Who Needs STCW Certification?

Anyone working on a commercial vessel is required to have the STCW certification.

  • There are five modules that make up the entire STCW course.
  • An STCW certification requires hands-on experience.
  • Not only do you need to complete the modules and classes, you will also need to meet the standards for age, competency, and physical fitness.

Table of Contents

Who Needs STCW Certification

Who Needs To Take the STCW Course?

Any crew member working on a commercial ship or yacht is required to have the STCW basic training certification. It also applies to seafarers, ship-owners, training establishments, and national maritime administrations.

Is Anyone Exempt From STCW?

There are a few people that are not required to meet the STCW standards and qualifications. Seafarers and maritime employees are exempt from STCW if they work on:

  • Warships
  • Naval auxiliaries
  • Government-owned or operated ships
  • Fishing vessels
  • Yachts that are not engaged in commercial service

What is STCW?

Now that we know who STCW training certifications are for, we need to discuss what STCW is exactly. STCW stands for Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping. It is the national protocol for seafarers and commercial vessels.

The full STCW course includes five modules. Each module is broken off into individual courses, and completing them all takes about five days.

The five modules for the STCW course are:

  1. Personal survival techniques
  2. Fire prevention and firefighting
  3. Basic first aid
  4. Personal safety and social responsibility (PSSR)
  5. Proficiency in security awareness

A Little History

The STCW was officially adopted in 1978 and was fully established by 1984. It was then amended in 1995 and again in 2010.

The overall goal of the STCW is to help and enforce the safety standards that are specifically made for the protection of shipping environments and to keep the oceans clean.

The 5 STCW Courses

Each of the five modules covers the required topics for that portion of the training course.

Personal Survival Techniques Courses

The purpose of this specific course is to teach seafarers and crew members the essential skills and knowledge that will be necessary to survive at sea in the event of an emergency.

The topics that must be covered in this module are:

  • Preparation for survival
  • Investigating causes of distress
  • Knowledge and use of equipment
  • Launch and recovery of life rafts
  • Personal survival skills
  • Use of search and rescue organizations

Fire Prevention & Firefighting

This module of the STCW training provides seafarers with resources that enable them to identify and extinguish different types of fires and to have a practical understanding of the uses of firefighting equipment.

It also covers how to minimize the risk of fires aboard the ship, how fires are caused, and how to safely and properly put them out.

Other topics you can expect to learn throughout this STCW module are how to:

  • Identify hazards
  • Store hazardous chemicals
  • Properly use equipment
  • Respond to an emergency situation
  • Prevent future fires
  • Control a fire and keep it from spreading

Basic First Aid Safety Training

This portion of the STCW courses will cover topics that will help employees understand how to respond to and care for an injured individual.

It will also help them to build essential knowledge on how to respond to the most common hazards and emergencies on board, including:

  • Scalds and burns
  • Broken or fractured bones
  • Bleeding and shock

This course will also discuss important medical techniques for emergency situations.

Some of these important learning topics and procedures that will be discussed in this course module are how to:

  • Administer CPR
  • Use an AED
  • Use first aid basics
  • Treat traumatic injuries
  • Deal with poisoning
  • Work with pre-existing conditions
  • Treat heat and cold stress
  • Perform safe evacuations

Personal Safety and Social Responsibility

This course introduces basic training in regard to safety procedures and accident prevention.

Some of the topics that will be covered in this module include:

  • Environmental factors
  • Communication
  • Safe practices
  • Confined spaces
  • Fatigue
  • Emergency situations
  • Relationships and civility
  • Sanitation

Proficiency in Security Awareness

This section of the training was added fairly recently, so the standards and requirements are newer.

Some of the security issues that are covered in this module are:

  • Threats to the maritime transport industry
  • Maritime security definitions
  • Security roles and responsibilities
  • Company and vessel security requirements
  • Security threat levels
  • Security measures and procedures

STCW Certification

For anyone wanting to work on a commercial ship or yacht, the STCW basic safety training certification is mandatory.

The STCW certification shows employers that the employee is able to identify safety hazards at sea and know how to effectively respond in an emergency situation.

Does the STCW Training Certificate Expire?

STCW training certifications do expire after five years.

As a rule of thumb, an STCW certification should be renewed at the end of the validity period.

STCW Basic Safety & OSHA

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has standards and laws for shipyard employment, marine terminals, and longshoring in regard to maritime employees.

The STCW is outlined in eight chapters, each one presenting employee qualifications and standards for a different crew or job.

  • General provisions
  • Master and deck departments
  • Engine department
  • Radiocommunication and radio personnel
  • Special training requirements for personnel on certain types of ships
  • Emergency, occupational safety, medical care, and survival functions
  • Alternative certification
  • Watchkeeping

Start Your Courses Today

Our course catalog presents our customers with over 200 complete training topics.

The STCW courses we offer are:

We do not offer a Proficiency in Security Awareness course due to the fact that the standards are newer to the work industry.

Online Course

Our online courses benefit both employers and employees in different ways.

  • Track employee completion rates
  • View final exam scores
  • Flexible self-paced learning
  • Accessible for unusual work hours

The Training Kits

Our training kits provide employers with all of the instructional resources they may need.

  • A PowerPoint training presentation
  • A guidebook
  • Toolbox Talks
  • Written test
  • Answer keys
  • Practical evaluation forms
  • Certificate template
  • Printable wallet card template

Train the Trainer

Our train the trainer courses are also online.

The target audience for these learning formats is whomever has been assigned the responsibility of conducting or giving the trainings.