Part 1 · Your paperwork
Your paperwork: ENG1, STCW, visas and sea time
The documents every yacht job asks for, in the order to get them, with the official links. Rules change, so always check the official page before you pay.
Captains and agencies will not look at you without the basics. Get them in this order: medical first, so you do not pay for a course and then fail the medical.
1. ENG1 medical
- Find an MCA approved doctor. There are doctors in the UK and overseas, including Spain and France.
- Book directly with the doctor. The fee in the UK is £115; extra tests cost more.
- Take photo ID, your glasses or lenses and a list of any medication.
- The certificate lasts up to 2 years (1 year if you are under 18).
The ML5 is not a replacement for an ENG1 for yacht work abroad.
2. STCW Basic Safety Training
Four certificates, usually done together in one week:
- Personal Survival Techniques (PST)
- Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting (FPFF)
- Elementary First Aid (EFA)
- Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities (PSSR)
PST and Fire Fighting must be refreshed every 5 years. Security Awareness is a separate certificate; Designated Security Duties (PDSD) is for crew with security duties, and many yachts ask for it.
- Check the centre is MCA approved (or approved by your flag state) for each course.
- Make sure the practical parts are done in person. Online-only versions are not accepted for these.
- Check your name on every certificate matches your passport.
3. US visa
Working on yachts in US waters needs the right crew visa. Do not rely on an ESTA.
- B1: crew on private yachts used for pleasure by the owner or guests
- C1/D: crew on commercial vessels
- If you work on both kinds of yacht, you may be issued both
- Fill in the DS-160 form online and print the confirmation.
- Pay the application fee and book an interview at the US embassy or consulate where you live.
- Take your passport, DS-160 confirmation, fee receipt, photo and a letter from the yacht if you have one.
4. Discharge book
A seaman's discharge book is the record of your career at sea, and it is evidence of sea service for your certificates. British citizens apply to the MCA on form MSF 4509 (£55 by post).
5. Log your sea time
Sea time is what moves you up from Yacht Rating to Officer of the Watch. Sea time you cannot prove does not count. What counts as a day, testimonials, verification and your contract rights are all in guide 07.
6. Non-EU crew in Europe
Without an EU passport or residence permit, short stays in the Schengen area are limited to 90 days in any 180. The 180 days roll back from each day, and entries are now recorded electronically. Use the official calculator, and check work permits with the country concerned.
Part 2 · Sea time and the MLC
Sea time and your rights: the MLC explained
Two things decide how fast you move up and how well you are treated: the sea time you can prove, and the contract you sign. Here is how both work.
Most crew only think about sea time when they want to book an exam. By then, half of it is missing a signature, and the yacht that could sign it has been sold. Start a log on day one.
What counts as a day
For UK yacht deck certificates (MSN 1858) your service is split into three kinds, and your testimonial shows each one.
- Actual seagoing: the yacht is at sea, including anchoring during a passage, and you did at least 4 hours of duty in the 24
- Stand-by: in port preparing for the next voyage. Max 14 days in a row, never longer than the voyage before, never more in total than your seagoing days
- Yard: refit or repair in a shipyard. Max 90 days counted
Leave does not count, and for UK yacht deck certificates the yacht must be 15 m or more in load line length.
The first two certificates
- Yacht Rating: 6 months' yacht service with at least 2 months' actual seagoing, plus ENG1, STCW and a signed Training Record Book
- Officer of the Watch (Yachts) under 3000 GT: 365 days' seagoing service, of which at least 250 actual seagoing, 36 months on board since age 16, and at least 6 months in the last 5 years
Testimonials that get accepted
- Keep your own daily log, so you know your numbers.
- Ask for the testimonial on your last day aboard, not months later.
- Use the official MCA format (MSN 1858 Annex A), signed by the Master, with their CoC number and the company stamp.
- Have it verified by the PYA or Nautilus International before you apply. The PYA quotes up to 25 working days.
The MLC in one minute
The Maritime Labour Convention 2006 is the international bill of rights for seafarers, in force since 20/08/2013. It applies to yachts ordinarily engaged in commercial activities, such as charter. Private yachts used only for pleasure are usually outside it, so ask which you are joining before you sign.
- Contract: a written Seafarer Employment Agreement you can read and take advice on before signing, with notice of at least 7 days
- Rest: at least 10 hours in any 24 and 77 in any 7 days, in no more than two periods, one of them at least 6 hours
- Pay: at least monthly, with a monthly statement
- Leave: at least 2.5 calendar days for every month worked
- Getting home: repatriation paid by the shipowner, never in advance by you
- Complaints: an onboard procedure, and on UK yachts the right to go direct to the MCA
Before you accept a job, ask one question: is the yacht commercial or private? It changes which rules protect you.
Want the full kit? The 34-page handbook, a 12-month logbook, the Excel tracker and the contract checker. Sea Time & MLC Pack, €12 →