See 46 CFR 12.617(b)
NMC is right. The STCW Convention, the regulations, does not have a separate regulation for Fast Rescue Boats (The regulations are noted as a single roman numeral and a number). So PSC and fast rescue boats are collectively covered in Regulation VI/2.
The STCW Code has a seperate section for fast rescue boats, Section A-VI/2-2. The roman numeral page of the MMC is for the STCW Convention Regulations, not the Sections of the STCW Code. To be nit-pickingly accurate, there is no “VI/2-2” in either, the Code secrions are prefaced with the letter corresponding to the part of the Code they are in, so fast rescue boats is Section A-VI/2-2.
If you want to check this and don’t have a copy of STCW, there are excerpts of the relevant parts of the STCW Convention and Code in Enclosure 3 of NVIC 5-14.
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There is a renewal requirement, but as for courses,there are no revalidation courses, just refresher courses. If you have one year of service in the past five and revalidate your Basic Training, you will also have revalidated Fast Rescue Boats. If you don’t have the one year in five, you need a REFRESHER course. It’s the same for Proficiency in Survival Craft.
From Enclosure 1 to NVIC 5-14:
The Coast Guard will accept currently valid STCW Basic Training and onboard
training and experience, through evidence of 1 year of sea service within the last
5 years, as meeting the requirements for continued professional competence.
Mariners who cannot meet the requirement for 1 year of sea service within the last 5
years are required to complete an approved or accepted Fast Rescue Boat course or
approved or accepted refresher training.
The requirement in bold below is egregious. MSC and drillships might have a helicopter on hand but there aren’t many others who do.
( i ) Taking charge of a fast rescue boat during and after launch, including —
( C ) Using communication and signaling equipment between the fast rescue boat and a helicopter and a ship.
If it had said ‘between the fast rescue boat and a helicopter or a ship’ it would be reasonable.
The training is for SAR, they are assuming you train for there to be USCG or other SAR aircraft on site. It seems like a reasonable training requirement to me.
The drill merely simulates communications with a helicopter.
The schools do not hire a helicopter for an approved course either.
These are not Class certificates they are flag.
“Class” as in course of instruction. Held in a “class” room. Like they issued him a cert after the class was completed. Class = course in this usage.
This is wrong. There are separate and STCW courses for Proficiency in Survival craft and Fast Recue Boat. Proficiency in survival craft is an STCW basic whilst FRB would be a company requirement for those vessels that carry FRB’s.
Fair enough but colloquial phasing does not sit well with maritime law especially STCW requirements.
No idea what NVIC’s mean, I just follow the IMO regs not Flag or Class…
USCG Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular. Mr. Cavo pointed to this one: http://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DCO%20Documents/5p/5ps/NVIC/2014/nvic-05-14_frb_final_20140125.pdf
According IMO FRBs are not Means of Rescue and you don’t have to practice with them at sea.
http://heiwaco.com/fastrescueboats.htm