I cannot see any reason why that would be the case. @jdcavo
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I thought the same but somewhere JD replied in a post why.
Seems to me it kids of negates the Unlimited thingâŚ
By whom?
Is someone saying 46 CFR § 11.553 - Chief engineer (OSV) doesnât mean anything?
Why would you think that?
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The only thing I can think of is the requirement to hold a DP certification for basic maintenance for engineers and electro.Tech officers. There is a 4 day course in Perth, Australia for $4200. You do get lunch.
Because the requirements for OSV certification are far less than those for an unlimited chief.
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How does that translate to anyone saying âOSV Chief engineer doesnât mean anythingâ?
German or not all of them seem to be â limitedâ 
It doesnât and never did. Basic reading skills show nearly anyone that the subject of the statement was 46 CFR § 11.553 which after the dash explained to nearly everyone that it was the regulation governing requirements to obtain certification as an OSV chief.
Harvey Shows. HOS HR guy. HOS has a template for pay. The more Documents/Certs you have the more the Day Rate. He said that if I had the CE OSV it would be 50.00 more per day. (Didnât hire on as CE, said I had to get signed offâŚ) I told him the Unlimited Motors CE license was a bigger license than the CE OSV and that it allowed me to sail as CE on their vessels. He said it did not. I contacted the USCG and they said he was correct.
Then why did you say it did?
And yet you still havenât explained how thatâs relevant to this conversation.
What âUSCGâ did you contact and did you do it by email?
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REC in Portland. This was 15 or more years ago. It was discussed a while ago on here and JD chimed in and explained why.
Iâd like to see that explanation if you can find it as I have never heard of a CE UL have a restriction except as to mode of propulsion.
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Iâll look. Weâre changing a Plunger/Barrel on our M/E right now.
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A lot has changed in 15 years, much driven by STCW 2010, which included changes for OSV qualification requirements. OSV is a Limitation on an Engineering Officer endorsement. Holding a Chief Engineer (OSV) limits you to service on an OSV. It is a limitation that can be removed however, by meeting all of the requirements for a Chief Engineer without limitation (commonly referred to as Unlimited).
As written in NVIC 02-17
To remove the limitation to OSVs, mariners must meet all requirements for an endorsement as Chief Engineer without a limitation to OSVs in 46 CFR 11.325. This will require the mariner to complete the tasks in NVIC 15-14 that are not included or are identified as specific to OSVs in Enclosure (2) of this NVIC.
The assessments which need to be signed off to get your OSV endorsement are only specific in the sense that if you want to remove the OSV limitation you have to re-do those same assessments on a non-OSV. They are otherwise identically worded in NVIC 2-17 Enclosure 2 to the non-limited assessments in NVIC 15-14 Enclosure 2.
Thereâs not some secret specialness to OSVs for Engineers. (Mates are weird, so they may be a different story, but thatâs true for many things.)
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Whoever told people that a Chief Engineer Unlimited cannot serve as Chief OSV was simply mistaken. At the risk of finally ending a decade-old debate, I believe the answer has been clearly laid out in the Marine Safety Manualâand it was clear 15 years ago, too.
If you look at MSM Volume III, Chapter 2, page C2-4 (or page 427 in the PDF), the endorsement equivalency table spells out exactly what positions you can sail in with each engineering endorsement. The table explicitly shows that a Chief Engineer Unlimited is authorized for Chief OSV, as well as for every other engineering officer position.
Yes, the MSM is long overdue for an update, but I canât find any NVICs, policy letters, or other official guidance that supersede this endorsement equivalencies table. I certainly hope that the 2025 or 2026 update to Marine Safety Manual Volume III is already in the pipeline, as it would be a service to the industry.
And if you care about anecdotal evidence: after I upgraded to Chief Engineer Unlimited, the Coast Guard actually refused to continue endorsing Chief Engineer OSV when I got my next MMCâbecause, according to them, it was redundant. Now, if I they somehow missing something, if that deletion was a mistake, I certainly want to get that endorsement back. (The dropping of the OSV from my MMC was relatively recent and happened when I got one of the single-page MMCâs)
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Who is telling you that you need a CE OSV if you hold a CE UL? Chief OSV is absolutely redundant.