Rfpnw

Does the person signing off on rfpnw assesments on board a vessel need to be a designated assessor or just simply a 500 ton master or higher?

NVIC 14-02 says " 2nd Mate or Higher or Master holding a limited license and STCW-95 certificate." 500/1600 are limited licenses so either one can sign off your assessments.

[QUOTE=Enarubin;144087]Does the person signing off on rfpnw assesments on board a vessel need to be a designated assessor or just simply a 500 ton master or higher?[/QUOTE]

Until December 31, 2016, the person signing does not have to be approved as a Qualified Assessor." After that date, they have to be approved.

[QUOTE=Tcaptain;144090]NVIC 14-02 says " 2nd Mate or Higher or Master holding a limited license and STCW-95 certificate." 500/1600 are limited licenses so either one can sign off your assessments.[/QUOTE]

14-02 is a policy letter, not a NVIC. And it has been cancelled, i.e. no longer valid. The appropriate authority is NVIC 6-14 which says:
[I]Prospective Qualified Assessors (QAs) should have at least 1 year of experience as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on seagoing vessels of at least 200 GRT and/or 500 GT. After December 31, 2016, QAs must be approved by the National Maritime Center to conduct the assessment(s)…[/I]

Being lazy here instead of doing research, but what is the approval process to an a qualified assessor going to be?

Looks like an approved “train the assessor course” and then this:
http://www.uscg.mil/nmc/training/pdfs/qualified_assessor_request_guide.pdf