What the Chief Mate CoC lets you do
The Chief Mate (Yachts, less than 3,000 GT) Certificate of Competency qualifies you to serve as the captain's deputy: you run the deck department, own the vessel's safety and maintenance planning, and take full navigational responsibility when the captain is off the bridge. It is issued under STCW Regulation II/2 and its requirements are set out in section 3.4 of MSN 1858 (M+F) Amendment 2.
Exact requirements
- OOW baseline: hold or meet all the requirements for the OOW Yachts (less than 3,000 GT) CoC.
- Sea service: no additional sea time is required beyond the OOW requirements. Chief Mate can be applied for together with OOW (per s6.10 of the notice).
- Ocean qualification: RYA Yachtmaster Ocean, or IYT Master of Yachts Unlimited.
- Academic modules: nine academic modules completed at an MCA-approved nautical college.
- Advanced Fire Fighting: first required at this level (it is not an OOW requirement).
- Medical First Aid: first required at this level.
- ECDIS: ECDIS certification.
- HELM Management: the management-level HELM course.
For the full ancillary certificate tables in section 6, fees and application details, check the current notice on gov.uk.
"Onboard yacht service: Is the time spent signed on a yacht, irrespective of the vessel's activity. Seagoing service: Is the time spent at sea, which may include time at anchor."
MSN 1858 (M+F) Amendment 2, section 5.2 definitions · Read the full notice on gov.uk
Courses to book
Compare providers, dates and locations for each course in the YachtSync training directory.
- Chief Mate Certificate of Competency preparation
- Chief Mate orals preparation
- HELM Management
- ECDIS (IMO Model 1.27)
- Medical First Aid and medical care courses
- Advanced Fire Fighting and RYA Yachtmaster Ocean, find providers in the training directory
Source documents
- MSN 1858 (M+F) Amendment 2, UK Requirements for Deck Officers on Large Yachts (24m and over), section 3.4, effective 18 May 2026. Landing page · PDF
- Deck officers and ratings hub on gov.uk. Hub pages can lag the MSN; the MSN is authoritative. Hub page
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Related: Deck career overview · Yacht Rating Certificate · OOW Yachts (less than 3,000 GT) · Master Yachts (less than 500 GT) · Master Yachts (less than 3,000 GT) · Chief Mate Yachts Unlimited · Master Yachts Unlimited