I have submitted 2000 + days of seatime all of which are listed as deckhand, mate or master. The vessels are between 24-99 tons and none of which have a requirement of licensed engineer on their COI. Basically all of that time has been spent as the main engineer on the boat with probably 33% of my total time on the boat spent doing engineering duties. Due to my ignorance of engineering licensing requirements and lack of the vessels needing a licensed engineer, all of my seatime has been submitted in the deck department. Is there anyway to get some of this time recognized by the coast guard as a engineer, like say enough to get a Qmed or DDE 1000. Anyone else have experience with this dilemma?
Look at the checklists. You can use some deck time towards an engine license. Off the top of my head for example, 720 eight hour days required for DDE 4000, 180 of that can be deck time. Refer to the checklists.
Now in regards to the time you already submitted, I would think it would be a huge pain in the behind to get your letter or letters rewritten and submitted again. May create some headaches too with evaluation.
Not sure on tonnage requirements, but as long as the boats you were working on had a walk in engine room, you should be good. In theory, any time on a tug, crewboat or subchapter T vessel with a âwalk-inâ engine room should be creditable for any DDE license at least.
Do you mean you submitted this sea time already with an application related to your deckhand/mate/master credential?
It seems unlikely that you can re-classify sea time letters already submitted, as Ctony mentioned that could open a huge can of worms. And if already used as part of an application, then impossible.
For DDE 1000 youâd need 360 days service in the Engineroom with 180 as QMED. You donât hold QMED. For QMED you only need 180 days âof service in a rating at least equal to that of a wiper or coal passer.â Wiper requires 0 days of sea time, so at a minimum you should get that endorsement if you donât already have it.
If you do already hold a Wiper endorsement, and you have sea time not yet submitted, you might consider having your sea time letters written to reflect your role with service in the engine room. If you have 180 days, that should be enough for QMED.
Sorry I didnât Clarify. I wouldnât be reclassifying any previously submitted sea time, it is seatime that hasnât been submitted yet, that occurred between seatime that has been submitted if that makes sense.
As far as a walk in engine room, do you mean an engine room that you have to walk down a stair case as opposed to a ladder or through a watertight door? Or do you mean that is accessible and can be walked around in?
Correct that is seatime I have submitted on renewals, and upgrades.
The qmed equivalent supervisory position is the part on the checklist I am unsure about. Will they grant this without actually holding a qmed if you were for instance the unlicensed chief engineer?
I think there may be specifics in the CFRs but it means an engine room you walk into and can fully stand up in.
So in other words putting down engine room time on a 30 ft boat that has a deck hatch to access the engine room may not suffice.
Not in the CFR. See pages A12-2 and A12-4 of the Marine Safety Manual, Vol. III. Youâre also a bit misguided focusing on how you get in the engine space rather than what is in the space (see para. 8 on A12-4).
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And this is why myself and others are lucky to have you here. Thanks for clarifying.
So only DDEâs can use time on boats less than 100 gt providing it was a walk in engine room and similar equipment on larger vessels.
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Thank you for posting that document. That saved me a lot of time and I doubt I would of ever found that. So in summary. So seatime under 100 tons can be used for QMED or DDE endorsements. The language for what is required for the engine room is vague but specifically at a minimum it needs to have an auxiliary generator and needs to be a walk in, no mention of the entrance.
In your experience how likely is it that the evaluators accept QMED equivalent experience without actually having a QMED endorsement
Well I used âunlicensed engineerâ time on a tug prior to getting my qmed. Tug was over 100 grt though. Had no issues with approvalâŚbut that was 15 years ago.
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