Anyone wishing to work on commercial vessels that are over 24 meters long will have to complete the mandatory STCW courses prior to seeking employment on a commercial boat, yacht, or ship.

STCW is short for Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping. It is a worldwide standard that ensures a uniform standard of training across countries worldwide.

If you're a Captain from the UK or America, for example, you will receive similar training in accordance with the STCW standard.

 STCW Courses

At the very minimum, you will need to complete the following STCW Basic Safety Courses for safety at sea to apply to work on a ship. You can usually complete these courses within a week at a designated STCW training center.

 Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities

This course teaches the essentials of basic safety following the MCA Notice MSN 1768 (Maritime Coastguard Agency) guidelines.

 Basic Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting

This firefighting course is taught by professional firefighters and covers both theoretical and practical situations.

 Personal Survival Techniques

During this practical and theoretical course, you will be taught survival skills like how to abandon ships using life rafts and how to use life jackets correctly.

 Elementary First Aid

During this session, you will be taught important basic first aid and life-saving skills including yacht medical skills and superyacht first aid following MCA guidelines.

 The courses listed above teach personal safety, survival, and basic first aid skills. Using a variety of first aid kits, you will learn to use the:

 ·         Superyacht first aid kit

·         Standard first aid kit

·         Marine medical kit

·         Inshore first aid kit

·         Coastal first aid kit

·         Offshore and ocean first-aid kit

·         Basic medical kit

 The most convenient option is to book the entire STCW Basic Safety Course as a single package to save yourself time and money. Compacted into just one week of teaching, this package combines all 4 modules together (plus the supplemental Proficiency in Security Awareness Course). After completing these, you will have all the necessary qualifications you need to work on board a ship.

For more information on STCW training requirements for seafarers, contact ANP Pharma.