Hi,
I’ve been searching everywhere but can’t seem to find a single campus that can provide me with the certificates I require. I’m looking for:
STCW Basic
Advanced Fire Fighting
Medical First Aid Provider
Proficiency in Survival Craft
I would prefer to do the courses in or around the Houston area and would prefer a single campus as I will be flying in from the Far East on my 28 days off to complete them.
Any help would be appreciated.
Kurt
[QUOTE=kurtbelyeu;178520]Hi,
I’ve been searching everywhere but can’t seem to find a single campus that can provide me with the certificates I require. I’m looking for:
STCW Basic
Advanced Fire Fighting
Medical First Aid Provider
Proficiency in Survival Craft
I would prefer to do the courses in or around the Houston area and would prefer a single campus as I will be flying in from the Far East on my 28 days off to complete them.
Any help would be appreciated.
Kurt[/QUOTE]
What you prefer may not be possible but check with Falck which has an office in Houston, other offices close by.
San Jacinto College/Maritime
Are you coming especially for the courses? If so why not look closer to home unless it has to be USCG approved. The U.K. for example. Most there bundle the courses in to 4.5/5 days. The pricing is very similar and probably the airfare will be cheaper. W.
Yes… I will be traveling from my home in Bangkok to the US just for these courses and I don’t want to do more than one trip if possible as airfare is quite expensive. When speaking with the REC center I was told that the schools must be done on US soil and the USCG would not consider any foreign certificates… it sucks because I have done most of these courses for my Liberian seaman’s book.
Kurt
[QUOTE=kurtbelyeu;178607]Yes… I will be traveling from my home in Bangkok to the US just for these courses and I don’t want to do more than one trip if possible as airfare is quite expensive. When speaking with the REC center I was told that the schools must be done on US soil and the USCG would not consider any foreign certificates… it sucks because I have done most of these courses for my Liberian seaman’s book.
Kurt[/QUOTE]
There are several places in Asia offering these courses, incl. Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and others.
These courses are for both Offshore and Merchant shipping and also includes HUET. Approved by most countries, but if you are dependent on USCG approval you may have to travel to the States.
make that you WILL have to travel to the states.
[QUOTE=kurtbelyeu;178607]Yes… I will be traveling from my home in Bangkok to the US just for these courses and I don’t want to do more than one trip if possible as airfare is quite expensive. When speaking with the REC center I was told that the schools must be done on US soil and the USCG would not consider any foreign certificates… it sucks because I have done most of these courses for my Liberian seaman’s book.
Kurt[/QUOTE]
the USCG NMC website has a list of all USCG approved courses with links to schools.
A US school’s course schedule will be more important to you than the cost or location.
MPT in Fort Lauderdale is one of the larger schools with many courses scheduled every week. Its a good school with average costs. Fort Lauderdale is a good location with lots of reasonably priced flights, hotels (with MPT discount) , and affordable meals. Mptusa.com.
international Crew Training in Fort Lauderdale does not offer the best schedule, but they do have some night courses. So it might be possible tale a day course at MPT and a night course at ITC.
Mid-Atlantic Maritime Academy in Norfolk is another large school which might be efficient for you as they also offer some night courses. You may be able to take one course during the day and another course at night, knocking out two courses per week. Norfolk is not as nice, and flights are not as cheap, but it offers low hotel and meal costs similar to Fort Lauderdale. Mid-Atlantic is a good school at slightly above average cost.
Training Resources in San Deigo might be another possibility for you, but living costs in San Deigo are much higher.
Its it’s really unfortunate that the USCG will not accept foreign STCW courses. I would like to take foreign courses. I think it would be an interesting experience, it could be coupled with a nice tax deductible vacation, and in some cases it would be cheaper.
[QUOTE=z-drive;178613]make that you WILL have to travel to the states.[/QUOTE]
Unless you are working on an American flag Rig or boat anywhere in the world except US waters, why do you need USCG approved Survival and Safety training? (In fact most of the crew on such rigs/boats are not US citizens and do not have USCG approved training)
Some countries in Asia require Offshore Medical certificate to be issued by local and approved doctors. (Malaysia) Safety training to international standard are accepted by most, if not all as far as I know.
because he made it sound like he specifically needed USCG approved courses.
[QUOTE=z-drive;178631]because he made it sound like he specifically needed USCG approved courses.[/QUOTE]
Yes agree,but why, if he is not working in the US??
The question was/is to OP. Maybe I should not have appended it to your post. Sorry.
[QUOTE=ombugge;178629]Unless you are working on an American flag Rig or boat anywhere in the world except US waters, why do you need USCG approved Survival and Safety training? (In fact most of the crew on such rigs/boats are not US citizens and do not have USCG approved training)[/QUOTE]
Say you are an American working on a foreign flag vessel from flag state X. You take your USCG (national license) and get an endorsement from Flag State X based on your national license.
AS far as most not being US citizens so what? For ratings or officers they still took their licenses or COC’s from their national state to flag state X and received an endorsement and / or a seamans book. Flag state X sets the rules for what they will accept as the base document for issuing a endorsement to sail on ships with their flag.
You must maintain your national license in order to maintain your endorsement from the flag state X. The USCG has every right to require you take courses at USCG approved schools. Jeeze they’re issuing the license why should they do that based on you bringing them certificates from schools they know nothing about? Why moan about it just do it.
(By the way during a PSC inspection you will be asked to produce a valid national license on which the flag state endorsement is based.)
In a perfect world all courses designed to meet the requirements of any given section of IMO requirements would be recognized by all signatories to same BUT that would require a boat load of trust that each individual nation reviewed the course material, monitored the course for quality and they all instruct and evaluate to same standards. That just isn’t realistic to expect.
If you think STCW or has actually resulted in a level playing field for merchant seamen of all nations or that it has actually raised performance standards on technical subjects especially I don’t believe you can support that with any objective evidence. As with maritime schools there are good (meaning capable) seamen from many nations but there are vast numbers that are not as well. On top of all that it seems many of the queries on here lean to how to get around meeting the requirements of getting or maintaining your national license. If you feel the USCG is that unfair move to Liberia, the Marshall Islands, Panama, etc and try to get an original issue of a license or COC from them as a non-citizen with no other national document in your pocket.
I believe OP was asking about USCG approved Survival and Safety Training, not CoC?
I’m curious to know why specifically requiring USCG approval, unless US citizen and/or working on US flag rig/vessel?
I know that living in Thailand he/she could be working anywhere in the world and on a rig or boat under any flag, but there are few US flag rigs/boats left working outside US and, as said, most of the crews on those which do is not US citizens.
Also out of curiousity and not directly related to the original post;
Here is a link to MSTS, a company that offers IMO, NMD and OPITO approved training in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam: http://www.msts-my.org/en/productsandservices/listofcourses/emergencyresponse/basic-offshore-safety-induction-and-emergency-training-including-additional-norwegian-oil-and-gas-association-modules-opito
[QUOTE=ombugge;178698]I believe OP was asking about USCG approved Survival and Safety Training, not CoC?[/QUOTE]
The only reason for needing USCG approved classes would be because the OP is an American citizen wanting a US MMC (CoC). Just because he lives in Thailand doesn’t mean he isn’t a US citizen.
[QUOTE=Capt. Phoenix;178721]The only reason for needing USCG approved classes would be because the OP is an American citizen wanting a US MMC (CoC). Just because he lives in Thailand doesn’t mean he isn’t a US citizen.[/QUOTE]
No I assume he is an American and probably working on a rig/boat somewhere here in S.E.Asia.
Let’s just wait for answer from the only one that know the answers, the OP.
[QUOTE=ombugge;178726]No I assume he is an American and probably working on a rig/boat somewhere here in S.E.Asia.[/QUOTE]
If he’s an American doesn’t he need a USCG CoC, regardless of where he works? He wouldn’t qualify for any other nation’s CoC.
Regardless, as far as I can figure out the only reason he could possibly need USCG approved courses is to get a USCG MMC.
[QUOTE=Capt. Phoenix;178729]If he’s an American doesn’t he need a USCG CoC, regardless of where he works? He wouldn’t qualify for any other nation’s CoC.
Regardless, as far as I can figure out the only reason he could possibly need USCG approved courses is to get a USCG MMC.[/QUOTE]
You may be right, he may be aiming for a USCG MMA and need to have those courses for that.
I think all flag states require that passport and CoC issuing authority is the the same before endorsing.
I know MPA, S’pore does. They learnt that early on in the 1970s, when there were a lot of un-matching licenses around.
In Saigon you could get any kind of documents you wanted, incl. USCG issued Maritime licences, or even Norwegian.
In 1973 I sailed a scrap ship under Somali flag from Singapore to Taiwan as a “pier head jump”. After leaving Horsburgh behind I found that the Filipino Chief Mate had a licence printed in Saigon, while the two Indonesian Mates had genuine tickets that they had bought. Interesting trip.
One of my old classmates sailed MEBA on US flag vessels and lived in Thailand for years. I last saw him on a Lykes vessel in Galveston (yeah, it has been a while). I understand that he is back in the US now, but does commute back and forth to his Thai farm.
wow… I fell asleep at the keyboard and returned to quite the discussion.
I have been working aboard a ship for the last 5 years as an ETO in title only so I decided to apply for my license as an ETO which will hopefully keep me employed until the oil bust is over. Fortunately my contract will continue for another 3 or 4 months so I am trying to knock all of this out before that happens. As previously mentioned since I am a US citizen I am required to get the license from the USCG which I will then use to get the same entered into my Liberian book. Unfortunately I have most of the required STCW training but the USCG won’t allow it since it was done in Brazil, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. What really irked me was I have my advanced fire fighting with Falck and they are standardized worldwide but they wouldn’t consider giving me the US stamped one even though my Brazilian one was last year… live and learn I guess.
Just to add… I am booked into MPTusa which seems to be alright… I couldn’t find any night courses at ICT nearby but once done with this trip I will only be needing the STCW basic which is done in Guam (a bit closer to home).
I do really appreciate the comments on this tread.
Kurt
[QUOTE=tengineer1;178523]What you prefer may not be possible but check with Falck which has an office in Houston, other offices close by.[/QUOTE]
Have you looked at Mid Atlantic Maritime Academy? They are located in Norfolk Virginia, and I know its not Houston but they offer all of the courses you are looking for. Check out their website at www.mamatrains.com for class schedules and more information on the classes.