Entry & progression
The certificate is only half the story. The endorsements are what let you take the department. And before any of it: the CoST, the medical, and the oral.
Second Engineer (<3000 kW)
- At least 12 months qualifying sea service on vessels ≥750 kW
- Plus an approved program of study meeting STCW A-III/3
Chief Engineer NC (<3000 kW)
- At least 24 months qualifying sea service on vessels ≥375 kW
- Of which at least 12 months while holding a Second Engineer (<3000 kW) endorsement, a MED 1 NC, or a pre-2013 State unrestricted MED 1
- Plus a program of study meeting STCW A-III/3
Note the threshold drops to 375 kW for the chief engineer endorsement. That is deliberate — small-vessel chief engineer service is being credited. Note also that the second engineer endorsement is effectively a prerequisite for half of it.
The naming trap
WARNING — Second engineer, or first engineer? Australia says both — and means one. MO72 s4, verbatim: "In the Australian maritime industry, the engineer officer who performs the functions of a Second engineer specified by the STCW Code is generally referred to as the First engineer."
AMSA's own Engineer class 2 page writes it as "First engineer officer (STCW Second engineer)".
So: STCW Second engineer = Australian First engineer. Same person. Same job. The second-in-command of the engine department, under the chief.
Getting this backwards is the single most common error in Australian engineering content. It is also the fastest way to sound like you have never worked an Australian ship. When an Australian chief says "the first", he means the STCW second engineer.
The gates
- Certificate of Safety Training (CoST) — AMSA's name for STCW basic safety, and Australia bundles five elements into it, adding security awareness. "You will need a Certificate of safety training before you get any other qualification." It must be trained in Australia, with an AMSA-approved provider. Overseas basic safety training cannot be converted into an Australian CoST. And: "Sea service completed before your CoST is issued may not count as qualifying sea service." Get it first.
- Certificate of medical fitness — AMSA form 303, under Marine Order 76. Only an authorised Medical Inspector of Seafarers may perform it, administered by Sonic HealthPlus, and all examinations must be booked through the central booking system. AMSA, verbatim: "Medical examinations booked directly with an MIS, rather than via the central booking system's 1300 number, will be deemed invalid." Valid 2 years; 1 year if under 18 or 55 or over. The initial medical must be done in Australia.
- The final assessment — MO72's term. AMSA calls it the oral examination. It is the gate on every rung of the engineering ladder.
The service cap nobody reads
CAUTION — MO72 Schedule 3, clause 3.4 — a 20-week ceiling For service on a non-self-propelled offshore industry mobile unit, a non-self-propelled dredge while dredging, or on auxiliary machinery run independently of main propulsion, the maximum service creditable toward an Engineer Watchkeeper certificate is 20 weeks. (Engineer Class 2: 6 months. Engineer Class 1: 12 months.) The cap does not apply to revalidation.
If your engine-room time is on a moored barge or a generator plant rather than a propulsion engine, it stops counting at 20 weeks.