The UK MCA management-level Certificate of Competency authorising service as Chief Officer on any seagoing merchant vessel of any size, anywhere in the world.
The Chief Mate (Unlimited) is a UK management-level Certificate of Competency (CoC) regulated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) under STCW Convention Regulation II/2 and STCW Code Section A-II/2. It certifies the holder to serve as Chief Officer (First Mate) — the second-in-command of any seagoing merchant vessel, of any gross tonnage, in any trading area worldwide. No officer may take charge of a vessel's deck department as Chief Mate on vessels of 500 GT or more without holding this certification (or its STCW-equivalent from another flag state). The "Unlimited" designation carries no restriction on vessel size or trading area — the holder may serve anywhere in the world on vessels of any gross tonnage.
The Remote/Blended Learning 3+6 programme, offered by South Shields Marine School (SSMS), is an MCA-approved route split into two phases: approximately 3 months of live online tutorials that can be completed while still employed at sea, followed by 6 months of face-to-face classroom instruction at South Shields Marine School in South Shields, UK. The total programme runs approximately 9 months (36 weeks). The academic component leads to an HND-level qualification in Nautical Science which, combined with SQA written examinations in Navigation and Stability & Structure, and an MCA Oral Examination, satisfies MCA requirements under MSN 1856 (M+F) Amendment 1. The blended format is designed specifically for working deck officers who want to reduce the period they must be off-salary, with the online phase able to run concurrently with employment at sea.
On successful completion of the academic programme, SQA written papers, and MCA Oral Examination B, the candidate is issued the Chief Mate (Unlimited) CoC by the UK MCA. The same CoC also carries entitlement to serve as Master on vessels up to 3,000 GT (Unlimited trading area) under the MCA framework. All SQA examinations and the MCA oral must be passed within 3 years prior to the date of CoC issue.
Holding the Chief Mate (Unlimited) CoC opens roles as Chief Officer or First Mate across all sectors of merchant shipping — container vessels, bulk carriers, tankers, cruise ships, ro-ro ferries, offshore support vessels, and specialist vessels — with no restriction on vessel size or trading area. Many officers use the concurrent Master (up to 3,000 GT) entitlement to take command on smaller tonnage while building sea time towards the full Master Unlimited oral. The career path in summary: Cadet → OOW Unlimited (II/1) → [12 months sea service] → Chief Mate Unlimited (II/2) → [sea service as Chief Mate] → Master Unlimited (II/2).