Entry & progression
The EC3 is not an entry ticket. You cannot walk in off the street and sit it. You must already hold one of three things, and which one you hold changes how much sea time you need — by a factor of four.
To be issued an Engineer Class 3 near coastal you must hold an Engineer Watchkeeper certificate of competency, a Marine Engine Driver Grade 1 near coastal, or a workshop skill equivalent qualification. There is no fourth door. If you hold none of them, your first job is to go and get one — and for most people that means the MED ladder or a trade.
The three routes, and what each one costs you in sea time
All qualifying sea service for the EC3 must be performed on commercial vessels with inboard diesel engines of at least 400 kW. Time on a 300 kW inboard does not count. Time on outboards does not count toward this. Check the engine plate before you take the job.
| What you hold | QSS with an AMSA task book | QSS without a task book |
|---|---|---|
| Engineer Watchkeeper CoC | 90 days | 90 days |
| Workshop skill equivalent qualification | 120 days | 240 days |
| MED 1 near coastal | 180 days | 360 days |
The Engineer Watchkeeper route is the shortest — at least 90 days, and the task book makes no difference to it. That reflects what an EWK holder already is: a certificated STCW engineer officer. For that person the EC3 is a lateral acquisition, not a climb.
The tradesman route is the interesting one. A fitter and turner, a diesel fitter, an electrical fitter, a heavy-vehicle mechanic — 120 days with a task book. Four months. The MO72 list of workshop skill equivalent qualifications is a legally defined schedule, not a matter of opinion: Certificate III in an engineering or mechanical trade, electrical fitting, automotive diesel engine technology, diesel fitter, heavy vehicle mechanical, engine reconditioning, Certificate IV in ESI generation maintenance, and the Australian trade certificates for fitter and turner, diesel fitter and electrical fitter.
TIP — Your trade certificate is worth months of sea time If you served an apprenticeship ashore, dig the certificate out before you plan a single day of sea service. A workshop skill equivalent qualification cuts the EC3 requirement from 360 days to 120 — and it cuts sea service at MED 2 and MED 1 as well. It is the single most under-used asset in Australian marine engineering. Confirm your specific qualification is on the MO72 list with AMSA before you count on it.
The MED 1 route
Coming up the domestic ladder, you arrive at the EC3 holding a MED 1 NC — which itself already required an oral examination and made you chief on inboards under 1500 kW. From there the EC3 costs 180 days with a task book, or 360 without. That is the long road, and it is the road most Australian marine engineers actually walk, because they started as deckhands rather than as tradesmen.
It is also, for that person, an enormous return. The MED 1 is a domestic certificate that goes nowhere. The EC3 is a domestic certificate that opens the international ladder. Those 180 days are the most valuable six months of sea time in the Australian system.