Tier I – Policy - Certificate of Service as Watchkeeping Mate of a Fishing Vessel of Less Than 24 Metres in Length Overall

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1 Policy Objective

1.1 The purpose of this document is to introduce a new certificate, the Certificate of service as watchkeeping mate of a fishing vessel of less than 24 metres in length overall, that will eventually allow its holder, after the Marine Personnel Regulations (MPR) have been amended, to be the person in charge of a navigational watch on a fishing vessel of less than 24 metres in length overall.

2 Policy Statement

2.1 In order to ensure a smooth transition with the entry into force of the MPR, the department of Transport Canada Marine Safety (TCMS) will allow experienced fishermen meeting the requirements of section 2.2 to obtain a certificate of service that will allow its holder to be the person in charge of a navigational watch on a fishing vessel of less than 24 metres in length overall, in order to meet the deck watch requirements of the MPR.

2.2 To be able to obtain the Certificate of service as Watchkeeping Mate of a fishing vessel of less than 24 metres in length overall, the applicant must meet the following requirements:

1. At least twelve months of sea service acquired prior to July 1, 2007 as officer in charge of a navigational watch on one or more fishing vessels of at least 15 gross tonnage or at least 12 metres in length overall while engaged on voyages that the certificate sought will permit;
2. MED with respect to basic safety (A1);
3. If the vessel is equipped with a VHF radiotelephone installation, hold either a Restricted Operator’s Certificate – Maritime Commercial (ROCMC) if certificate sought is valid for voyages beyond 25 nautical miles or a Restricted Operator Certificate with Maritime Qualifications issued after January 1, 2005 if certificate sought is valid for voyages within 25 nautical miles from shore that are not sheltered waters; and
4. If the applicant has not acquired at least seven fishing seasons of experience as officer in charge of a navigational watch on one or more fishing vessels, with no two of those seasons having occurred in the same year,
   1. SEN limited;
   2. Marine basic first aid; and
   3. Small Vessel Operator Proficiency.
5. The requirement to provide, as per section 111 b) of the MPR and division 8 of part 2 of the MPR, a medical certificate that is in effect, does not apply to applicants that hold a Certificate of service as watchkeeping mate of a fishing vessel of less than 24 metres in length overall or to applicants that apply to obtain this certificate.

3 Scope

3.1 This policy applies only to officers who have acquire at least twelve months of sea service as officer in charge of a navigational watch prior to July 1, 2007 on board one or more fishing vessels of at least 15 gross tonnage or at least 12 metres in length overall who wish to obtain a certificate of service as watchkeeping mate of a fishing vessel of less than 24 metres in length overall.

4 Authority

4.1 This policy comes under the overall administrative authority of the Director General, Marine Safety and the Marine Safety Executive.

5 Responsibility/ further information

5.1 The Director, Marine Personnel Standards and Pilotage, is responsible for this policy. Regional Directors are responsible for the application of the policy.

6 Background

6.1 Under the previous Crewing Regulations the master of a fishing vessel of less than 60 gross tonnage was not required to hold a CoC.

6.2 With the entry into force of the MPR, the masters of all fishing vessels of less than 60 gross tonnage are required to hold a certificate in accordance with the schedule specified in the Regulations.

6.3 With the entry into force of the MPR, the master of a fishing vessel of at least 15 gross tonnage or at least 12 metres in overall length and of less than 60 gross tonnage is required to hold, as a minimum, a Certificate of service as master of a fishing vessel of less than 60 gross tonnage or a Fishing master, fourth class CoC.

6.4 Under section 216 of the MPR, the person in charge of the deck watch must in all cases hold a certificate of competency and a radio operator certificate.

6.5 Even if the hours of rest requirements do not apply to fishing vessels of less than 100 gross tonnage, the master of such vessels making lengthy voyages and not returning to port every night to take some rest, cannot be on watch at all times, it does then requires a second certificated person to perform watchkeeping duties and radio watch duties, in addition to the master.

6.6 Existing officers who have been performing this task as officer in charge of the watch for years, but were not required by the previous regulations to hold a CoC, may not obtain a certificate of service as master of a fishing vessel of less than 60 gross tonnage because they did not acquire sea service as master as required by the MPR.

6.7 Then, the minimum certificate that the watchkeeping officer of a fishing vessel is required to obtain is a fishing master, fourth class CoC, which is more stringent requirement than for the master of the same vessel.

6.8 The fact that the MPR is now requiring masters of fishing vessels of less than 60 gross tonnage and all persons in charge of the watch to hold a CoC is creating a huge shortage of qualified persons and put the fishing industry in a situation where it cannot comply with the requirements.

7 Date of Application

7.1 This policy will enter into effect on 25^th March, 2009.

8 Date for Review or Expiry

8.1 Provisions of this policy will be reviewed not later than 12 months after it comes into effect.

8.2 The provisions will expire when the Marine Personnel Regulations will be amended.

9 RDIMS Reference

9.1 The English version of this document is saved in RDIMS under reference number 4825550. The applied naming convention is (PUBLICATION – TP 13585 – POLICY – Certificate of service as Watchkeeping Mate of a fishing vessel of less than 24 metres in length overall).

9.2 La version française du présent document est dans le SGDDI et porte le numéro de référence 4825618. La règle d'affectation des noms est (PUBLICATION – TP 13585 – POLITIQUE – Brevet de service pour officier de pont de quart de bâtiment de pêche d’une longueur horstout de moins de 24 mètres).

10 Keywords

• Certificate of service
• Watchkeeping Mate
• Fishing vessel
• 24 metres in length overall
• Marine Personnel Regulations

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