MIN 543 (M) : Sea Service Verification On Large Yachts

Maritime and Coastguard Agency LogMARINE INFORMATION NOTE
MIN 543 (M)
Sea Service Verification on Large Yachts

Notice to all Owners, Masters, Officers and Crews of Commercially and Privately
Operated Yachts and Sail Training Vessels, and those concerned with Maritime
Training.
This notice should be read with MSN 1858, MSN 1859, MSN 1861 and MIN 524.
This MIN expires 28 March 2022.
Summary
This notice describes revised arrangements for verification of sea service testimonials (SST) of
seafarers working in the large yacht sector.
The MCA requires evidence of qualifying sea service in support of seafarer’s applications for a
Notice of Eligibility (NoE) or for the renewal of a Certificate of Competency, to be in the form of
a correctly completed SST, signed by a Responsible Person and verified in accordance with
the provisions of this Notice.
In addition to direct applications, the MCA has previously delegated authority for verification of
sea service to the Professional Yachting Association (PYA) and to Nautilus International
(Nautilus) for their members. This notice formalises this arrangement and gives notice that all
seafarers employed in the large yacht sector, irrespective of their individual membership of any
organisation or association, must have their sea service verified by one of these organisations
prior to submitting this information to the MCA. Failure to do this will cause severe
processing delays of around 160 days.
This document provides further information for obtaining Sea Service Verification from approved
organisations other than the MCA for seafarers in the large yacht sector.
1. Introduction and Overview of the New Requirements
1.1 A sea service testimonial (SST) provides documented evidence of both time served on
board a vessel (yacht service), standby service, ship yard service and actual sea service,
which together constitutes qualifying service. A SST will include statements on watch
keeping service performed (as applicable).
1
1.2 The MCA will continue to provide direct verification of sea service on individual
application but seafarers must note that the response time may be subject to operational
delays and will not be included in the normal MCA service standards. The MCA may take
160 days to process applications that do not include a completed PYA or Nautilus Record
Book. We may return applications where sea service is not broken down as per section 4
of MSN 1858 for Deck Officers or Section 4.8 of MIN 524 for Engineers. This will result in
additional courier costs to be covered by the seafarer.
1.3 The MCA currently accepts the following documentation as evidence of sea service:
 Merchant Navy discharge book supported by verified yacht service

testimonials.
 Certificates of discharge supported by verified yacht service testimonials.
 The Professional Yachting Association Service Record Book.
 Nautilus Service Record book.
1.4 The MCA requires sea service testimonials (SSTs) submitted for the issue of a Notice
of Eligibility and for re-validation of an existing Certificate of Competency to be verified by
a competent and authorised organisation.
1.5 The MCA will continue to accept that duly signed and stamped entries of qualifying sea
service declared in an approved Service Record Book (SRB) constitute prima facie
evidence of such sea service and does not require additional documentation or further
verification.
2. Definitions
2.1 ‘On board yacht service’ is the total time served on board a vessel.
2.2 ‘Sea service’ is the combination of sea service, standby service and shipyard
service.
2.3 ‘Watch keeping service’ is any 4 hours in 24 hours served as the watch-keeping
officer.
2.4 ‘Responsible person’ is the Master1 of the vessel in which the qualifying service
has been performed. In the case of service as Master, the testimonials or certificates
of service must be signed by the owner or a responsible person from the Yacht
Management Company such as a company director or yacht manager.
2.5 Verifying organisation is an MCA approved organisation or association delegated
the responsibility to undertake verification of sea service.
3. Verification Process
3.1 The process of verifying sea service will include:
3.1.1 Confirmation of the seafarer's identity by sighting an attested copy of a valid

passport as proof of identity. A copy will be retained for auditing purposes2.
3.1.2 Performing checks that the SST has been completed correctly to ensure that
all the required data has been entered accurately and is legible.
3.1.3 Checking that the information on the SST is plausible. The information
provided in the SST will be examined for inconsistencies. Information will be
compared with other data held on file to identify conflicts.
1 A Chief Engineer can be the responsible person for signing off others working in the Engineering
department.
2 The MCA will periodically audit onsite but reserves the right to visit and inspect the retained seagoing
service evidence without prior notice.
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3.1.4 Obtaining confirmation from the responsible person who signed the SST that
the information within it is correct. A verified copy of this correspondence
must be retained for auditing purposes.
4. Administration Requirements of Sea Service Testimonials Verification by

Approved Organisations.
4.1 Verifying organisations carrying out verification of an SST on behalf of the MCA will be
required to take all reasonable precautions to ensure that the data declared and contained
in the SST and supporting documentation is correct.
4.2 A record of all SSTs received for verification is to be maintained including those SSTs for
which verification approval was not possible. This record is to be retained by the verifying
organisation for audit by the MCA on request.
4.3 On successful completion of the verification process, the verifying organisation is to mark
the original SST to indicate that it has been verified stating the date and the person(s) who
have undertaken the process.
4.4 Copies (either electronic or documents) of all SSTs must be retained for a minimum period
of ten years together with copies of all related correspondence. These must be made
available to the MCA for audit and/or inspection.
5. Procedure for Obtaining a Verified Sea Service Testimonials
The procedures for obtaining a verified sea service testimonial are fully detailed in the references
above. The MCA's requirements regarding SSTs are set out in:
MSN 1858 (M+F): UK requirements for deck officers on large yachts (over 24m).
MSN 1859 (M+F): UK requirements for engineer officers on large yachts (over 24m).
MSN 1861: UK procedure for the revalidation of certificates of competency and tanker endorsement.
MIN 524 (M+F) Engineer Officer Small Vessel Certificate of Competency.
6. The requirement to have sea service verified by an MCA approved organisation will
come into force from the 24th May 2017.
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More Information
Seafarer Training and Certification

Maritime and Coastguard Agency,
Bay 2/11
Spring Place,
105 Commercial Road,
Southampton,
SO15 1EG.
Tel : +44 (0) 203 81see website.

e-mail: exams@mcga.gov.uk .
Website Address: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/maritime-and-coastguard-agency .
General Inquiries: infoline@mcga.gov.uk
File Ref: N/A
Published: March 2017

Please note that all addresses and
telephone numbers are correct at time of publishing.
© Crown Copyright 2017
Safer Lives, Safer Ships, Cleaner Seas.
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Maritime and Coastguard Agency LogMARINE INFORMATION NOTE

MIN 543 (M)

Sea Service Verification on Large Yachts

1. Introduction and Overview of the New Requirements

 Merchant Navy discharge book supported by verified yacht service

3.1 The process of verifying sea service will include:

3.1.1 Confirmation of the seafarer's identity by sighting an attested copy of a valid

service evidence without prior notice.

4. Administration Requirements of Sea Service Testimonials Verification by

5. Procedure for Obtaining a Verified Sea Service Testimonials

Seafarer Training and Certification

Tel : +44 (0) 203 81see website.

Website Address: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/maritime-and-coastguard-agency .

General Inquiries: infoline@mcga.gov.uk

File Ref: N/A

Published: March 2017

© Crown Copyright 2017

Safer Lives, Safer Ships, Cleaner Seas.

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