Officers

The Isle of Man does not issue its own Certificates of Competency, what it does do is issue Endorsements recognising a National Certificate of Competency. Endorsements are required for all Officers sailing on Isle of Man Registered Vessels unless they hold a Certificate of Competency issued by the United Kingdom under STCW 95. UK issued Certificates of Equivalent Competency are not acceptable.

Officers serving on Isle of Man registered vessels may be of any nationality and any residency provided they are holders of Certificates of Competency issued by one of the STCW 1995 ‘white list’ countries recognised by the Isle of Man and for which it issues Endorsements attesting to the recognition of such Certificates.

Applying for an Endorsement

To apply for an Endorsement, complete the required form and send it via the Representative Person of the vessel or by courier to our Office in the Isle of Man. Normally applications will only be accepted via the Isle of Man Representative persons, but we will accept original completed applications from individuals where full payment is provided.

In order to ensure that the application is dealt with quickly, all supporting documents must be attached as required. A list of documents that need to be submitted is provided below. Please note that not all documents are required for every application, as it is dependent upon the type of vessel one will be serving on.

• Application form (pages must be an original if application not via Representative Person)
• 2 Specimen Signatures (one on the form and one on an A4 sheet)
• Copy of Certificate of Competency and STCW Endorsement from the issuing maritime administration
• Current Medical Fitness Certificate (Must be valid)
• 2 colour passport sized-photos (one attached to the form and one to the signature sheet)
• Global Maritime Distress Safety System or GMDSS Certificate and Endorsement by relevant maritime administration (Deck Officers)
• Advanced Fire-fighting Certificate (not necessary if included in the certificate of competency)
• Other certificates/endorsements that are applicable (i.e. tanker training, passenger ship training, etc.)

We endeavour to issue Endorsements as quickly as possible; however, it may take longer if the forms are incorrectly completed, if information is missing or our current workload is significant.

Contact

For endorsement advice and assistance please contact Seafarerdocumentation@gov.im

Forms

Application forms can be obtained by clicking here and selecting the type of vessel that you work on.