Isle of Man Endorsement Requirements
The Isle of Man Ship Registry does not issue its own Certificates of Competency, but the Ship Registry is required by regulation I/10 of the STCW Convention to issue an endorsement 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 (CoC) issued by the United Kingdom under the Convention.
Officers serving on Isle of Man registered vessels may be of any nationality and any residency provided they are holders of a CoC issued by one of the STCW ‘white list’ countries recognised by the Isle of Man. The current list of recognised countries is listed in MSN 051 and all officers with a CoC issued by one of these countries may apply for an Isle of Man Endorsement.
If a seafarer holds a United Kingdom issued Certificate of Equivalent Competency (CEC), they must still apply for an Isle of Man Endorsement.
The Ship Registry does not accept applications from individual seafarers and applications should be made through the owner/operator or one of their manning agents.
Please note that Isle of Man endorsements are now issued as a Digital Certificate - please see MSN 065 for more information.
Endorsement application process
From 1st May 2019, all applications must be submitted as online applications. See TAN 002-19 for further information.
The Ship Registry carries out checks on both the quality and the validity of all applications submitted. Each application, if acceptable for the issuance of an Endorsement, will be acknowledged with a Confirmation of Receipt of Application (CRA), a copy of which must be forwarded to the vessel. The CRA will be e-mailed directly to the company making the application.
If the officer is deemed suitable, an endorsement certificate will be issued as soon as possible. This is often issued on the same day as the application, but is normally within a few days of receipt of the application.
The STCW Convention allows a seafarer to serve on a vessel for 3 months without the Isle of Man Endorsement being available on board; however, the seafarer must have a copy of the relevant CRA.
It is essential that the Company and master ensure that correct documentation is onboard.
Original versions of officers and crews certification must be available onboard as per Regulation I/2 of the STCW Convention. In the case of Endorsements which are issued as a Digital Certificate, it is important to note that the electronic version of the certificate should be considered as the original and this must always be available for inspection. Please see MSN 065 for further information.
List of Required Documents
The list of documents required to be submitted in order to apply for an endorsement is provided below. Please note that not all documents are required for every application, as it is dependent upon the type of vessel the officer will be serving on.
- Passport quality colour photograph (Jpeg format)
- Clear specimen signature on a white background (in blue or black ink) (Jpeg format)
- Valid and legible copy of the CoC and STCW endorsement
- Valid and legible GMDSS Certificate (Deck Officers only)
- (If applicable) valid and legible copies of the officer’s certificates relating to dangerous cargoes – Oil, Gas, Chemical as appropriate, where the dangerous cargo endorsement is not included in the Certificate of Competency
- (If applicable) other certificates/endorsements if they are issued separately to the CoC (i.e. ARPA, ECDIS, passenger ship training, 1 kV, etc.)
Please note that it is not necessary to submit a passport/medical certificate as part of an application.
Form of Endorsement
All Endorsements are now issued as a Digital Certificate, although endorsements previously issued in 'A5' or 'Self Print' format remain valid until their stated expiry date. A sample of of each format can be found in the Appendices to MSN 051.
There is no requirement for the seafarer to sign a Digital Certificate upon receipt.
Please be aware the Ship Registry does not issue a separate GMDSS Endorsement for deck officers.
Express Processing Service
For an additional fee the Ship Registry offers an express endorsement processing service for any urgent applications. If you require this service, please make this clear when submitting the application.
ONLINE VERIFICATION OF ENDORSEMENTS
Isle of Man Endorsements can be verified here or by scanning the QR code (if applicable) on the endorsement with a QR code reader.