New STCW courses after January 1st

What do we need to do to upgrade, but avoid these expensive and time consuming new STCW courses:

  1. Apply before Jan 1st?

  2. Get approved before Jan 1st?

  3. Pass test before Jan 1st?

You call NMC help line. And ask the clerk who answers this question. They will look up your license, records, and tell you exactly what restrictions will be put on your license on Jan 01 17 if you haven’t completed the necessary steps by then.

They should be able to inform you what course you need.

You will have restrictions on your license mostly (if not totally) regarding STCW, and operating a vessel past the boundary line (where STCW applies). But you best get the straight scoop from the NMC

[QUOTE=tugsailor;188997]What do we need to do to upgrade, but avoid these expensive and time consuming new STCW courses:

  1. Apply before Jan 1st?

  2. Get approved before Jan 1st?

  3. Pass test before Jan 1st?[/QUOTE]

Have sea time before March 24, 2014 and submit an application that gets approved before January 1, 2017.

Can I renew if my MMC expires in 2017?

Can I renew if my MMC expires in 2017?

At least that way I got more time until I have to take the refresher courses for my next renewal.

[QUOTE=jdcavo;189015]Have sea time before March 24, 2014 and submit an application that gets approved before January 1, 2017.[/QUOTE]

Thank you. That is the correct answer that I was looking for.

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Yes. I’ve already done that.

Yes. You can and should to avoid the refresher courses. My company is encouraging all our Mariners to do this.

[QUOTE=jdcavo;189015]Have sea time before March 24, 2014 and submit an application that gets approved before January 1, 2017.[/QUOTE]

Thanks.

Ok, so the trick is to get the application approved before the end of the year.

[QUOTE=cappy208;189001]You call NMC help line. And ask the clerk who answers this question. They will look up your license, records, and tell you exactly what restrictions will be put on your license on Jan 01 17 if you haven’t completed the necessary steps by then.

They should be able to inform you what course you need.

You will have restrictions on your license mostly (if not totally) regarding STCW, and operating a vessel past the boundary line (where STCW applies). But you best get the straight scoop from the NMC[/QUOTE]

I have found it very difficult to get a straight answer out of the NMC. Half the answers they give me are wrong.

Some of the better Evaluators will contact you directly by email and you can reply to them directly. That helps a lot. The Evaluators that hide behind the central email account really slow things down and make the most mistakes.

I find that the Live Chat often works faster and better than calling or emailing, but Live Chat is only answered by the contractors, not the actual NMC staff.

[QUOTE=0rion;189018]Can I renew if my MMC expires in 2017?

At least that way I got more time until I have to take the refresher courses for my next renewal.[/QUOTE]

You can renew one year before expiry.

[QUOTE=Kennebec Captain;189035]You can renew one year before expiry.[/QUOTE]

I was not asking about renewal. I was asking about an upgrade.

Upgrades after the first of the year are going to require another half a dozen one or two week new STCW courses. With hotels and travel that’s probably another $30,000.

I’m not sure who is going to spend that kind of money in this era of much fewer jobs at much lower wages. This should slow the flood of new licenses.

This next upgrade before the first of the year will probably be my last.

Yeah, I thought mine expired in 2017.

Its in 2019 the expiration, any hope for me?

[QUOTE=0rion;189017]Can I renew if my MMC expires in 2017?[/QUOTE]
You can renew at any time during the validity of the MMC and up to one year after it expires. If you renew early in 2016, you won’t need to meet the renewal requirements that take effect on January 1, 2017 until your next renewal, which could be as late as 2021 or 2022.

[QUOTE=jdcavo;189015]Have sea time before March 24, 2014 and submit an application that gets approved before January 1, 2017.[/QUOTE]

According to an email from the NMC, they only need to receive the renewal application and have it in the system by December 31, 2016, to avoid needing to take the STCW nuisance classes. Hope that is correct. Would not want to try to guess how long they would take to process it.

[QUOTE=water;189120]According to an email from the NMC, they only need to receive the renewal application and have it in the system by December 31, 2016, to avoid needing to take the STCW nuisance classes. Hope that is correct. Would not want to try to guess how long they would take to process it.[/QUOTE]

Save that email.

It definitely seems onerous for them to require it to be approved by the end of the year. With the problems some people have with slow processing I believe it is more than proper for them to consider apps received before Jan. 1st to be considered “grandfathered”.

[QUOTE=Lee Shore;189122]Save that email.[/QUOTE]

It is a pdf in my renewal folder!

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[QUOTE=coldduck;189124]It definitely seems onerous for them to require it to be approved by the end of the year. With the problems some people have with slow processing I believe it is more than proper for them to consider apps received before Jan. 1st to be considered “grandfathered”.[/QUOTE]

Just having received it before the deadline date would be consistent with the way they have handled prior applications.

Out of curiosity, where are the best places in the US to get the STCW cert.? I need to get mine

I understand that you just need to have the application submitted before the end of the year (2016)

[QUOTE=water;189120]According to an email from the NMC, they only need to receive the renewal application and have it in the system by December 31, 2016, to avoid needing to take the STCW nuisance classes. Hope that is correct. Would not want to try to guess how long they would take to process it.[/QUOTE]

That application has to get approved. You can’t just submit an application before 12/31/2016 and take the required courses or get more sea time after. You have to meet all requirements except testing by 12/31/2016.