GENERAL
All examinations will commence on the Monday (or where there is a Bank Holiday, on the Tuesday) of the scheduled week. Examination timetables should be checked with the relevant college prior to attending. Additional examinations may be held and candidates should check with the college for an up-to-date schedule. Note: The Engineer Officer Examination dates are under review; applicants should contact the National Maritime College for dates of examinations
APPLICATION FOR EXAMINATION
Applications to be examined for a Certificate of Competency or Endorsement should be made to the Examiner of Masters, Mates and Fishermen or the Examiner of Engineers, as appropriate, at the Marine Survey Office, Leeson Lane, Dublin 2, DO2 TR60, Ireland at least six (6) weeks before the date of written examinations. An applicant who meets the entry requirements will be issued with a Notice of Eligibility, which should be produced at the appropriate Examination Centre when applying for a place in the written examinations. This application must be made directly to the Examination Centre concerned, at least four (4) weeks prior to the date of the examination.
Notice of eligibility will be valid for 2 years from the date of issue. Once this period has elapsed the candidate must make a new application.
Deck Officer STCW Regulation II/1 OOW 500+Certificate of Competency: Candidates for the above examination should provide satisfactory evidence of the following:
- Three years approved sea service (see paragraph 6 below) on ordinary trading vessels in an acceptable position;
- Provide evidence of watchkeeping duties under the supervision of Master or qualified officer for a period of not less than 6 months;
- Formal validation from the relevant administrations of the sea service;
- Formal validation from the relevant company of the sea service (Company contact details to be included); Page 5 of 6
- IELTS (International English Language Testing System) to level 6.5 (average) for Linguistically demanding training courses (see paragraph 4(c) below);
- Evidence of Basic Training under STCW Chapter VI; and,
- Seafarer Medical Certificate (Eng 11) issued under the provisions of STCW Regulation 1/9 and section A-1/9, and under the ILO Maritime Labour Convention 2006.
Candidates will be expected to satisfactorily attend and complete the full training programme at the National Maritime Training College in Ireland, which will include all STCW short courses including GMDSS GOC, AB or Able Seafarer Deck, Irish National Medical Examination and complete an application for and receive a Notice of Eligibility prior to being eligible to take written, oral or signal examinations.
CENTRES FOR WRITTEN AND SIGNAL EXAMINATIONS FOR CERTIFICATES OF COMPETENCY
For the Merchant Marine, examinations are held at the National Maritime College of Ireland, Ringaskiddy, Co. Cork, P43 XV65.
For the Fishing Industry, examinations are held at the B.I.M. National Fishery College, Greencastle, Co. Donegal and at the B.I.M. Regional Fisheries Training Centre, Castletownbere, Co. Cork, P75 EW24.
ORAL EXAMINATIONS
Practical oral examinations will be held by prior appointment and subject to the relevant compliance with paragraph 2 above at the Marine Survey Office, Leeson Lane, Dublin 2, D02 TR60, Tel: + 353 (0)1 678 3400, Email: stcw@dttas.ie.
All ancillary courses should be successfully completed as appropriate. The written examination must be completed and passed in full before sitting the oral examination.
Each candidate will be required to produce proof of name, nationality and place of birth.
Non-native English speaking candidates and non-EU candidates will be required to provide a verifiable Test Report Form (valid for two years) from the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). This test report should show that the applicant has achieved at least an individual test result of 5.5 in the four modules: listening, reading, writing and speaking, with Page 6 of 6 an overall band score of at least 6.5 in the linguistically less demanding academic courses.
If a candidate fails an oral examination, re-sits may be taken at the following intervals:
- 2nd attempt – at least 2 weeks after the initial examination;
- Subsequent attempts – at least 3 months after the previous attempt.
CERTIFICATE OF PROFICIENCY IN SURVIVAL CRAFT, RESCUE BOATS, AND FAST RESCUE BOATS
(STCW Chapter VI/Regulation VI/2) Examinations are held at the National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI), Ringaskiddy, Co. Cork, P43 XV65. Tel: +353 (0)21 433 5600, Fax: +353 (0)21 433 5601, Email: reception@nmci.ie.
SEAGOING SERVICE
According to the STCW Convention and Code 1978, as amended:
Regulation 1/1: Seagoing service means service on board a ship relevant to the issue or revalidation of a certificate or other qualification.
Section A-1/2: In approving seagoing service required by the Convention, parties should ensure that the service concerned is relevant to the qualification being applied for, bearing in mind that, apart from the initial familiarization with service in seagoing ships, the purpose of such service is to allow the seafarer to be instructed in and to practice, under appropriate supervision, those safe and proper seagoing practices, procedures and routines which are relevant to the qualification applied for.
WATCHKEEPING CERTIFICATES INCLUDING TESTIMONIALS
Candidates for Certificates of Competency for which service as a watchkeeping officer is required must produce certificates of watchkeeping service, including testimonials on conduct, experience / ability and behaviour / sobriety, signed by the Masters of the vessels in which they served.