Deck Certificate Guide

OOW Yachts (less than 3,000 GT): the exact requirements

The first MCA Certificate of Competency on the deck ladder, issued under STCW Regulation II/1. It qualifies you to keep a navigational watch on commercial yachts of less than 3,000 GT. Every requirement below comes from section 3.3 of MSN 1858 (M+F) Amendment 2, effective 18 May 2026.

Updated July 2026 · Source: MSN 1858 (M+F) Amendment 2, section 3.3

What the OOW CoC lets you do

The Officer of the Watch (Yachts, less than 3,000 GT) Certificate of Competency is the jump from working on deck to keeping a bridge watch: you become directly responsible for the safe navigation of the vessel on your watch, reporting to the chief officer and captain. It is issued under STCW Regulation II/1 and its requirements are set out in section 3.3 of MSN 1858 (M+F) Amendment 2.

Exact requirements

  1. Minimum age: 19.
  2. Sea service (s3.3(c)): since the age of 16, a minimum of 36 months' onboard yacht service, including at least 365 days seagoing service on vessels of 15 metres or over in load line length. The 365 days must be made up of a minimum of 250 days' seagoing service plus 115 days of any combination of seagoing service, stand-by service (a maximum of 14 consecutive days may be counted at one time) and yard service (up to a maximum of 90 days, continuously or in separate periods).
  3. RYA prerequisite (s3.3(b)): RYA Yachtmaster Offshore, or RYA Yachtmaster Coastal accompanied by an RYA Coastal Skipper practical course completion certificate.
  4. EDH: the Efficient Deck Hand certificate, held for at least 18 months before your CoC application.
  5. Ancillary certificates: STCW Basic Safety Training, a valid ENG1 medical, PSCRB, GMDSS GOC, ECDIS generic and HELM Operational.
  6. Training record book: required, but waived if you have 36 months' actual seagoing service on vessels of at least 24 metres.
  7. Written examinations: the MCA SQA written examinations in navigation and stability.
  8. Oral examination: the MCA oral examination.

For fees, application forms and the full ancillary certificate tables in section 6, check the current notice on gov.uk.

"Since the age of 16, have obtained a minimum of 36 months' onboard yacht service. This must include at least 365 days seagoing service on vessels of 15 metres or over in load line length, made up of: a minimum of 250 days' seagoing service and 115 days of any combination of the following: seagoing service; stand-by service (a maximum of 14 consecutive days may be counted at one time); yard service, up to a maximum of 90 days continuously or in separate periods."

MSN 1858 (M+F) Amendment 2, section 3.3(c) · Read the full notice on gov.uk

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Related: Deck career overview · Yacht Rating Certificate · Chief Mate 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