My license is expiring September 2015 - been behind a desk for a few years and want to sail after the new year. if i need 1 yr sea time in 5 yrs can I sail for 6 months and still be able to renew my license to continue sailing?
Sure if you work 16 hour days. I’m sure the CG wouldn’t care if they saw that on the sea time letter. Pause…not.
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I have a qmed/rfpew, when I went to renew without enough seatime (over a year in shipyard and didn’t sail for first 2.5 years of license) I had to take some “take home” exams. Not sure if that goes for every license though.
You need 90 days recent time in the last 3 years… it might be 5. With out this you are probably screwed. If you have this, the 1 year in 5 just means you will not have to do the take home exam. if you do not have 1 in 5, but do have the 90 day recent time, then you will be required to do take home exams. Spend the 100 bucks and ask a license consultant, only then will you be 100 percent certain of what you need to do.
As long as your license has not been expired for more than year, you can renew without sea time. If you do not have one year of sea time in the past five years you will need to complete an at-home open book test.
If you hold STCW endorsements, you will need to re-take Basic Safety Training if you do not have one year of sea time in the last five.
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[QUOTE=jdcavo;147713]As long as your license has not been expired for more than year, you can renew without sea time. If you do not have one year of sea time in the past five years you will need to complete an at-home open book test.
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You are wise to keep you license up. This route saved my bacon a couple of times.
[QUOTE=jdcavo;147713]As long as your license has not been expired for more than year, you can renew without sea time. If you do not have one year of sea time in the past five years you will need to complete an at-home open book test.
If you hold ST+CW endorsements, you will need to re-take Basic Safety Training if you do not have one year of sea time in the last five.[/QUOTE]
So is the 90 days in last 3 years no longer needed?
The rules haven’t changed in at least 25 years.
90 days in the last 3 years is the “recency” requirement for an original license, or a raise in grade. It hasn’t changed.
For renewal, you need one year in the last five years, or you have to take the at-home open book test.
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If you get 90 days after the new year and have some sea time before you renewed last time (one year combined) but within the last 5 years, You can use time you used last time plus the new time( You can renew 1 year early). I retired once and dubbed around a year (fishing for trout). Then fixed up a house I owned and sold it (another year). Worked in a large bread baking plant a year and hated it. Then when I went back to sea I realized I might not get enough sea time before my license expired. I used 180 days I had used before when I renewed in Dec 2008 again in April 2013 when I renewed it 8 months early.
You can now renew at any time. Keep this in mind over the next few years, you can use it to advantage just before the new STCW renewal requirements for Basic Training and Advanced Firefighting take effect on January 1, 2017. (Note this won’t buy you more time for Leadership and Managerial or Teamworking Skills, but it can put off the BT and FF requirements).
Also, whenever you upgrade, be sure to check the boxes on the application form for renewal of everything you have. If you don’t, your upgrade will expire on the same date as the MMC you had before you applied. If you renew, you get 5 more years with the upgrade.
[QUOTE=jdcavo;147749]You can now renew at any time. Keep this in mind over the next few years, you can use it to advantage just before the new STCW renewal requirements for Basic Training and Advanced Firefighting take effect on January 1, 2017. (Note this won’t buy you more time for Leadership and Managerial or Teamworking Skills, but it can put off the BT and FF requirements).
Also, whenever you upgrade, be sure to check the boxes on the application form for renewal of everything you have. If you don’t, your upgrade will expire on the same date as the MMC you had before you applied. If you renew, you get 5 more years with the upgrade.[/QUOTE]
Thank you Mr. James Cavo. You are truly a friend of mariners helping us interpret and decipher the policies.
My MMC expires Nov 30, 2014. I have my renewal in-hand that has issue date Dec.1, 2014. First, I assume I can not renew that one until after Dec. 1, 2014 (Yes? No?). But, about my sea service…do I have to have one year in five AFTER Dec. 1, or can I submit my renewal and re-use the same sea service letter from last March?
I’m not sure I understand the first question. Are yopu asking if something can be renwed before it is issued? Obvioulsy, no. As far as the one year in the last five, it’s five years prior to the date of application.
[QUOTE=highseasharry;147865]Thank you Mr. James Cavo. You are truly a friend of mariners helping us interpret and decipher the policies.
My MMC expires Nov 30, 2014. I have my renewal in-hand that has issue date Dec.1, 2014. First, I assume I can not renew that one until after Dec. 1, 2014 (Yes? No?). But, about my sea service…do I have to have one year in five AFTER Dec. 1, or can I submit my renewal and re-use the same sea service letter from last March?[/QUOTE]
My next MMC is valid from Dec. 1, 2014 until Dec 1, 2019. My plan is to submit my next renewal application on Dec 1, 2014 and be issued a new MMC valid from Dec 2019 until Dec 2024. Will this work?
[QUOTE=highseasharry;147888]My next MMC is valid from Dec. 1, 2014 until Dec 1, 2019. My plan is to submit my next renewal application on Dec 1, 2014 and be issued a new MMC valid from Dec 2019 until Dec 2024. Will this work?[/QUOTE]
The documents are good for 5 years from the issue date of those documents, not the ones prior. So no your scheme will not work .
[QUOTE=Chief Seadog;147895]The documents are good for 5 years from the issue date of those documents, not the ones prior. So no your scheme will not work .[/QUOTE]
Okay, but I’m still a little confused on one point.
When I renewed last time, the issue date for my new MMC was the day after my previous one expired. Based on that, why wouldn’t my next MMC have an issue date the day after my current one expires? And why can’t I do that now if I can renew anytime (as long as I submit the renewal application after the issue date of my current MMC)?
[QUOTE=highseasharry;147899]Okay, but I’m still a little confused on one point.
When I renewed last time, the issue date for my new MMC was the day after my previous one expired. Based on that, why wouldn’t my next MMC have an issue date the day after my current one expires? And why can’t I do that now if I can renew anytime (as long as I submit the renewal application after the issue date of my current MMC)?[/QUOTE]
Because you’re only allowed to start the renewal process when you have a year or less remaining on your current MMC. So it’s not quite correct to say that you can renew “anytime”.
My understanding is that you can renew whenever, but only gain 5 years from when it’s issued.
Google (amazing tool) yielded this:
Postdating:
Postdating of an MMC is defined as placing an issue date on the MMC that is in the future.
Postdating of MMCs will only apply to applications for renewal of a credential where no other
credential activity is requested or results from the transaction.
Except upon receipt of written request documenting the need for immediate issuance, the National
Maritime Center (NMC) will automatically postdate credentials with the appropriate future date.
The issue date of the MMC will be the day following the date of expiration of the current MMC, but no
more than 8 months in the future. The expiration date and period of validity of the credential will be
5 years from the date of issuance.
If the expiration date of the mariner’s current credential is beyond 8 months from the date that the
Coast Guard accepts a complete application, the new credential issue date will be 8 months from the
date of application acceptance, at which time the current active credential will become invalid.
Any transactions initiated after a postdated MMC has been approved and mailed will result in
endorsement labels being printed and mailed for both the mariner’s active MMC and the postdated MMC. Mariners must ensure that the endorsement labels are properly placed in the appropriate MMC.
To ensure consistency of service, the Coast Guard will implement postdating of renewal credentials beginning with applications processed on or after March 24, 2014.
The new credential will not be valid until the issue date listed on the new MMC. Mariners must continue to carry their current credential until that date.
In accordance with the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), mariners are required to return expired or otherwise invalid credentials to the NMC. When the current credential expires, it should be mailed to the NMC.
It is the responsibility of the mariner to maintain control of the postdated credential. If a credential is lost, mariners must follow the procedures to apply for a duplicate, found in 46 CFR Part 10.231.
Delayed Issuance:
The Coast Guard will no longer accept requests for delayed issuance beginning March 24, 2014.
Those applications that have been approved for production with delayed issuance on or before March
23, 2014, will be processed using the current delayed issuance procedures.
Based on this you could do it but you’d gain no more than 8 months, for whatever a renewal costs:
If the expiration date of the mariner’s current credential is BEYOND 8 months from the date that the Coast Guard accepts a complete application, the new credential issue date will be 8 months from the date of application acceptance, at which time the current active credential will become invalid.
[QUOTE=awulfclark;147901]Because you’re only allowed to start the renewal process when you have a year or less remaining on your current MMC. So it’s not quite correct to say that you can renew “anytime”.[/QUOTE]
46 CFR 10.227 (b) A credential may be renewed at any time during its validity and for one year after expiration.
z-drive you got it. Federal Register 77866. I tried…I had this vision of never having to renew again because I had the next ten years of MMC’s on the shelf. Thanks Harry