About 6 weeks ago I submitted my upgrade package for my tankerman pic at the Anchorage REC. I got through medical pretty fast about 10 days but,it seems that my upgrade has been stuck in professional qualification evaluation branch for a little over 4 weeks now. As of this morning my application hasn’t even been assigned a professional qualification evaluator yet. Have any of you guys who have submitted upgrades or had any other business with the NMC recently experienced these kind of delays?
Have one that’s taking its sweet time, but given the nature of it I’m not surprised. Been waiting to be screened for med for a few days. Holidays probably aren’t helping with people taking thurs/Friday off.
After sitting in Boston REC for several weeks (nov 1) my upgrade (original issue) moved through medical and security quickly. After 2 weeks waitin to be assigned PEQB I called to inquire whats up. Next day I was assigned, approved to test shortly after.
There is a memo on their site sayin their slammed .
It doesn’t get much better after testing. A little over two weeks from passing my exam to printing and shipping.
National Maritime Center
Providing Credentials to Mariners
12/20/2013 Page | 1
Increased Processing Times for Credentials,
Security Endorsements, and Services
The National Maritime Center (NMC) is presently experiencing elevated processing times and
inventories for merchant mariner credential (MMC) applications, and other products and
services. Those increases can be partly attributed to the recent lapse of appropriations
(government furlough) and the surge of applicants seeking security endorsements required by
January 1st, 2014. During the first 6 months of 2013, the NMC was providing an average of
500 security endorsements per month. Since September, the NMC has averaged nearly
3000 security endorsement applications and has issued over 2400 endorsements monthly.
These submissions are in addition to our normal expected MMC applications. As a result, the
NMC currently has a standing inventory level of application requests that has not been
experienced since 2009; therefore, customers may note an increase in the time it takes to
process applications and to respond to customer inquiries in the Call Center. The system
generated e-mails that mariners receive indicating potential production and delivery dates are
not accurate at this time. We are looking into resolving this discrepancy.
Following the lapse in appropriations in October, initial steps to reprioritize credentialing
evaluation and production efforts were enacted, and those efforts continue. The NMC has
significant experience responding to and managing periods and volumes of increased
credential, product, and service requests, and has implemented additional contingency plans
within our legal and operational authorities to address those products and services that are
being negatively impacted. We hope such efforts will reduce our elevated response and
processing times in the near future.
As always, you are highly encouraged to continue sending in your applications for all products
and services in a timely fashion, and we will do everything to restore the same level of product
and service delivery you have become accustomed to. Thank you for your patience while we
process your requests. We will continue to update you as we move forward in this effort.
Sincerely,
/J.P. Novotny/
Jeffrey P. Novotny
Captain, U. S. Coast Guard
Commanding Officer
Put package in Sept. 28, approved on 5 dec.
I was in no hurry though, more time to study.
I submitted my package in September and waited a long time to be assigned an evaluator. In early December I mentioned my frustration in this forum and was advised to call often to check up its status. I was assigned an evaluator after my second call. Coincidence… I think not!
Good luck!
Handed in my renewal to Baltimore on 02 Dec. 17 Dec it got held up at professional review regarding my tankerman endorsement. I sent in my request for continutiy renewal on that one, and expect to have my new license in hand no later than 2nd week of January. Women in Baltimore office told me it would be a 2 - 4 week process so long as everything was in order. Obviously it was not so I will wait an additional 2 weeks. Not bad considering all the stories about delays.
Sent in a packet for an endorsement to the new Orleans REC on November 19th. It got the REC on December 20th, cleared Med in three days and has been languishing away waiting an evaluator. I was told today it will most likely stay there till after the new year.
Then what do they do right as they are experiencing historic backlogs? Well they cut hours of coarse! I sent in my ARPA and GMDSS certificates and have been waiting to be assigned an evaluator for a week and a half. The certificates were emailed over a month ago. When I called them I was told that they are pushing through the security applications because of the January 1 deadline. I sent my security paperwork in months ago. Now I am having to wait because a bunch if others decided to wait until the last minute. Isn’t exactly fair now is it?
This is why the NMC is a failure. Give the power back to the local RECs so they can get things rolling again. No reason local RECs can print off then cute little “stickers” for those MMD…
Mine has been sitting for 2 weeks “In Transit”
I basically have a promotion waiting for me when I upgrade. Most likely I’ll lose out on quite a bit of money due to the NMC’s inability to do their job properly and in a timely fashion. Glad I have to pay 110 bucks to get screwed.
Me too brother. Going to cost me a 28 day hitch without my $150 per day raise. I can’t wait!
[QUOTE=tugsailor;127004]National Maritime Center
Providing Credentials to Mariners
12/20/2013 Page | 1
Increased Processing Times for Credentials,
Security Endorsements, and Services
The National Maritime Center (NMC) is presently experiencing elevated processing times and
inventories for merchant mariner credential (MMC) applications, and other products and
services. Those increases can be partly attributed to the recent lapse of appropriations
(government furlough) and the surge of applicants seeking security endorsements required by
January 1st, 2014. During the first 6 months of 2013, the NMC was providing an average of
500 security endorsements per month. Since September, the NMC has averaged nearly
3000 security endorsement applications and has issued over 2400 endorsements monthly.
These submissions are in addition to our normal expected MMC applications. As a result, the
NMC currently has a standing inventory level of application requests that has not been
experienced since 2009; therefore, customers may note an increase in the time it takes to
process applications and to respond to customer inquiries in the Call Center. The system
generated e-mails that mariners receive indicating potential production and delivery dates are
not accurate at this time. We are looking into resolving this discrepancy.
Following the lapse in appropriations in October, initial steps to reprioritize credentialing
evaluation and production efforts were enacted, and those efforts continue. The NMC has
significant experience responding to and managing periods and volumes of increased
credential, product, and service requests, and has implemented additional contingency plans
within our legal and operational authorities to address those products and services that are
being negatively impacted. We hope such efforts will reduce our elevated response and
processing times in the near future.
As always, you are highly encouraged to continue sending in your applications for all products
and services in a timely fashion, and we will do everything to restore the same level of product
and service delivery you have become accustomed to. Thank you for your patience while we
process your requests. We will continue to update you as we move forward in this effort.
Sincerely,
/J.P. Novotny/
Jeffrey P. Novotny
Captain, U. S. Coast Guard
Commanding Officer[/QUOTE]
Maybe they should also add that they have to send out all those medical certificates to STCW holders starting Jan 2. This time I don’t think it’s entirely their fault. It’s the people who waited till the last minute to send in the applications for the security endorsement. According to HR more than half our company hadn’t even submitted their shit for the security deal when I spoke to them mid-December. They had known about this since the emails starting coming out in the Spring.
I waited 11 days for my new license to be printed. I finally called after a week and started asking questions, and then called every day after that looking for some answer other than “well it was sent to the printer but the printer is backed up.”
I called on Thursday and they said they had my test scores and that it was sent back to the evaluator to look at my sea time and that it should be ready to print in 7-10 days. I am going to start calling everyday once that 10 days is up.
[QUOTE=“GLMASailor;127056”] it was sent back to the evaluator to look at my sea time[/QUOTE]
Why do they have to look at your sea time, did they say? Since they had to look at it before approving you to test are they thinkin you somehow lost seatime since they last looked?
It might have something to do if the Academy F-ed something up. Who knows, I just hope it’s printed and in the mail soon. I’m ready to get to work.
I just applied for an original mmc. How long is the wait currently?