Current Turnaround times for USCG License Renewals

Are the professional evaluators at the NMC US GOV workers or are they contractors?

[QUOTE=johnny.dollar;194379]Are the professional evaluators at the NMC US GOV workers or are they contractors?[/QUOTE]

I believe the evaluators are USCG. It just takes some time to get through to them with the Exceed Corp and KPS doing the other stuff.

Most of, if not all of the “KPS” that I have seen written on ship’s bulkheads was written by Kings Pointers. They are the ones who told me of it’s meaning.

My understanding is that the evaluators are civilian employees of the USCG. There obviously are not enough evaluators and they quality is low. They have absolutely no maritime expertise. Many are obviously incompetent. As a result the more senior evaluators that do the requests for reconsideration are completely overwhelmed.

The NMC is a failure that needs to be replaced. At a minimum, all licensing decisions should be sent back to the RECs.

[QUOTE=tugsailor;194402]

The NMC is a failure that needs to be replaced. At a minimum, all licensing decisions should be sent back to the RECs.[/QUOTE]

I agree that NMC is a failure. The old system required that you go in person to the REC but it worked better. There were some good RECs and some not so good ones. I remember Miami had a bad rep and Boston had a good one.

My evaluator this time around was a Lieutenant in the USCG.

Absolutely. Memphis was fantastic, and while I doubt he’ll ever see this post, Dave Calvert there was the reason why it was so good. Had a question? Call Dave. He was what the IASKNMC should have been. Really pissed me off when they made it so you couldn’t call the RECs direct anymore.

We mariners need to push for returning licensing to the RECs.

Senator Robert Byrd is long dead; there is no longer any reason for USCG licensing dysfunctions to be located in West Virginia.

I have to wonder whether most government programs are run as poorly as USCG licensing at NMC and the TWIC Card program.

I hear US Navy ship procurement is the model that all government programs are based on.

I had good luck in OAKLAND even though I know some that didn’t. I just liked that you would walk in, take a test, then walk out with license in hand… SAME DAY!

09 December 2016 - Emailed C/M application to Charleston REC.
21 December 2016 - Charleston REC forwarded to Mandeville REC (NOLA).
03 January 2017 - Awaiting PQEB.

I’m hoping to test next month, pretty sure they’ll come back requiring more info before getting the approval to test letter though. Hopefully that doesn’t completely reset the clock.

Exactly. Even better back before the RECs, when you walked into the local OCMI with sea service letters or discharges and walked out with a license the same day.

Final update for mine. Received at NMC October 12. Gap closing finally appended to my license January 20th. Now to be fair, they got my approval to test for CM AGT processed December 23rd. But I still haven’t seen the letter for that. Maybe it’ll come with my stickers.

Update. Gap closing took just about four weeks.

The rush should be dying down, however, since we are into the new year.

Submitted: 12/14
Awaiting PQEB: 12/21
Awaiting info PQEB:1/21

Got the letter today, go to call, closed due to inclement WX. :rolleyes:

Sooner or later some deprived mariner is going to file a class action lawsuit against the NI in a US court. Its going to be interesting to see what a US court does with that.

Well… it took much longer, but not due to NMC. The doc checked the wrong color blind test box and i had to go back and get a letter. Took me weeks just to do that.

To recap times:

12/29/16 Submitted package to REC ANC
1/6/17 RCVD note from NMC that my color blind test was not checked properly on the form
2/19/17 Submitted letter saying I’m not proper color blind
2/27/17 Credential was mailed

All in it was only about 12 working days to go through the system. WOW! that seems pretty fast. That is not including mailing times of Letters and MMC.

Upgrade License 3AE - 2AE

4/19 Mailed packet to REC
4/21 Recieved by REC Baltimore, Mailed to NMC
4/24 Accepted by NMC
4/27 Passed Medical Evaluation, Medical Certificate Issued / Awaiting PQEB
5/19 Being Evaluated
5/23 Passed Evaluation, Stickers on the way.
5/25 Stickers Recieved

I have a Congressional inquiry pending with the USCG right now about the GAP Closure Training and problems with NMC. According to the USCG’s Congressional Liaison, the USCG is 37 evaluators short and has been for 2 years at least, 6 months behind in issuing MMC’s considered a “success” and not enforcing STCW requirements on foreign vessels does not require an Executive Order or briefing of Congress or the President among other USCG “success” stories.

What can we as Mariners do? In the upper right hand corner of the NMC web page is a button for customer feedback. EVERY TIME you go to their page, use the feedback button and put 1’s across the board, give a short sentence about why and hit send or whatever. As long as their matrices remain high, they don’t care about us. lso, send a letter to your Congressman.

There are 69,000 licensed mariners. Consider all the industries we support and bankroll. I am glad the unions are there but most of us are not or can not join a Union. The only way we can get Congress to listen is through the USCG getting hammered on the Marine Safety side and letters from us.

If anyone wants to discuss this anonymously, PM me. I have been fighting them six months trying to get everyone who got the training an extra year or two on their license. I am not there yet but it is close. I need help. You can help and remain anonymous through me. I promise.

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NMC spent 11 months (including a 100 day period when they suspended action on all pending requests) to process my ultimately successful Request for Reconsideration.

So what are you going to do?

Are you going to sit there and take it like they expect you to or are you going to do the right thing do something about it?

We are all doing our jobs, paying our taxes and being good citizens and they are not. As Peter Finch said in Network…

“I am as mad as HELL and I am not going to take it anymore!”

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I filed a new application (using a good license consultant) with the USCG for several new license endorsements, and an increase in scope on one existing endorsement, in October 2016. One of those new endorsements, and the increase in scope, were finally approved in May 2017, the other endorsements are still pending at NMC.

The staff at NMC are too stupid to walk and chew gum at the same time. Its obvious that its a mistake to apply for more than one thing on the same application. The NMC staff gets confused too easily.

I don’t dare to complain to the USCG, nor do I think it would do any good. The staff at NMC would just retaliate by delaying and denying my applications even further.

I have asked my Senator and Congressman to hold congressional hearings on the failure of the NMC, and to order the return licensing to the RECs.