[QUOTE=socalguy;172904]Per my reading of the most current STCW requirements, the requirements for “visual signaling” have been relaxed to only needing single character codes and SOS. Is this the case? This clause specifying proficiency from page 54, Task 8.2.A of this USCG Circular was what caught my eye:
“Ability to transmit and receive, by Morse light, distress signal SOS and single-letter signals as specified in the International Code of Signals”[/QUOTE]
The December 2013 rulemaking for STCW 2010 removed this requirement for original issue and every upgrade of an unlimited national endorsement (license). However, the STCW competemncy standards for Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch (Table A-II/1) specify the competence you cited. So it cannot be eliminated entirely. It is now a one-time only training requirement for an OICNW endorsement. Note that the courses are not required to assess ability to transmit, just receive. We are making the assumption that someone can competently receive can is at least miniomally competent to transmit.
Per 46 CFR 11.309(a)(4)(vi) a course is required. You cannot test from an REC or do a shipboard assessment.