STCW certificate requirements for Cruise Ships or Super Yachts. So you want to work on a Cruise Ship or Super Yacht, your future employer asked you to provide STCW certificates and now you are wondering from where to start and what courses you need?
Major cruise line companies like Carnival, P&O Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruises, MSC Cruises, TUI Group and others would ask STCW training from both marine and non-marine crew members.
Each employer might require different trainings depending on the position you apply for and the vessel’s flag. The most common flags for cruise ships being Panama, Bahamas and Malta.
Same requirements apply for Super Yacht recruitment as well.
STCW, a little back story
Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (STCW) for Seafarers was initially an International Conference. It was initially held in 1978 at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London.
Subsequently, it has been revised, with the most significant amendments taking place in 1995 and 2010. STCW Code, in Part A, contains mandatory provisions with the minimum training standards required in order for a seafarer, based on his/her rank, to be able to get onboard a vessel.
STCW Certificates, where to start from?
You need to start from STCW Basic Training, formely know as STCW Basic Safety Training (aka BST). According to STCW Regulation V/2, all personnel of passenger ships, including Cruise Ships and Yachts, are required to take this training.
This is a bundle of four (4) courses titled “STCW Basic Training courses” which every seafarer (marine crew) or non marine crew e.g hotel staff is obliged to complete before boarding a vessel.
STCW BST is composed of the following:
- STCW Personal survival techniques (PST) (STCW A-VI/1–1)
- STCW Fire prevention and fire fighting (FPFF) (STCW A-VI/1–2)
- STCW Elementary first aid (EFA) (STCW A-VI/1–3)
- STCW Personal safety and social responsibilities (PSSR) (STCW A-VI/1–4)
The text in the parentheses indicate the STCW code section that each training applies to. Successful completion of the aforementioned leads to the acquisition of the respective STCW Certificates.
Please note that the holder has to repeat (refresh) those four courses every five (5) years.
But wait, there is more about STCW training
In addition to the STCW Basic Training some companies also require other courses that were added to the STCW 2010 amendments related to security, namely:
- STCW Security Awareness (PSA)
- STCW Designated Duties (DSD)
- STCW Crowd Management on Passenger Ships. Includes Safety training for personnel providing direct service to passengers in passenger spaces.
- STCW Crisis Management and Human Behaviour on Passenger Ships
- Ship Security Officer
From those courses, the Crowd Management & Crisis Management courses require 5 year refresh. Security Awareness, Designated Duties and Ship Security Officer certificates are for life (although some companies might require refresh training every 5 years).
Completing these STCW courses Online with e-learning is a nice option to have. It speeds up the process of getting your STCW certificates since you do not have to wait to book a training date and also saves you time and money required to travel to a training center, book accommodation and so on.
