What happens when your seatime does not fit a conventional path?

We recently resolved an issue for a New Zealand seafarer who had been struggling for many months to have his seatime accredited by Maritime New Zealand (MNZ), to obtain his Master Yacht certificate.  The New Zealand Master Yacht qualification is designed for seafarers working on superyachts, is STCW compliant, and is valid for vessels under 24 metres length, less than 3000 GT, carrying no cargo and no more than 12 passengers.

MNZ raised two issues in validating our client’s seatime that may have wider applications.

Seatime on a non-commercial superyacht

The first was that our client served his seatime on a non-commercial superyacht, and MNZ required evidence that the vessel was operated to a commercial standard.  

Many superyachts will operate to the same standards as a commercial vessel apart from their manning arrangements, and in this case, the Registry concerned was able to issue a Statement of Compliance to show compliance with all aspects of the REG Yacht code, despite the vessel not operating commercially.

When the vessel’s Statement of Compliance was provided to MNZ, they accepted that our client’s seatime was equivalent to seatime on a commercial vessel.

Equivalent UK certificate

The second issue concerned which UK certificate should be considered equivalent to the NZ Chief Mate Yacht for the purpose of assessing seatime.

MNZ accepted that the UK MCA Chief Mate <3000 GT certificate was an equivalent qualification.  The prerequisite for this is the MCA Officer on Watch (OOW) <3000 certificate, and to upgrade from the OOW to the Chief Mate certificate, no further seatime is required.  The candidate must hold an RYA Ocean Yachtmaster certificate and have completed the appropriate ancillary courses, such as firefighting and first aid.

In this instance, we were able to demonstrate that the seatime our client served holding an OOW certificate, together with their ancillary certificates, was equivalent to the New Zealand Chief Mate Yacht.

The lesson from this is that if your seatime does not fit a conventional path, or the exact requirements in the maritime rules, it may be possible to demonstrate that your experience and qualifications are equivalent.  A well set out application that shows how you meet the criteria in the rules will make it easier for MNZ to approve your seatime.

If you have any questions regarding seatime or certification, please contact Catherine Mason by email catherine@maritimelaw.co.nz or on 021 360 838.