An intensive 6-week online preparatory study programme for the SQA Management Level Engineering Knowledge written examinations — the academic gateway to the MCA Second Engineer and Chief Engineer Unlimited Certificates of Competency under STCW Regulation III/2.
This is an exam preparation course for the MCA Management Level Engineering Knowledge written examinations, which are set and marked by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). The course itself does not issue a certificate — it prepares candidates to sit the external SQA examinations, which in turn form the written academic component of the pathway to the STCW Regulation III/2 Certificate of Competency (CoC) at Second Engineer or Chief Engineer level (Unlimited). Warsash Maritime (Solent University, Southampton) delivers this online version as a 6-week intensive programme. The SQA's 2010 Manila Amendments merged the previously separate Second Engineer and Chief Engineer theoretical examination suites into a single unified Management Level Engineering Knowledge exam, meaning a pass at this level qualifies a candidate for both ranks subject to the different sea service thresholds.
The regulatory framework is the STCW Convention (STCW Code, Section A-III/2) and the governing UK Merchant Shipping Notice is MSN 1857 (M+F) Amendment 1. The MCA is the UK flag state authority that issues the CoC; the SQA is the independent examining body for the written papers. This is a professional Merchant Navy route — it is not an RYA or recreational pathway. It applies to officers seeking to serve on commercial vessels of any size under UK flag (and on vessels of other flag states that accept MCA CoCs).
The written syllabus spans a broad range of engineering disciplines relevant to management-level responsibility at sea. After passing the SQA written examinations, candidates must separately pass an MCA oral examination at the appropriate rank (Second or Chief Engineer) before the CoC is issued. Candidates who pass the written exams before obtaining their Second Engineer CoC do not need to re-sit them when later applying for Chief Engineer — the same written pass counts for both, with only the oral examination and sea service thresholds differing between the two ranks.
Holding a Second Engineer or Chief Engineer Unlimited CoC under STCW III/2 qualifies the holder to serve in those roles on merchant navy vessels of any size under UK flag and on vessels of other flag states that accept MCA certificates. Chief Engineer Unlimited is the highest engineer officer seafarer CoC in the STCW framework. Beyond the Chief Engineer rank, career paths move ashore: marine superintendent, technical superintendent, fleet technical manager, class society or flag state surveyor, MCA Marine Officer Inspector, and maritime engineering lecturer or examiner. Some officers pursue academic top-up routes such as a BEng or MEng in Marine Engineering or a Master's in Maritime Management.