BT (formerly BST) Revalidation Courses

but you can renew prior to January 1 2017 by meeting the Sea time and drill requirements, correct? With no course required, like the NVIC and FAQ’s adress?

[QUOTE=z-drive;187819]but you can renew prior to January 1 2017 by meeting the Sea time and drill requirements, correct? With no course required, like the NVIC and FAQ’s adress?[/QUOTE]

Until January 1, 2017, you can renew BT with just one year of service in the past five years, and before that date there is no renewal requirement for Advanced FF, PSC, or Fast Rescue Boats.

[QUOTE=tugsailor;187643]While that might technically satisfy the USCG, some HR dweeb might not understand that. I also wonder If Transport Canada would accept that when I go into Canada. I’d rather just take a one day course every five years and never have any question about it.

After hearing about guys getting into trouble in Canada because they had not had advanced firefighting in 20 years, I retook that four years ago ( had to take all five days). I’ll have to refresh that again next year (2 days, I think).[/QUOTE]

Purely FYI, SIU Canada has now started sending students to Piney Point. The 1st batch left some time end-July and were put to work on the Great Lakes. Their curriculum was a shortened version compared to what the US students have to go through, especially when it comes to Vessel Ops in Phase 1 and only 1 month of Phase 3.

If your one year of sea time in previous five years is on a towing vessel under 200 tons of which stcw ovbiously doesn’t apply, can you do revalidation course for BST, AFF, and PSC or must you do refreshers for all these in that particular situation?

See section 2.c of enclosure (1) to NVIC 8-14:

The Coast Guard will accept service in any capacity aboard a vessel that is required to hold regular fire and emergency and abandon ship drills as being relevant to the qualification of BT. Mariners may demonstrate that service on other vessels is relevant by providing evidence that their service included duties relevant to BT and/or that their service included ongoing participation in training and drills relevant to BT.

There is similar in the Advanced FF NVIC.

Thanks

I had wanted to start a new topic, but my button for doing so seems to have disappeared.

Has anyone recently done the 4 or 5 day SIU Harry Lundeberg school combined BT, AFF & PSC revalidation course? Is it open to non-union mariners? What does it cost? How frequently is it scheduled?

The SIU school website doesn’t have any info. Being a non-member, I’d prefer to find the answers to those questions without calling them.

I have been looking around a bit for these courses, but I have not seen anywhere else with a combo course. The combo course seems like a great time and money saving idea.

If you’re really in the “revalidation” zone that’d be only a one day affair.

From the Harry Lunberg School website:

Basic Training/Adv. FF Revalidation
Start/End

  • February 10 through February 14
  • March 09 through March 13
  • May 11 through May 15
  • June 01 through June 05

This course meets the USCG requirement for BT & Adv. FF revalidation every 5 years and the Proficient in the Use of Survival Craft (PSC) requirement for continued competency

One course entitled “ Basic Training/Adv.FF Revalidation” is 5 days long. Next class is Feb 10 to 14; that is 5 days.

It claims to cover: BT, Advanced Firefighting, and Proficency in Survival Craft - REVALIDATION - in just one course.

It needs to be a minimum of 2.5 days. See the course curricula guidelines for each component in Enclosure (3) of NVIC 3-14.

I chose this route also but found out this year there are a few companies requiring a valid BST , Reval or Refresh cert (within 5yrs) to work on their ships.

I called Piney Point maybe a year ago to find out if they offered courses to non-SIU members and they told me no. Has anyone had better luck?

I am pretty sure the MEBA’s school does but I couldn’t tell you the costs involved.

I called the SIU. The courses are only open to union members, and of course free to union members.

And yes, some companies do insist on having all the STCW refreshers or revaluations within 5 years.

If you were a marine operations manager at a US tugboat company that sends tugs to Canada, wouldn’t you prefer to hire guys with valid up to date STCW certificates? Why risk having a boat detained in Canada?

The criteria for being found up to date on BT is now that your MMC is current and is endorsed for BT. Training certificates are no longer required to show that your BT is current. But it is quite likely some companies may still want to see training certificates.

By a Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. Coast Guard and Transport Canada, STCW is not required for U.S. vessels on voyages to Canada. If your credentials are valid for the vessel and its voyage in the U.S., they are acceptable in Canada (and vice versa):
…it is our stated policy that vessels trading between the United States and Canada will abide by the legislation for domestic (home-trade) voyages, of the nation in which they are registered while engaged in cross border trade between the United States and Canada.

Thanks for posting that.

I took the Reval class at Chesapeake for $400, it was a one day course and very well done IMO.
This because a company wanted to see a valid certificate.
Seems MARAD and MSC are interested in the certificate as opposed to your MMC.

I have encountered a few companies that want to see a valid certificate within 5 years. Same with the temp agencies.

Most foreign port state control (except Canada) might legitimately expect to see a certificate with in 5 years too.

BT + Adv Fire + PSC (lifeboat) REVALIDATION seems to cost about $1000 and take about 4 or 5 days at most schools. That’s too much. These schools, especially the taxpayer supported schools, are ripping us off.