New Maritime Seafarers Act in force
The new Dutch Seafarers Act will come into force as of July 1st, 2025. Some certificates will expire and new requirements will be added. An update from Rood boven Groen provides clarity.
Under the new law, Certificates of Competence (CoC) for ships under 500GT with cruising area near the international coast will be eliminated. Additionally, minimum GT and kW requirements will be introduced for the renewal of officer CoC’s for ‘all ships.’
Minimum GT or kW requirement when renewing certificates for all ships
In order to renew a CoC, sufficient relevant sea time in the five years prior to the application must be demonstrated at Kiwa. There has been some confusion regarding whether sea time on board ships <500 GT and <750 kW will be accepted for the renewal of a CoC for all ships. In the new Seafarers Act requirements will probably be:
- For nautical officers, renewal of a CoC for all ships will require experience on ships >100 GT
- For engineering officers, renewal of a CoC for all ships will require experience on ships with engine power >750 kW
When experience on ships <100 GT or <750 kW is provided at the application, the renewed CoC will be limited to 3000 GT or 3000 kW (whichever applicable)
Alternative service time
An alternative is to use service time on these types of small ships as so-called alternative service time. Renewal can then still take place on the basis of this seagoing service, if there is no question of increasing the rating and if at least 24 months of seagoing service in the past 5 years can be demonstrated.
Of course, in order to maintain the sailing authorisation for all ships, it remains possible to opt for the option of a minimum of 90 days of service on board ships >100GT or 750kW in the 6 months preceding the application.
The CoC for voyages near international coasts will disappear (code 108 etc.)
The Dutch CoC for 1st officer, master and engineer on ships <500GT with limitation to voyages near the international coast (code 108/138/208/239), has been revoked in the new Dutch Seafarers Act because these are not in line with international regulations on sailing in near coastal waters, as laid down in the STCW convention. These regulations offer flag states the possibility of issuing smaller CoC’s for sailing on ships >500 GT in their own coastal waters. However, these smaller CoC’s are not meant for use in the coastal areas of other states unless explicitly recognized. Also, it is explicitly forbidden to use these near coastal CoC’s to sail worldwide, hopping from one coastal area to the next. The Dutch CoC’s ‘near the international coast’ suggested otherwise.
What if your trading area does involve the international coast?
Under the new act, it will stay possible to navigate in the coastal areas of other countries with the CoC for Dutch coastal waters and EEZ (code 107/137/207/238). No new CoC will be required, but instead, another possibility provided by STCW will be utilized. This will allow seafarers to sail in the coastal areas of other countries with their ‘own’ CoC provided that the countries involved have a mutual agreement (MoU). As a result, the training certificate ‘aanvulling-N or -W’ will become a requirement for this CoC.
Regarding existing CoC’s, transitional provisions apply and these will keep their validity. However, no new CoC’s ‘near the international coast’ will be issued once the new law comes into effect. As for seafarers who already have a CoC for Dutch coastal waters and EEZ, they will be exempted from the new training requirement ‘aanvulling-N or -W’.
Source: newsletter Rood boven Groen.
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