Meet minimum age requirements;
• Meet minimum sea service requirements (recreational boating experience can help gain an entry level certificate);
• Complete an approved training course; and provide the original training certificate and/or Statement of Attainments of all the training units from SEA SCHOOL, or TAFE/ or other Training Provider
  • TDM10107 Cert I GPH: 4 training units + First Aid
  • TDM20307 Cert II Coxswain: 14 training units + First Aid + MROCP
  • TDM20207 Cert II MED3: 15 training units + First Aid
  • TDM30407 Cert III Master 5: 20 training units + First Aid + MROCP
• Provide a current apply first aid or senior first aid certificate; external course
• Coxswain and Master Class 5 applicants to provide a MROCP Marine Radio Operators Certificate of Proficiency
• Meet specific medical and eyesight standards; by arranging to visit a General Practitioner (Doctor) to complete the medical certificate included in the application form; it is advisable to check that you meet these standards before undertaking training courses or accruing sea time for a maritime career.
• All applicants, purchase of a ROS Book (Record of Service) for $28 or ROPES Book (Record of Practical Experience and Sea Service). Note: Commence sea service entries, signed by either the master of the vessel or another member of crew in a supervisory role; only enter the hours from the day you collect the book. You will require another book over time.
• Copy all your documents for your own files, including the medical
• Pass an external assessment by a NSW Maritime examiner; and
• Pay fees.

You may lodge an application at any NSW Maritime office or mail an application to Marine Certification, NSW Maritime, Locked Bag 5100, Camperdown NSW 1450, if applying in NSW.

You may also visit a Maritime office for 'endorsement' of your ROS BOOK (green sticker, stamped and adhered to your ROS Book by Maritime Authority); or post all of the above direct to Commercial Certification, NSW Maritime, Locked Bag 5100, Camperdown NSW 1450

As a guide, your sea-service application will take 1 to 4 weeks, if all documents are provided and seem genuine. You will be advised in writing if your sea-service is approved and if you are eligible for an assessment. You must then book an appointment for your final assessment with a Maritime examiner. This will be within 1 to 4 weeks also. Your Certificate will be sent to you by registered mail.

Please refer to the following site /document for inland waters certificate of competency: http://www.maritime.nsw.gov.au/docs/cvdocs/marinecert-inlandwaters.pdf

Sea Service Requirements

Sea service requirements for the different Certificates of Competency are summarised below

You will provide an estimate of your commercial and/or recreational sea service in both hours and days in your Maritime Application for Marine Certification form. These estimates are converted to months of service. NSW Maritime uses the following standard definitions:

• a working day is 7.5 hours;
• a working week is 5 days or 37.5 hours accrued over 5 days;
• a working month is 4 weeks or 20 days or 150 hours accrued over 20 days; and
• a working year is 48 weeks or 240 days or 1800 hours accrued over 240 days.
• The maximum number of hours that may be claimed in a day is 12 hours (offshore, or overnight commercial fisherman or port to port commercial voyage).
• Any service over 12 hours per day will not be counted.
• The required months of service must be met when both hours and days of service are converted to months.

You will be required to provide statutory declarations for all service including ones from persons who can verify and support your previous experience. Specific statutory declaration forms are available from NSW Maritime http://www.maritime.nsw.gov.au/docs/cvdocs/marinecert-seatimeform.PDF, and it is recommended that they be used. However, if you are using a standard commercially printed statutory declaration form you must include:

• the name, address and qualification details of the person making the declaration.
• identification number of the vessel, ie permit, registration or LFB number
• a description of the vessel including length
• the vessel's main use and the area of operation (indicate both inshore and offshore waters)
• engine type and capacity in kilowatts
• the actual dates of and amount of sea service in hours, days, weeks and years
• the duties you undertook

If your hours are from more than 5 years ago, you will need to update both your hours and your training. All crew must have current hours and training wherever possible so that they know of current work practices such as crew drills, boarding by maritime authorities etc. If that means you have to do 200 or 1000 hours on a vessel suitable, so be it. Good seamanship skills and knowledge comes from current competencies, in varying sea and weather conditions.

Sea service must be relevant to the tasks and competencies of the level of Certificate being sought. For example relevant experience for a coxswain Certificate includes:

• Steering and navigating a vessel up to 24 m in length;
• Vessel handling and manoeuvring, particularly anchoring and mooring, berthing and unberthing;
• Loading a vessel;
• Maintaining watertight integrity and stability;
• Using ropes, tending mooring lines;
• Managing passengers and crew;
• Using safety equipment; and
• Performing maintenance of vessel equipment and structure.

For an engineering qualification relevant experience includes:

• Starting, operating, checking and shutting down machinery; and
• Servicing and maintaining propulsion and auxiliary machinery.

You must provide evidence that you meet the minimum levels of sea service for the grade of Certificate you want. Sea service must be relevant to the tasks and competencies of the level of Certificate being sought. The following documents may be used to demonstrate sea service:

• A ROS BOOK (Record of Service), or ROPES Book (Record of Practical Experience at Sea) issued by a maritime authority and/or a Training Record Book issued by an approved on-the-job competency based training program. Entries must be signed by either the master of the vessel or another member of crew in a supervisory role; dates entered must be over a period of time.
• NSW Maritime Statutory Declaration by vessel master, owner, senior crew, family or appropriate person to confirm the days and hours of sea-service, and verified by a JP.
• NSW Maritime Statutory Declaration Watchkeeping
• Vessel log books and diaries
• Vessel logs or rosters listing you as crew
• Letters from commercial vessels owners, masters, other crew members in a supervisory capacity or employers
• Letters from recreational yacht clubs, fishing clubs, voluntary marine organisations that are in a position to support the claimed sea service
• All letters must be on business letterhead, identify the applicant and provide details of the vessel (name, number and size), area of operation (detailing any service beyond sheltered waters and the distance travelled offshore), engine details, duties performed and days and hours of service
• Company Group Certificates or pay records
• Dive log books
• Fisheries catch documents
• Photograph and video evidence
• Yachting Australia log books
• Other documentary evidence that will support your application.

• Example Maritime Application - GPH Deckhand
• Example Maritime Application - Coxswain
• Example Maritime Application - MED 3
• Example Maritime Application - Master 5

Maritime examiners want to know who you are and what your skills are, by a brief resume. Here are some information examples you can gather:

• Boating qualifications and skills, training certificates, boat or jet-ski licences
• Boating work history
• Other work history that may be applicable
• List of vessels you have operated, or worked on
• Are you an owner of a vessel, either recreation or commercial
• Names of vessels, survey numbers or registration numbers if possible
• Copies of vessel registrations and pictures of the boats
• Commercial, recreational, small tinnies, sail, power, high-power, launch, work boat, fishing
• Operational limits: Inshore, coastal, how many hours to get off shore, blue water
• Log books, diaries: aged and current samples
• Vessel use: voyage details, day charters, overnight fishing, passport entries into port
• Vessel Length, 5m to 12m (Coxswain); 12m-24m (Master 5)
• Designer, Construction (GRP, Steel, Aluminium, Timber, etc), Beam, Draft
• Engineering, (inboard-diesel, outboard, jet drive, etc);
• Fuel (petrol, diesel, sail) Generator, Steering, Gearbox; Propellers
• Receipts of purchase of vessels/engines, service work and major repairs
• What is your job aboard? Helm duties, maintenance, watch-keeper, deckhand, assist the engineer, slipping, ready for survey,
• Interesting Facts: mechanical problems, replacement engines, design aspects
• Pictures showing you on and around vessels, from youth to today
• Do not assume you will be approved for a restricted or unrestricted ticket

• Use the recreation sea-service for Coxswain, and Master 5 application
• Lodge your commercial sea-service for the Master 5 and MED 3 application
• Lodge 75kw+ engines within your MED 3 applications
• Coxswain is a dual ticket both engineering and deck duties, so split your hours
• List vessel 1 x 2 or 3 times, with the duties separated and the hours separate
• (1) Helm duties and watchkeeping (2) Start up, shut down, maintenance (3) Slipway duties and engineering. (1 & 2) will be on regular days out (3) will be in a block of hours
• Explain how the hours were achieved, example: 3 charters per week @ 5 hours helming plus 2.5 hours engineering
• Reduce the hours to fit in with Maritime requirements = 7.5 hours per day

External Maritime Assessment (Orals)

The final stage in applying for a Certificate of Competency is an assessment by NSW Maritime Authority Examiner to ensure that you meet the required competencies and skill levels. This assessment is only conducted when all other requirements have been met. The assessment is an interview style of your skills and knowledge and includes a vessel handling test of the class that you wish to be certified. The assessment may involve the use of a simulator, and computer software in navigation, buoyage, collision regulations, lights, towing and shapes, colours of lateral, cardinal, special, isolated and safe water marks. Allow 2 or 3 hours, half a day.

You may also be required to provide a written response to questions as part of the assessment process. Assessments are conducted at Rozelle and at various other regional centres when there are sufficient candidates to be assessed.

The assessment may take two to three hours. You may be assessed on any of the competencies listed in the national standards including competencies for Certificates of a lower grade.

View the subjects covered in the oral assessment process for: Coxswain, MED 3.

In your first sitting at NSW Maritime you may have 100 questions. Your oral assessment is a process of learning and they may well suggest you return a few days later or the following week after you have studied 2 or more subjects more thoroughly. This second sitting is called re-work or re-assessment, and nothing to fear, although there may be up to a further 100 questions. Again this is normal practice for education and training.

To prepare you need to study. Gather your books, write notes and bullet points on those subjects you are weakest. Keep them handy, and revise. Read the Small Ships Book, Aust Boating Manual book, Sea School Handbooks and Admiralty Symbols book prior to the appointment.

The Maritime Authority will expect you to answer questions from Deckhand and Coxswains within a Master 5 oral assessment.

Masters/Coxswain certificates of competency incorporate a NSW General Boat Licence so you will also be asked questions relating to the rules that regulate driving a vessel at speed, distance off. You will need to obtain the latest edition of the NSW Safe Boating Handbook.

Operational Limits