Entry & progression
Beyond the prerequisite certificate and the 24 months, the file has three more legs: the courses, the GMDSS General Operator's Certificate, and the final assessment — which AMSA calls the oral examination.
| Course | WK <3000 (Y) | Chief Mate <3000 (Y) | Master <500 (Y) | Master <3000 (Y) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic safety (incl. security awareness) | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| PSCRB (other than fast rescue boats) | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Advanced firefighting | no | yes | yes | yes |
| Medical first aid (A-VI/4 paras 1–3) | no | yes | no | no |
| Medical care on board ship (A-VI/4 paras 4–6) | no | no | yes | yes |
| ECDIS | only if serving on an ECDIS yacht | only if serving on an ECDIS yacht | mandatory | mandatory |
WARNING — Medical first aid is not medical care on board ship Two different courses, two different STCW paragraphs. You need medical care on board ship. You do not need medical first aid. Chief Mate is the grade that takes medical first aid. Turning up with the wrong one is a common and expensive mistake — and the two are often sold by the same training provider on adjacent weeks.
The GMDSS trap
Watchkeeper, Chief Mate and Master <500 require a GMDSS radio operator certificate. Master <3000 GT (Yachts) requires specifically a GMDSS General Operator's Certificate — the GOC. MO74 names the GOC at this grade and nowhere else.
And here is the part that catches people at the other end of a career: MO74 Schedule 4 requires a GMDSS GOC to revalidate any of the four yacht certificates — including Watchkeeper. So a Watchkeeper who satisfied initial issue with a restricted-level GMDSS certificate will hit a wall five years later. If you are on the ladder at all, get the GOC.
The knowledge: command navigation, shipmaster's business, vessel operations
The taught content at this grade is what the rest of this course covers: ocean passage planning and weather routeing; celestial navigation; ECDIS at command level; heavy weather; flag and certificates; charter operation; casualty and reporting; salvage and general average; intact and damage stability; load line and tonnage; bridge resource management; emergency command.
The medical, the form, and the oral — in that order
The application sequence
- Hold a certificate of medical fitness. Initial issue must be obtained in Australia. Only revalidation medicals may be done overseas, in an agreement country.
- Submit Seafarer form 419 with your service, courses and prerequisite certificate.
- AMSA issues you an assessment letter.
- That letter instructs you to book the oral. You cannot book the oral first.
- Sit the final assessment — MO74 calls it a final assessment; AMSA calls it an oral examination.
Two endorsements worth knowing
- Sailing vessel endorsement (MO74 s8(1)): a yacht-CoC holder performing master duties on a sailing vessel must also hold one. AMSA issues sailing vessels—fore and aft and sailing vessels—square rigged. An OICNW on a sailing vessel does not need it, but must have completed the training required by the vessel's SMS and be considered competent by the master.
- Master <200 GT (Yachts) is an endorsement, not a certificate — and it requires a separate, second oral examination. At this grade you will not need it; know that it exists so you do not confuse it with a rung.
NOTE — Revalidation, five years out MO74 Schedule 4: one of 12 months qualifying service in the preceding 5 years; or 3 months in the preceding 6 months; or an approved revalidation course within 5 years; or equivalent duties plus courses; or approved short courses plus a passed final assessment. Plus a certificate of medical fitness, plus a GMDSS GOC, plus maintained security awareness, plus advanced firefighting and PSCRB. ECDIS if you are serving on ECDIS-equipped vessels.