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Chapter 3 - Assessment of Qualifying Service

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General

3.1 Reference to regulations

  1. The conditions for granting certification to a seafarer encompass training, experience and examinations. The experience component is measured by qualifying service. Qualifying service is assessed in terms of the amount of service acquired and, for service on board vessels (i.e. sea service), the types of vessel on which the seafarer has served and the types of voyage made. Qualifying service is as important to the certification process as the assessment of training and the marking of examinations. The amount and type of qualifying service required for a particular certificate is set out in the Marine Personnel Regulations; it represents the time which is judged, in consultation with industry, to be sufficient to acquire the experience needed for the certificate in question.
  2. For the purpose of calculating service, seafarers must refer to the Marine Personnel Regulations, section 1, definition of “qualifying service” and “sea service” and sections 115 to 118.

3.2 Nature of sea service

  1. Sea service is assessed on its technical merits. To establish the nature of any period of service, the examiner may (in case of doubt) check the articles of agreement, the official logbooks and the seafarer’s discharge book.
  2. Service performed on foreign vessels is acceptable in the same manner as service on a Canadian vessel. Service acquired while a foreigner is acceptable in the same manner as service while a Canadian resident. All foreign-issued documents evidencing service which are in languages other than English or French must be translated into English or French, and evidence of authenticity must be provided in respect of these documents.

Calculation

3.3 Calculation of sea service

  1. Time on articles is calculated from the date of engagement to the date of discharge.
  2. Periods of sea service cannot overlap. A service day counted on one voyage or vessel cannot be counted on another voyage or vessel.
  3. Sea service on more than one vessel will be calculated as in (2).
  4. The day an applicant signs on and the day he signs off may be credited as no more than one day in total, unless the actual hours of work for those days justify otherwise and are confirmed by the authorized representative.
  5. The time during which an applicant works in addition to his regularly scheduled hours of work (overtime) does not count for the purpose of calculating sea service.
  6. Sea service claimed at twelve hours per day will be recognized only with substantiation in the form of testimonials, with the exception of a request from an applicant serving as a “Cadet” capacity.

3.4 Absence from vessel

Where shore leave is taken or where a seafarer is otherwise absent during a period of engagement (i.e. while he is on the vessel’s articles), only the days worked aboard the vessel are accepted as sea service.

3.5 Service on shifts

  1. Where service is performed on regular shifts, only service on board the vessel is accepted as sea service. If the examiner is satisfied by a testimonial, signed by the vessel’s master or by the chief engineer or by the authorized representative, that service has been performed under the terms of a contract providing for regular shifts exceeding eight working hours but not more than twelve working hours per shift worked on a day-on-day-off or equivalent basis, then the days worked on board the vessel are calculated as a ratio of hours regularly worked to eight hours.
  2. Where service is performed on a self-propelled mobile offshore unit (MOU) in transit, the time spent on board the MOU is to be counted as full time. Time on an MOU which is on station for the purpose of petroleum exploration or production will be calculated in accordance with sections 3.20 to 3.22.

3.6 Mixed service

Where sea service is performed in more than one capacity, on more than one class of vessel, or on more than one class of voyage, proportionate allowance will be made for each kind of service in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

3.7 Calculating service using days spent at sea

  1. With regard to section 116 of the Marine Personnel Regulations, sea service is calculated in accordance with section 3.3 of this chapter. When an applicant acquires sea service on a vessel (including an MOU, subject to sections 3.20 and 3.21) that is engaged in commercial activities other than the carriage of passengers or the handling of cargo, or that spends a period in dry-dock or under repairs, the sea service will be calculated based on the number of days during which the vessel is under way as follows:
    1. Where a watch keeping routine consists of a watch of eight hours a day, service will be credited at the rate of one and a half times the number of days during which the vessel is under way, without exceeding the total number of days served on board.
    2. Where a watchkeeping routine consists of a watch of twelve hours a day, service will be credited at a rate of two and a quarter times the number of days during which the vessel is under way, without exceeding one and a half times the total number of days served on board.
    3. Table 1 may be used to calculate the service referred to in a) and b).

Table I

Julian date sign-off (+365 if year is later than sign-on year)
________ (i)
Julian date sign-on
– _________ (ii)
Total number of days signed on
(i) minus (ii)
___________ (A)
Total number of days underway
(from testimonials)
___________ (B)
For 8 hours per day
(B)_____________ x 1.5 =
___________ (C)
Select the lesser of (A) or (C)
Total credit
______________
For 12 hours per day
(A) ____________ x 1.5 =
___________ (D)
(B) ____________ x 2.25 =
___________ (E)
Select the lesser of (D) and (E)
Total credit
______________

Provisions Concerning Voyages

3.8 Sea service in sheltered waters

  1. Service acquired entirely within sheltered waters will be accepted for the following master and deck officer certificates:
    1. Master 500 Gross Tonnage, Domestic;
    2. Master 150 Gross Tonnage, Domestic;
    3. Master, Limited;
    4. Chief Mate 500 Gross Tonnage, Domestic;
    5. Chief Mate 150 Gross Tonnage, Domestic;
    6. Chief Mate, Limited;
    7. Fishing Master, Fourth Class.
  2. Any other master or deck officer certificate requires experience beyond the limits of sheltered waters. Applicants should refer to the relevant section of the Marine Personnel Regulations in order to determine how much service in sheltered waters is acceptable for other certificates.
  3. Where any doubt exists, a testimonial indicating the extreme ports of call or the geographical limits of the voyage on which the applicant served must be presented to the examiner.

3.9 Service classed according to voyages made

In all cases, the class of voyage is to be determined in accordance with the geographical limits within which the vessel operated during the applicant’s period of service on board that vessel. Where any doubt exists, a testimonial must clearly establish the facts of the case.

Service Agreements

3.10 Certificates of discharge

Where any certificate of discharge or other proof of sea service appears to have been tampered with, the examiner will retain all documents pertaining to the case until the applicant has validated the submission by presenting other documents or testimonials proving the sea service in question.

3.11 Service on vessels not maintaining agreements with the crew

Where service has been performed on vessels where no agreements with the crew were maintained, a satisfactory testimonial of service must be produced, signed by the master, the chief engineer or the authorized representative of the vessel and certified by a credible person who has knowledge of the facts to be established.

3.12 Evidence of service on foreign vessels

Testimonials of service for seafarers serving on vessels registered abroad may have to be confirmed by the appropriate government or by some other recognized authority of the country in which the vessel is registered, or the testimony of some credible person who has knowledge of the facts to be established. Such testimonials may be certificates of discharge authenticated by a consul or other official before whom the seafarer was discharged, or by letters from the authorized representative of the vessel.

Positions Held during Sea Service

3.13 Service performed to obtain nautical certificate

Except as stated in the sections that follow, sea service must have been performed in the deck department.

3.14 Rank or rating

  1. The rank or rating held by an applicant during a voyage will always be taken as that appearing in the agreement with the crew for that voyage.
  2. If service has been performed on a vessel where there is no agreement with the crew, the rank or rating will be established on the same evidentiary basis as that described in section 3.12.

3.15 Promotion of cadets

If a cadet engaged in an approved program, whether bound by indentures or not, is promoted to un-certificated junior officer, then the service in the capacity of junior officer will be accepted as cadet service.

3.16 Service as pilot

Two thirds of the time served on board a vessel as a pilot will be accepted as watchkeeping service but only up to a maximum of three months for any one certificate.

Service in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF)

3.17 Nautical certificates

  1. Time served on board CAF vessels as an officer or a rating will be accepted for nautical certificates if the time was spent on upper-deck duties, on the following conditions:
    1. The statement of service is authenticated by Canadian Forces Headquarters, Ottawa, and specifies days at sea during the period served.
    2. The applicant produces a testimonial signed by his/her commanding officer or naval officer-in-charge attesting to the proportion of time generally spent each day performing regular deck duties in addition to other duties.
    3. Where application is being made to take an examination for a certificate requiring watchkeeping service, a watchkeeping certificate is produced, signed by the commanding officer if the service was performed on a vessel with a complement of at least 150 persons, or by the naval officer-in-charge or commanding officer of a flotilla or parent vessel if the service was performed on a small craft, classified as such by the CAF. In addition, evidence is produced to show that the service was performed while holding the required certificate.
  2. If an applicant was not employed in bridge or seamanship duties, service will be credited to the applicant in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. In the case of applicants employed in trades with a percentage of time spent on deck duties, information provided by the Department of National Defence will be used to assess the service that can be accepted for nautical certificates.
  3. The following table II indicates the proportion of time spent on upper deck duties by ratings in the various trades in the Canadian Navy. This rate is to be applied to the applicant's qualifying service for a deck certificate.

Table II

Trade Rate
Airboatswain Nil
Boatswain 100%
Clearance Diver 75%
Firecontrolman 75%
Hull Technician/Mechanic 25%
Meteorological Technician 50%
Radar Plotter 75%
Radioman Sea 30%
Ships duties – Administrative 25%
Ships duties – Pay 25%
Signalmen 90%
Sonar Man 75%
Storesmen – Victualling 25%
Storesmen – Naval 25%
Weaponman, Surface 75%
Weaponman, Underwater 75%

3.18 Engineering certificates

An applicant from the CAF applying for an engineer certificate must meet the examination requirements set out in section 2.8 of the present TP.

Service in the Offshore Resource Industry

3.19 Service for MOU certificates

Service on mobile offshore units (MOUs) is accepted in full for the purpose of obtaining a certificate specific to MOUs, subject to the rule applicable to watches of other than eight hours in a calendar day, set out in subsection 110(2) of the Marine Personnel Regulations, and limitations with regard to the type of MOU, set out in sections 177 to 183 of those Regulations. For the purpose of interpretation of IMO Resolution A.891 (21), MOUs also include floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) units and floating storage offloading (FSO) units.

3.20 Service for nautical certificates

  1. Those serving on self-propelled mobile offshore units (MOUs), including mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs) and floating production, storage and offloading units (FPSOs), either in transit or maintaining position by means of thrusters or dynamic positioning, will accrue sea service at the same rate as the one applicable for vessels other than MOUs. In these cases, conventional descriptions of the position in which the applicant has served will be relied on.
  2. Service on surface MOUs not maintaining position by means of dynamic positioning, or on non self-propelled units, will be assessed in accordance with Table III.

    Table III

    Certificate Applied for Position served in Qualifying Service Rate Maximum Qualifying Service
    Bridge Watch Rating or Able Seafarer Deckhand, Roustabout, Roughneck, Crane Operator, Crane Operator Assistant or any position listed below that is applicable to a Watchkeeping Mate certificate Full No limit
    Watchkeeping Mate or Watchkeeping Mate, Near Coastal Toolpusher, Nightpusher, Driller, Assistant Driller, Derrickman, Derrickman Assistant, Crane Operator, Crane Operator Assistant, Deckhand, Roughneck, Roustabout, Ballast Control Operator, Radio Operator, Dynamic Positioning System Operator, Tourpusher, Ice Observer 2/3 30 months
    Master, 500 Gross Tonnage, Near Coastal The following watchkeeping officers: Ballast Control Operator, Dynamic Positioning System Operator or Stability Technician, while holding a Watchkeeping Mate or a Watchkeeping Mate, Near Coastal, or a Master, 3000 Gross Tonnage, Domestic, or a Master, 500 Gross Tonnage, Domestic certificate 2/3 6 months
    Chief Mate or Chief Mate, Near Coastal The following watchkeeping officers: Ballast Control Operator, Dynamic Positioning System Operator or Stability Technician, while holding a Watchkeeping Mate or a Watchkeeping Mate, Near Coastal certificate 2/3 6 months
    Master Mariner, Master, Near Coastal; or Master 3000 Gross Tonnage, Near Coastal The following watchkeeping officers: Ballast Control Operator, Dynamic Positioning System Operator, Barge Supervisor or Stability Technician, while holding a Watchkeeping Mate or a Watchkeeping Mate, Near Coastal certificate 2/3 30 months

  3. Service on self-elevating units will be assessed in accordance with Table IV.

    Table IV

    Certificate Applied for Position served in Qualifying Service Rate Maximum Qualifying Service
    Bridge Watch Rating or Able seafarer Deckhand, Roustabout, Roughneck, Crane Operator, Crane Operator Assistant or any position listed below, applicable to the Watchkeeping Mate certificate Full No limit
    Watchkeeping Mate or Watchkeeping Mate, Near Coastal Toolpusher, Nightpusher, Derrickman, Derrickman Assistant, Crane Operator, Crane Operator Assistant, Deckhand, Roughneck, Roustabout, Radio Operator, Driller, Assistant Driller, Barge Supervisor Trainee, Tourpusher 2/3 12 months
    Watchkeeping Mate or Watchkeeping Mate, Near Coastal Barge Supervisor 2/3 18 months

3.21 Service for engineering certificates

  1. Those serving on self-propelled MOUs which are in transit, or MOUs maintaining position by means of thrusters or dynamic positioning, or in stand-by mode, will accrue sea service in accordance with Table V. In these cases, conventional descriptions of the position in which the applicant has served will be relied on.

    Table V

    Certificate Applied for Position served in Qualifying Service Rate Maximum Qualifying Service
    Engine Room Rating Motorman, Oiler Full No limit
    Engine Room Rating Electrician/Electrical Technician, Roustabout, Mechanic, Wiper, Mechanical technician Full 3 months or, in the case of the holder of an ERR training certificate, 4 months
    Fourth-Class Engineer, Motor Ship Roustabout, Roughneck, Crane Operator Full 12 months
    Fourth-Class Engineer, Motor Ship Motorman, Oiler, Assistant Engineer, Engineer Full No limit
    Fourth-Class Engineer, Motor Ship Sub-Sea engineer, Assistant Sub-Sea Engineer, Electrician/Electrical Technician, Mechanic, Mechanical Technician Full 24 months
    Third-Class Engineer, Motor Ship Engineer in charge of the watch while holding a Fourth-Class Certificate Full No limit
    Third-Class Engineer, Motor Ship Motorman/Oiler/Engine Room Rating performing watchkeeping duties in an engine room while holding a Fourth-Class Certificate 1/3 6 months
    Second-Class Engineer, Motor Ship Engineer in charge of the watch or the machinery while holding a Fourth-Class Certificate or Third-Class Certificate Full No limit
    First-Class Engineer, Motor Ship Engineer in charge of the watch or the machinery while holding a Second-Class Certificate Full No limit

  2. Service acquired on Stationary MOUs, self-elevating MOUs or surface MOUs with no form of propulsion will be assessed in accordance with Table VI.

    Table VI

    Certificate Applied for Position served in Qualifying Service Rate Maximum Qualifying Service
    Engine Room Rating Motorman, Mechanic, Oiler, Wiper, Electrician/Electrical Technician, Roustabout, Mechanical Technician Full 3 months or, in the case of the holder of an ERR training certificate, 4 months
    Fourth-Class Engineer, Motor Ship Roustabout, Roughneck, Crane Operator Full  12 months
    Fourth-Class Engineer, Motor Ship Electrician/Electrical Technician, Mechanic, Hydraulic Technician, Mechanical Technician Full 24 months
    Fourth-Class Engineer, Motor Ship Motorman/ Oiler/ Assistant Engineer/ Engineer Full  No limit
    Third-Class Engineer, Motor Ship Engineer in charge of the watch while holding a Fourth-Class Certificate (except in the case of a Motorman or Engine-room Rating performing watchkeeping duties in an engine room while holding a Fourth-Class Certificate, for whom the qualifying service rate will be 1/3) 1/2 6 months
    Second-Class Engineer, Motor Ship Engineer in charge of the watch while holding a Fourth-Class Certificate 1/2 12 months
    Second-Class Engineer, Motor Ship Engineer in charge of the watch or the machinery while holding a Third-Class Certificate 1/2 6 months
    First-Class Engineer, Motor Ship Engineer in charge of the watch or the machinery while holding a Second-Class Certificate 1/2 6 months

Other Service

3.22 Approved training programs

  1. The lesser qualifying service requirements set out in Part 1 of the Regulations, on the various tables concerning certificates of competency, apply only to those who have completed the approved training program. Where a program has been only partially completed, the assessment of the applicant’s qualifications is carried out in accordance with the general provisions of the Marine Personnel Regulations.
  2. In the case of an approved cadet training program, an applicant who leaves the program before completion is credited for qualifying service prorated to the part of the program he successfully completed. Furthermore, if at the time he left the program he had successfully completed courses that replace examinations, he is credited for these examinations. In all cases, an attestation from the recognized institution must be provided to the examiner.

3.23 Service on pleasure yachts

Sea service acquired on a pleasure yacht is not recognized as qualifying service for the purpose of obtaining a certificate of competency, except in the case where the tonnage of the yacht meets the tonnage requirements for the certificate sought and the service is performed as member of the complement on board a private yacht, where the authorized representative hires a paid crew under a crew agreement. In the case of a master or deck officer certificate, the voyages must be of the class required for the certificate sought. Service is then calculated according to the number of days spent underway, as specified in section 3.7.

3.24 Service on ACVs

  1. Sea service on an ACV must be recorded in the seafarer’s discharge book, certified pilot logbook or a testimonial signed by the executive officer of the company or ACV unit who has full knowledge of the service. The applicant must submit those documents, along with the Statement of Qualifying Service form, when claiming sea service.
  2. Service will be accepted subject to the following conditions:
    1. When the certificate sought is a Watchkeeping Mate or Watchkeeping Mate, Near Coastal certificate, the service must have been completed on an ACV of not less than 7,000 kg all-up weight.
    2. When the sea service is claimed as watchkeeping service, it must have been completed on an ACV of not less than 10,000 kg all-up weight.
  3. The area of operation of the ACV determines whether its voyages are classed as sheltered or near coastal waters voyages.

3.25 Nondescript vessels

Service on dredges other than self-propelled sea-going dredges, and service on lightships, barges, scows and similar nondescript and non self-propelled craft cannot be accepted as sea service for a deck certificate

Watchkeeping Service

3.26 Service as Master or Chief Officer

  1. Service as master, while holding the required certificate, is accepted as watchkeeping service.
  2. Service as non-watchkeeping chief officer, as staff captain or in a similar capacity (equivalent titles sometimes used on foreign vessels or within a company), while holding the required certificate, is accepted as watchkeeping service provided that:
    1. the applicant participated in the actual manoeuvring of the vessel;
    2. the applicant supervised a watch for a total of at least 30 hours a month, including periods of difficult navigation;
    3. a statement signed by the master to the above effect is produced covering the entire period of service claimed and sight books, satisfactory to the examiner, are produced where deep-sea service is claimed.

3.27 Service as Chief Engineer or Second Engineer

  1. Service as chief engineer, while holding the required certificate, is accepted as watchkeeping service.
  2. Service as first assistant engineer, as senior engineer (titles equivalent to second engineer sometimes used on foreign vessels or within a company), or as second engineer on day work, while holding the required certificate, is accepted as watchkeeping service provided that the engineer supervised a watch for a total of at least 30 hours a month in the engine room, including time while the vessel was manoeuvering. A testimonial signed by the chief engineer to this effect must be presented to the examiner.

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Date modified:
2012-02-27