Advanced Training Oil Tanker

I need this certificate. Transport Canada doesn’t mind where I get it as long as it is STCW. My school offers it, but not until November. I can not afford to get myself to the maritime provinces or to Europe to take it. I’m hoping maybe I can find an equivalent in Washington or Oregon. I called a few schools there, but they were like: Do you mean Tankerman PIC? I don’t know. It looks like, USCG considers Tankerman PIC to be an equivalent. I would think that Tankerman PIC would be equivalent to SOTO (supervisor of oil transfer operation), which in Canada is not the same as advanced oil tanker. What do you guys reckon?

By that checklist, it looks like USCG considers Tankerman PIC to be equivalent to Advanced Training Oil Tanker under STCW. Now whether Transport Canada would see it that same way, would be a question for them.

Sure would be nice if the US could get on board with IMO naming conventions (and that stupid GMDSS cert mess that we won’t get into again) and put all the constant confusion to rest.

If I wanted to make the case to TC that tankerman PIC is equivalent, I wonder how I would go about doing it. If its even worth the hassle.

The course certificate from the school states which STCW code numbers that it is USCG approved for.

I think most Tankerman courses cover basic and advanced oil and chemical tankships. Beware, some courses are Barge only). A US Tankerman course is typically 5 days and costs $600-$1200.

The cheapest courses on the West Coast are at Clatstop Community College (look for their ”MERTS” website section) in Astoria, Oregon. However, Tankerman is probably only scheduled four times a year. The website is usually out of date, you will need to call them. US courses are usually cheaper than Canadian courses.

The easiest, fastest, most reliable, and ultimately cheapest thing may be to just jump on WestJet or AirTransat to Fort Lauderdale and go to MPT. mptusa.com. Most of their courses are USCG and MCA approved. MPT has some cheap housing available too. Most courses run about once a month.

Seattle has become a very expensive place to take courses because of the high cost of housing, and everything.

Congrats on graduating from BCIT

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Jeez Louise, November ain’t that far off. What’s the rush? Smell the diesel.

I can’t work until I have the course, and I have to be back in school for my exemptions in January. No one this broke can hang out in Vancouver for that long without working. November blows up my whole window. I will talk to TC and my company to see if the STCW code number is all it takes.

Good luck.

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It may not be as easy as saying that the US tankerman PIC course is “equivalent.” The STCW doesn’t specifically require a course. It requires candidates to demonstrate having met the standards of competence in the STCW. The US has indicated that a Mariner who meets our national standard for Tankerman-PIC will have met the STCW requirements. That requires both a course AND participation in cargo transfers during which the person in charge of the transfer has found the candidate capable of being the a person in charge of cargo transfers.

The above notwithstanding, I believe that the USCG National Maritime Center has granted approvals tha specifically reference STCW, even though the US does not require a course per se for STCW. I would suggest looking for one of those courses at this not particularly easy to use site. The courses will be called Tank Ship Dangerous Liquids.

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Speaking of that ridiculous site, how do we get that changed back to the way it was? That has to be one of the dumbest changes they’ve made yet.

After dealing with the dead links, I bookmarked the new site and navigate it from there. I spent hours on It and I can now remember where most everything is that I need, but It was a waste of time. The process for making appointments at the RECs are all different, which is frustrating. The website is not really intuitive and could use some tweaks. Was this site created by a design firm or in-house?
As for the course listings, using a search function on the PDF helps, but it would be so much better as a live searchable website that updates continuously, or even an excel sheet with drop downs that allow you to search by course,school, or geographic area, etc.

I haven’t gotten too involved with cargo transfers. Get the pumps going, provide the IG, provide the heating steam… I did go up and study what they were doing and spent a day and a night shadowing them for both loading and unloading, just for the sake of knowing. I don’t think I could be found capable of being in charge of cargo transfers. Bunkering on the other hand: I know a little bit about that.

In the US, one must document 5 loads and 5 discharges, being involved in the entire process, including the paperwork. There must be a minimum of two starts and two completions.bunkering does not count on the ship taking fuel but it counts for the guys on the bunker barge delivering cargo.

No idea what Transport Canada might require.

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Based on what you and jdcavo have said, I’d be wasting my time with the Tankerman PIC course, since I don’t and conceivably wont meet the practical requirements. It sounds like the requirements have the same spirit as our SOTO part B, which is meant for bargemen. Super helpful to know ahead of time, before I’ve gone and arranged a course, enit? Tak!

§ 13.203 Eligibility: Experience.

Each applicant for a ‘‘Tankerman- PIC’’ endorsement for DL or LG shall meet the requirements of either para- graphs (a) and (b) or paragraph © of this section.
(a) Each applicant shall present evi- dence of—
(1) At least 90 days of service as a deck officer or an engineering officer on one or more tankships or self-pro- pelled tank vessels certified to carry DL or LG appropriate to the endorse- ment applied for;
(2) At least 90 days of rating or cadet service on deck or in the engine depart- ment on one or more tankships or self- propelled tank vessels certified to carry DL or LG appropriate to the en- dorsement applied for; or
(3) A combination of the service in paragraphs (a) (1) and (2) of this sec- tion.
(b) Each applicant shall present evi- dence of participation, under the super- vision of a ‘‘Tankerman-PIC,’’ in at least 10 transfers of liquid cargo in bulk of the classification desired on tankships or self-propelled tank ves- sels, including at least—
(1) Five loadings and five discharges;
(2) Two commencements of loading and two completions of loading; and(3) Two commencements of discharge and two completions of discharge.
© Each applicant already holding an MMD or MMC endorsed ‘‘Tankerman- PIC’’ for DL and seeking an endorse- ment for LG, or the converse, shall—
(1) Provide evidence of at least half the service required by paragraph (a) of this section; and
(2) Comply with paragraph (b) of this section, except that he or she need pro- vide evidence of only three loadings and three discharges along with evi- dence of compliance with paragraphs (b)(2) and (3) of this section.
[CGD 79–116, 60 FR 17142, Apr. 4, 1995, as amended by CGD 79–116, 62 FR 25134, May 8, 1997; USCG–2006–24371, 74 FR 11259, Mar. 16, 2009]
§13.205 Proof of service for ‘‘Tankerman-PIC’’ endorsement.
Service must be proved by a letter on company letterhead from the owner, operator, or master of the vessel on which the applicant obtained the serv- ice. The letter must contain the infor- mation described in § 13.127(a).

MPT offers the Tankerman course on July 30th for $999. It is sometimes possible to get a 10% discount at MPT if you ask for it. MPT website says it satisfies STCW A-V1, para 1-21. Mptusa.com.

One of the schools in the Maritimes appears to offer a similar course as two separate $1600 courses, but no classes scheduled.

Mid-Atlantic Maritime Academy in Norfolk offers Tankerman for $900 on August 13th. They say it covers advanced Tanker STCW AV/1-1-1,2 and AV/1-1-3.

I’d bet that both MPT and Mid-Atlantic courses are identical with the same approvals. Of those two schools, both good, attending MPT will turn out to be cheaper and a more pleasant experience

Are you an engineer? If so, at least in the US, all you need is the Tankerman Engineer endorsement. Tankerman PIC is mostly for Mates on tankers.

Bunkering does not count for PIC - it has to be product moved into cargo tanks, not bunker tanks.

yesh.

Under STCW, engineers have to hold the same advanced endorsement as deck officers. Even in the US, engineers have to take the same course for STCW, the difference is that they do not do the transfers, and get a limitation on the STCW endorsement that confines it to maintenance and repair of cargo equipment.

Ah yes, you are correct as usual. My apologies - same course, different endorsement.

I have found the easiest way to look for courses is to download the pdf, save it, then use adobe acrobat to search for a keyword.