Here appears to be a perfect catch 22…you need an assessor to sign off your book who holds a license equal or greater that 3rd mate but that does not include another 1600/3000grt master unless he too holds a 3rd (or higher) mate’s license. If you are the master of your vessel and you have a mate with a 3rd unlimited license can he assess you? In essence a mate verifying the competency of the master!
Also do assessments need to be made which serving in a watchstanding capacity or can a person be aboard as an observer or at least signed on as a person in addition to the crew?
Lastly, is there a tonnage limit to the vessel on which the assessments are made? Must the vessel be inspected? If it not be required to be inspected, is it acceptable as long as it has aboard a gyro and an ARPA.
Any thoughts or direct knowledge on this?
Lets just put it this way,GOT TO LOVE IT, why a third mate???, why not just a 500 ton mate as they have to take the same OICNW assestments,or a 1600 mate as the sea time is the same as a third mate, or does it say a 3rd mate UNLIMITED… yes a mate assessing a master, you just have to love it
[U]Here appears to be a perfect catch 22…you need an assessor to sign off your book who holds a license equal or greater that 3rd mate but that does not include another 1600/3000grt master unless he too holds a 3rd (or higher) mate’s license. If you are the master of your vessel and you have a mate with a 3rd unlimited license can he assess you? In essence a mate verifying the competency of the master![/U]
3/M can’t do it:
Policy letter 01-02 says (among other fun and interesting things) in section 7(c) The assessments of competency for this certification may be carried out by a mariner who is serving on the vessel upon which the applicant is employed and who holds either
(1) STCW certification at the Management level (Master or Chief Mate or
(2) STCW certification as an Officer in charge of a navigational watch and a second mates license.
[quote=Capt_Anonymous;12934]3/M can’t do it:
Policy letter 01-02 says (among other fun and interesting things) in section 7© The assessments of competency for this certification may be carried out by a mariner who is serving on the vessel upon which the applicant is employed and who holds…
(2) STCW certification as an Officer in charge of a navigational watch and a [B]second mates license[/B].[/quote]
Yow…I missed that but at least it makes a modicum of sense since in the eyes of the USCG a third mate’s license is inferior to a master 1600/3000grt yet of course that same master 1600/3000 can’t go straight to 2nd mate unlimited without being penalized by having to go to sail a year as a third mate first.
Yup, yagotta luv our boyz in bloo…monkeys make the crazziest peoples!
btw, any thoughts on the other parts of my original question about the vessel and position on the vessel in order to be assessed?
I think the assessments have to be done on a vessel >200 GRT but don’t quote me on that. I don’t think it has to be an inspected vessel, as I’ve heard of these being done on tugs and also in simulators.
I believe you can be aboard in any capacity (crew, RFPNW, observer, etc) and get them signed off.
[quote=Capt_Anonymous;12942]I think the assessments have to be done on a vessel >200 GRT but don’t quote me on that.[quote]
Any thought to where I would find that one out for sure (excepting the NMC of course)?
I am wondering if >100grt might be enough which would permit the assessments to be done on uninspected tugs.
cheers
Capt_A…
Any thought to where I would find that one out for sure (excepting the NMC of course)?
I am wondering if >100grt might be enough which would permit the assessments to be done on uninspected tugs.
I looked in several places and came up empty on this one…my opinion is:
The qualifying tonnage for a 3 rd mates license is half of the time on >1600 tons and the other half >200 tons… I would have to say that the assessments would be on a vessel of the same appropriate tonnage…
C.C., are you sure you need to do the assessments? Look at Policy Letter 01-02 for more guidance, but essentially, if you hold a 1600 GRT license and STCW certification that were based on service that began on or after 1 August 1998, you can apply for a 3rd Mate license with the required sea service only. “No further testing or assessments are required.”
I don’t need to be assessed myself…I am through with license upgrades forever but posed this as a hypothetical question concerning those masters who are basically trapped at 1600/3000 for want of a qualfied assessor to sign their checksheets.
My counterpart on my vessel is one of these men. He has the seatime for upgrading to third mate and all the courses but since no one on his hitch holds a 2nd mate unlimited he can’t get his book signed. He is not in a position to change jobs so is in essense trapped.
I am wondering if it is possible a qualfied assessor to sign his book on another vessel which would be uninspected but over 100grt? He’d do this in his time off much as taking a required course.
What if you sign his assessments for him at crew change? A few here, a few there, done.
That’d be great for him but I think that the assessments should be actually witnessed by the assessor before being signed off. I’ve run across too many men who have gotten seatime for which they haven’t actually earned and the assessments are kind of the same animal. Doesn’t mean the man can’t do it but it is something that has to be shown before it is signed off.
I’m not suggesting you should pencil whip any assessments, but there has got to be some that could be done legitimately in a shot time frame. Maybe not, I don’t know 'cause I’m not that familiar with the individual assessments.