STCW Convention, Manila Amendments and Certificates of Competence

What STCW is and where it applies

In short: Read how an IMO convention becomes law first. STCW is the IMO convention that sets the minimum standards of training, certification and watchkeeping for seafarers. Every certificate you hold as an officer or rating traces back to it.

The full name and the key dates

• Full name: International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978.
• 7 July 1978: adopted. 28 April 1984: in force (IMO).
• 1995: a major revision. The same conference adopted the STCW Code, which holds the detailed technical standards (IMO). The 1995 revision came into force on 1 February 1997.
• June 2010: the Manila Amendments, adopted at a Conference of Parties in Manila, Philippines (21–25 June 2010). They entered into force on 1 January 2012, with a transition period to 1 January 2017.
• STCW sets minimum standards. A flag State may ask for more, never for less.

Which ships it covers

• All seagoing ships flying the flag of a Party, merchant ships and commercial yachts alike.
• It does not apply to (STCW Article III):
  • warships, naval auxiliaries and other government ships in non-commercial service;
  • fishing vessels;
  • pleasure yachts not engaged in trade;
  • wooden ships of primitive build.
• Fishing vessel crews have their own convention: STCW-F 1995. It was adopted on 7 July 1995 and came into force on 29 September 2012. It covers skippers and deck officers on vessels of 24 m and over, and engineers on vessels of 750 kW or more (IMO).
• On the bridge: a private yacht is outside STCW, but once the same yacht is chartered (commercial), the flag’s STCW-based rules apply to her crew. In the UK that means MSN 1858 (M+F) Amd 2.

How STCW is built: eight chapters and a two-part Code

In short: The Convention (articles plus regulations in 8 chapters) says what is required. The STCW Code says how: Part A is mandatory, Part B is guidance.

The eight chapters

Memory hook, one word per chapter: “Generally, Masters Engage Radio Transmission Type Specific, Basic and Alternative to Watch” → General · Master and deck · Engine · Radio · Type-specific (special ships) · Basic safety and emergency functions · Alternative certification · Watchkeeping.

The STCW Code: Part A and Part B

• Part A — mandatory. The minimum standard of competence for each certificate, mostly set out in tables (for example STCW Table A-II/1 for an OOW).
• Part B — recommended guidance. It helps Parties apply the Convention. It is not binding; its examples show one way to meet a requirement (IMO).
• Numbering follows the chapters: Regulation II/1 (Convention) → Section A-II/1 (mandatory standard) → Section B-II/1 (guidance).
• ❌ Trap: “Part B is mandatory too.” It is not, although a flag State may make parts of it compulsory in its own rules.

The Manila Amendments 2010

In short: The first major revision since 1995, adopted in Manila in June 2010, in force 1 January 2012, fully applied from 1 January 2017. They brought STCW up to date with new technology (ECDIS), new ratings grades and stronger rules on fitness for duty and fraud.

The changes examiners ask about most

• New hours of rest for seafarers (fitness for duty).
• New certificates for able seafarers, deck and engine.
• New and updated training, with refresher training every 5 years for some basic and advanced safety courses.
• Mandatory security training for all seafarers, including training for piracy and armed robbery.
• Stronger medical standards.
• Specific alcohol limits in blood or breath, and measures against drug and alcohol abuse.
• A stronger certification and endorsement procedure, with checks on identity and authenticity to stop fraudulent certificates.

The full IMO list

The IMO also lists:

• training in ECDIS (see ECDIS safety settings and back-up);
• marine environment awareness and leadership and teamwork training;
• new training and certificates for electro-technical officers and ratings;
• updated competence requirements for tankers, including liquefied gas tankers;
• distance learning and e-learning as accepted training methods;
• training guidance for polar waters (now with mandatory provisions in Part A) and for dynamic positioning operators.

Fitness for duty: rest and alcohol

• Hours of rest (STCW A-VIII/1): 10 h in any 24 h, 77 h in any 7 days, in no more than 2 periods (one at least 6 h), and no more than 14 h between rest periods. The full rules, exceptions and records are in hours of rest and safe manning.
• Alcohol limit (STCW A-VIII/1): 0.05 % blood alcohol or 0.25 mg/l in breath (MGN 590 (M+F) Amd 2).
• The Manila Amendments also suggest a company drug and alcohol policy that bans drinking in the 4 h before a watch. That is a recommendation, not a mandatory limit (MGN 590 (M+F) Amd 2).
• In the UK the limits apply to all seafarers on UK ships and to any ship in UK waters, including fishing vessels (MGN 590 (M+F) Amd 2).

New grades of certificate

• Able Seafarer Deck (STCW II/5) and Able Seafarer Engine (STCW III/5): new ratings grades above the watch rating (II/4, III/4).
• In the UK, the Efficient Deck Hand (EDH) exam is the qualifying exam for the Able Seafarer Deck certificate (MSN 1862).
• Electro-technical officer (STCW III/6) and electro-technical rating (STCW III/7).

Medical standards and anti-fraud checks

• Every seafarer needs a valid medical certificate (STCW I/9, A-I/9). It is valid for at most 2 years, or 1 year if the seafarer is under 18. In the UK this is the ENG1.
• Each Party keeps a register of the certificates it issues and confirms their authenticity on request. Endorsements are issued only after the original certificate has been checked as valid and authentic.

Certificates of competence: who needs what

In short: A Certificate of Competency (CoC) is the flag’s proof that an officer meets the STCW standard for a rank, ship size and area. Ratings and special skills get a Certificate of Proficiency (CoP).

Three levels of responsibility (STCW Code A-I/1)

• Management level: Master, Chief Mate, Chief Engineer, Second Engineer.
• Operational level: Officer of the Watch (deck or engine), electro-technical officer, radio operator.
• Support level: ratings (watch ratings, able seafarers).

Seven functions

The Code tables group competence into: navigation · cargo handling and stowage · controlling the operation of the ship and care for persons on board · marine engineering · electrical, electronic and control engineering · maintenance and repair · radiocommunications.

Deck certificates on merchant ships

• What an OOW does with the certificate is covered in OOW duties and the safe navigational watch.
• The UK route from OOW to Chief Mate to Master is set out in MSN 1856 (M+F) Amd 1.

Yacht certificates

• Commercial yachts carry crews with yacht CoCs: STCW-based certificates restricted to yachts. In the UK they run from OOW (Yachts) to Master (Yachts) under MSN 1858 (M+F) Amd 2 (yachts of 24 m and over, under 3000 GT, 18 May 2026).
• A yacht CoC is not valid on a merchant ship of the same size.

Keeping a CoC valid: revalidation and refresher training

In short: A CoC is valid for 5 years of seagoing service. To revalidate it you prove recent sea time, up-to-date safety training and medical fitness (STCW I/11, A-I/11).

What you need (UK example)

• Sea service: 12 months in the last 5 years, or 3 months in the last 6 months before revalidation. Other routes exist, such as 30 months in an occupation the MCA accepts as equivalent.
• Updating training issued within the last 5 years: Personal Survival Techniques · Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting · Proficiency in Survival Craft and Rescue Boats · Advanced Fire Fighting.
• A valid ENG1 (or a recognised non-UK equivalent) medical certificate.
• If you apply up to 6 months before expiry, the expiry date stays on the same anniversary.
• The MCA’s Notice of Eligibility (needed to book an oral exam) is also valid for 5 years.
• On the bridge: check the expiry dates of your CoC, medical and safety courses before a long contract. A port State inspector who finds an expired certificate can detain the ship.

Serving under another flag: endorsements

In short: Your CoC is issued by one State. To serve as an officer under another flag, that flag issues an endorsement attesting recognition of your certificate (STCW I/10). This is part of the flag State job.

How recognition works

• The flag recognises only certificates from Parties it has checked and agreed with (an undertaking under STCW I/10).
• The endorsement is issued only after the certificates are verified as valid and authentic.
• The endorsement is limited to the capacity, functions and limits of the original CoC, and it expires no later than the original.

Malta

• Transport Malta has I/10 undertakings with many maritime Administrations. A non-Maltese officer on a Maltese ship applies for the endorsement through the Seafarer Portal (Transport Malta MS Notice 92 Rev. 2).
• Commercial yachts under the Malta flag follow Transport Malta CY Notice 15. An STCW CoC needs a Malta endorsement. Non-STCW yacht certificates get written confirmation instead. An officer who holds both must follow both routes.
• On the bridge: you hold a UK OOW (Yachts) CoC and join a Malta-flag charter yacht. Before you take a watch, the company applies for your Malta endorsement. Until it is issued, you cannot serve as an officer. Without it, foreign port State Control can detain the yacht.
• How to read the official notices is covered in MCA notices: MSN, MGN and MIN.