SHIPPING NOTICE 05/2011 (Rev 11)

THE STCW CONVENTION AND THE ISSUE OF ENDORSEMENTS

ATTESTING TO THE RECOGNITION OF A CERTIFICATE OF COMPETENCY

To: OWNERS, MANAGERS, CHARTERERS, CREWING AGENCIES AND MASTERS OF

CAYMAN ISLANDS SHIPS (INCLUDING YACHTS).

1. BACKGROUND

1.1 In accordance with the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification

and Watchkeeping, 1978 1 (“STCW” or “STCW Convention”), officers onboard a Cayman
Islands ship are required to hold a Certificate of Competency (CoC) issued in accordance
with STCW from a country whose standards of competency and training are considered
to be equivalent to those of the United Kingdom.

1.2 In accordance with regulation I/10 of STCW, holders of such a CoC also require an
endorsement from the Cayman Islands Shipping Registry attesting to the acceptance of
their CoC.

1.3 This Shipping Notice –

• gives the list of countries whose Certificates of Competency are

considered acceptable for service as an officer on a Cayman Islands ship;
• gives details of countries whose Seafarer Medical Certificates are
considered suitable for a seafarer serving on a Cayman Islands ship;
• specifies the required testing and standards for eyesight (including colour
vision) for seafarers;
• outlines certain requirements for competence in the English language
• details measures to be adopted to prevent drug or alcohol abuse;
• makes recommendations for the manning levels of pleasure vessels;
• outlines how certain seafarers can demonstrate adequate knowledge of
Cayman Islands laws and administrative procedures; and
• highlights requirements in the STCW Convention in relation to the
responsibilities of companies, the IGF Code and the Polar Code.

1
As may be amended, from time to time.

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1.4 This Shipping Notice primarily applies to ships subject to the STCW and the Maritime
Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC) however Section 6 contains guidance to the masters of
pleasure vessels on safe manning.

2. LIST OF COUNTRIES

2.1 Valid Certificates of Competency issued by the following countries are considered
acceptable for service as an officer on a Cayman Islands ship.

2.2 We only accept yacht CoCs issued by France, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand and
United Kingdom - see Annex A for further details.

Certificates
issuing Notes / Limitations
Administration
Algeria -
Argentina -
Certificates issued from the Australian Maritime Safety
Australia Authority (AMSA) only. State issued certificates are not
accepted. Evidence of English is not required.
Azerbaijan -
Bangladesh
Belgium -
Brazil -
Bulgaria -
Canada Evidence of English is not required.
Cape Verde
Chile
China -
Croatia -
Cuba -
Cyprus -
Czech Republic -
Denmark -
Ecuador -
Egypt -
Estonia -
Ethiopia -
Faroe Islands -
Fiji
Finland -
France Some Yacht CoCs also accepted – See Annex A
Georgia

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Certificates
issuing Notes / Limitations
Administration
Germany -
Ghana -
Greece -
Hong Kong Evidence of English is not required.
Hungary Motorships Only.
Iceland -
India Evidence of English is not required.
Indonesia -
Iran Evidence of English is not required.
Ireland Evidence of English is not required.
Italy All Yacht CoCs also accepted – See Annex A
Jamaica Evidence of English is not required.
Japan -
Jordan -
Korea, Republic of -
Latvia -
Lithuania -
Madagascar -
Malaysia Evidence of English is not required.
Malta Evidence of English is not required.
Mexico -
Montenegro -
Morocco -
Myanmar Evidence of English is not required.
Netherlands All Yacht CoCs also accepted – See Annex A
Evidence of English is not required. Some Yacht CoCs
New Zealand
also accepted – See Annex A
Norway -
Oman -
Pakistan Evidence of English is not required.
Peru -
Philippines -
Poland -
Portugal -
Romania -
Russia -
Senegal -

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Certificates
issuing Notes / Limitations
Administration
Serbia -
Singapore Evidence of English is not required.
Slovenia -
South Africa Evidence of English is not required.
Spain -
Sri Lanka Evidence of English is not required.
Sweden -
Tunisia -
Turkey -
Ukraine -
Uruguay -
Evidence of English not required. All Yacht CoCs also
United Kingdom
accepted – See Annex A.
USA Evidence of English not required.
Vietnam -

2.2 When a country has employed the “Principles governing near-coastal voyages” (STCW
I/3) when issuing a Certificate of Competency, any Cayman Islands endorsement issued
in recognition of such a certificate will be valid only for those same near-coastal voyages
as the underlying Certificate of Competency.

2.3 This list of countries will be updated from time to time and changes will be circulated by
the reissue of this Shipping Notice.

3. CERTIFICATES OF MEDICAL FITNESS

3.1 In accordance with the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention)(Medical

Certification) Regulations, 2014, all seafarers serving on Cayman Islands ships are
required to hold a valid medical certificate.

3.2 Medical certificates issued by, or on behalf of, a country listed on the “STCW Whitelist”
(the latest revision of IMO Circular MSC.1/Circ. 1163 refers) or a country which has
ratified the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 are accepted for service on Cayman
Islands ships. Such certificates should be issued in accordance Regulation I/9 of the
STCW Convention.

3.3 Accepted countries may be updated from time to time by the reissue of this Shipping
Notice.

3.4 Medical certificates should clearly state that they are issued by, or on behalf of, the
Governments of the above countries. It is insufficient to hold a certificate issued by a
doctor residing in the above countries if the certificate is not issued, by or on behalf of,
the Government of that country.

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3.5 Medical certificates should state that the seafarer meets the minimum in-service eyesight
standards for seafarers contained in Table A-I/9 of the STCW Code, noting that colour
vision assessment only needs to be conducted every six years.

4. PROFICIENCY IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE

4.1 It is a requirement that the officers on board a Cayman Islands ship, both at operational
and management level, and irrespective of the common language of the ship, have an
appropriate level of proficiency in the English language, commensurate with the functions
the officer is permitted to perform.

4.2 Officers do not need to demonstrate proficiency in the English language if their CoC was
issued by countries where “Evidence of English is not required” is indicated in the “Notes”
section of the table in Section 2, above.

5 MEASURES TO PREVENT DRUG OR ALCOHOL ABUSE AND THE PREVENTION OF

FATIGUE

5.1 Ships subject to the STCW Convention should implement measures for preventing the
abuse of drugs and alcohol. These measures should ensure that no seafarer with a
blood alcohol level greater than 0.05% (BAC) or 0.25mg/l alcohol in the breath is to
perform any designated safety, security or marine environmental duties.

5.2 In addition to the limitations on working hours contained in both STCW and MLC2,
seafarers are reminded of their duty to use their non work hours so that they are properly
rested prior to commencing their next period of duty. Watchkeepers’ attention is drawn to
STCW A-VIII/19 to 23 and 56 to 58 regarding taking over a watch.

6 MANNING OF PLEASURE VESSELS

6.1 The master of every ship is responsible for the safety of the ship and those on board.
This includes ensuring that manning of the ship is sufficient to safely execute any
intended voyage.

6.2 Where there are no prescriptive manning requirements for a pleasure vessel, it is
strongly recommended that the master ensures that the pleasure vessel is manned at the
level that would be required for a similar vessel in commercial service.

7 KNOWLEDGE OF MARITIME LEGISLATION

7.1 Officers serving at the “management level” (masters, chief officers, chief engineers and
second engineers) are required to have an appropriate knowledge of the maritime
legislation of the Administration, relevant to the functions they are permitted to perform.

2
Please see Shipping Notice 05/2014 “Requirements and Guidance for recording Hour of Work and Rest on Cayman Islands
Flagged Vessels”.

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7.2 For officers on Cayman Islands ships this requirement is met by the officer demonstrating
knowledge of Cayman Islands Laws and Administrative Procedures (LAP) which is
available from www.cishipping.com.

8. APPLYING FOR AN ENDORSEMENT ATTESTING TO THE RECOGNITION OF A

COC

8.1 To apply for an endorsement attesting the recognition of a CoC, please visit
https://www.cishipping.com/services/seafarers.

8.2 Completed applications and supporting documents should be submitted electronically to

[email protected], but may also be sent to our offices in George Town
(Cayman Islands), Southampton (UK), Fort Lauderdale (USA) or France.

8.3 When applying for endorsements, candidates should ensure that applications are
complete in all respects and that copies of all required supporting documentation is
included with the application.

8.4 Applicants should be aware that incomplete applications or missing supporting

information can lead to lengthy delays in processing the application.

9. THE POLAR AND IGF CODES

9.1 Since the “Manilla Amendments” to the STCW Convention entered into force, IMO has
adopted the Polar Code and the Code of Safety for Ships using Gases or other Low-
flashpoint Fuels (IGF Code). Both of these Codes require certain seafarers to hold
Certificates of Proficiency when serving on –

• ships subject to the IGF Code (STCW V/3), and

• ships operating in polar waters (STCW V/4).

9.2 Certificates of Proficiency issued under STCW V/3 or V/4 do not require recognition by
the issue of an endorsement for service on a Cayman Islands ship.

10. ON BOARD FAMILIARISATION TRAINING

10.1 Before being assigned shipboard duties, all seafarers are required to have received
familiarisation training in accordance with Section A-VI/1 of the STCW Code.

11. REFRESHER TRAINING

11.1 Seafarers qualified in accordance with the training listed below shall be required (as
applicable), every five years, to provide evidence of having maintained the required
standard of competence, to undertake the tasks, duties, and responsibilities:

• Proficiency in Personal Survival Techniques, STCW Table A-VI/1-1;

• Proficiency in Survival Craft and Rescue Boats, other than Fast Rescue Boats, STCW
Table A-VI/2-1;
• Proficiency in Fast Rescue Boats, STCW Table A-VI/2-2;

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• Proficiency in Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting, STCW Table A-VI/1-2;

• Proficiency in Advanced Fire Fighting, STCW Table A-VI/3
• Passenger ship Crowd Management training, STCW A-V/2 para. 3
• Crisis Management and Human Behaviour STCW A-V/2 para 4

12. RESPONSIBILITIES OF COMPANIES

12.1 As well as placing responsibilities on masters and other seafarers, the STCW Convention
also places responsibilities on the owners / managers of ships subject to STCW. The
obligations are outlined in STCW I/14 and are reflected in Cayman Islands legislation.

12.2 In summary, these obligations relate to –

• ensuring seafarers assigned to any of its ships are appropriately qualified in

accordance with the STCW Convention;
• ensuring its ships are manned in accordance with the applicable minimum safe
manning document;
• seafarers receiving the appropriate refresher and updating training;
• full, readily available, records of seafarers being maintained (see STCW I/14.4 for
details of the information to be recorded);
• ensuring seafarers are properly familiarised when assigned to its ships;
• ensuring effective coordination of the ship’s complement in emergency situations
and when performing safety, security and pollution prevention duties; and
• ensuring that there is an effective means of oral communication on board.

13 WATCHKEEPING ARRANGEMENTS

13.1 In addition to the measure to prevent fatigue in Section 5 (above) masters are required to
ensure that the principles of keeping a safe watch outlined in STCW A-VIII are
implemented on board.

13.2 Such measures include –

• The principles contained in STCW A-VIII/2 Part 4-1 in relation to a navigation watch;
• The principles contained in STCW A-VIII/2 Part 4-2 in relation to an engineering watch;
• The principles contained in STCW A-VIII/2 Part 4-3 in relation to a radio watch; and
• The principles contained in STCW A-VIII/2 Part 5 in relation to watchkeeping in port.

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Annex A

The following yacht certificates are accepted for an endorsement by the Cayman Islands
Shipping Registry:

United Kingdom Yacht Certificates

All CoCs limited to yachts or sailing ships are accepted.

French Yacht Certificates

Deck

Master 3000 GT (yacht)

Master 500 GT (yacht)
Master 200 GT (yacht)
Chief Officer 500 GT (yacht)
Chief Officer 200 GT (Yacht)
Yacht 500 GT Watchkeeping Officer
Master 200 GT (Sailing yacht)

Engineering

French engineering Yacht CoCs are assessed on a case-by-case basis.

New Zealand Yacht Certificates

Master (yacht) 3000 GT

Master (yacht) 500 GT
OOW (yacht) 3000 GT

The Netherlands Yacht Certificates

All CoCs limited to yachts or sailing ships are accepted.

Italian Yacht Certificates

All CoCs limited to yachts or sailing ships are accepted.

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