Marine Engine Driver Grade 1, Engineering Certificate of Competency
- What your certificate will qualify you for
- Sea service
- The paperwork and payment
- Training
- What you need to revalidate
To be eligible for this Certificate of Competency you must be at least 18 years old.
Your certificate will expire after 5 years. It is up to you to revalidate it.
What your certificate will qualify you for
With a Marine Engine Driver Grade 1 Certificate of Competency, you are qualified to take charge of machinery, including engines, as Chief Engineer on vessels with engine power less than:
- 1500 kilowatts for restricted offshore operations within 30 nautical miles of the coast
- 750 kilowatts in Australian Coastal and Middle Waters (ACMW) within 600 nautical miles of the coast.
You can also act as First Engineer on vessels with engine power less 1500 kilowatts for ACMW operations, within 600 nautical miles of the coast.
Sea Service
You must provide us with evidence of sea service, which will differ if you have an approved trade qualification or not. If a part of the sea service presented is not all engineering, then that part will be reduced by 50%, so care should be taken when submitting sea service evidence.
- With no approved trade qualification or Marine Engine Driver Certificate of Competency applicants must have a minimum of 24 months (480 days) approved sea service on vessels of not less than 200kW (approx. 270hp) propulsion power.
- With Marine Engine Driver Grade 3 applicants must have a minimum of 15 months (300 days) duties while holding the certifcate as Engineer in charge or on duties assisting the Engineer in charge on vessels less than 200kW (approx. 270hp) propulsion power.
- With Marine Engine Driver Grade 2 applicants must have a minimum of 9 months (180 days) duties while holding the certifcate as Engineer in charge or on duties assisting the Engineer in charge on vessels less than 200kW (approx. 270hp) propulsion power.
- With an approved trade qualification applicants must have a minimum of 6 months (120 days) approved service on vessels not less than 200kW (approx. 270hp) propulsion power.
Approved trade qualifications are:
- Marine Fitter.
- Diesel Mechanic.
- Motor Mechanic.
You need to provide us with evidence of this sea service, which can be in the form of a:
- Record of Service book signed by the Master or owner of the vessel.
- Testimonial from the Master or owner of the vessel(s) on which the service took place
- Statutory Declaration
- Evidence in any format above must clearly show the applicant's actual number of days served at sea, duties performed, vessel name/survey number, vessel length, propulsion power, operational areas and commencement and completion dates of service. Any gaps (e.g. Sick Leave or Annual Leave) should be indicated.
Only engineering related activities can be counted towards your sea service, any deck related activities will not be counted.
The paperwork and payment
If this is the first time that you are applying for a Certificate of Competency you will need to complete the forms on the forms page.
You can pay on line, in person or you can mail your payment, if paying by mail please do not send cash.
Training
To obtain this certificate you need to undertake a training course or provide evidence of training, you will need to contact the training providers to obtain course details. Remember that passing a course of study is only part of the process.
Before we issue you with a certificate you will need to do the following training and provide the Commercial Marine Qualifications office with evidence of:
- Certificate in Elements of Shipboard Safety or Occupational Health and Safety at Sea.
- Current Senior First Aid Certificate. We will not accept expired certificates.
What you need to revalidate:
Certificates of Competency are issued for 5 years and can be revalidated at any time in the 12 months before it expires or at any time after it has expired.
You will need to pay the appropriate fee and complete the forms on the form page.
You will also need to provide sea service, go to the revalidation page for details.
