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 19 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 a propulsion power between 750 kilowatts and 1500 kilowatts in waters within 30 nautical miles of the coast (Restricted offshore).
- Vessels with a propulsion power of less than 750 kilowatts in waters within 600 nautical miles of the coast (Australian Coastal and Middle Waters).
You can also act as Second Engineer where:
- The vessel between 750 kilowatts and 1500 kilowatts in waters within 600 nautical miles of the coast (Australian Coastal and Middle Waters).
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 (720 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 450 days approved service on vessels of not less than 200kW (approx. 270hp) propulsion power.
- With Marine Engine Driver Grade 2 Certificate of Competency applicants must have a minimum of 270 days approved service on vessels of not less than 200kW (approx. 270hp) propulsion power.
- With an approved trade qualification applicants must have a minimum of 3 months (180 days) approved service on vessels not less than 200kW (approx. 270hp) propulsion power.
Approved trade qualifications are:
- Marine Fitter.
- Electrical Fitter Mechanic.
- Diesel Mechanic.
- Motor Mechanic.
- Refrigeration Mechanic.
Some trades under the Australian Quality Framework have content which is also part of our approved trades. If your trade has a large amount of the content found in the approved trades we will assess it on its merits.
You need to provide the Commercial Marine Qualifications office 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.
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 the certificate you will need to complete and send to the Commercial Marine Qualifications office with:
- Application for a Marine Certificate of Competency (MR 502a).
- Certificate of Medical Fitness (MR 504).
- Character Declaration Passport Photo and 100-Point Identification (MR1134).
You can pay on line, in person or you can mail your payment to Commercial Marine Qualifications office. If paying by mail please do not send cash. Fees are available on this site.
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 of obtaining your certificate.
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 need to:
- Complete an Application for Marine Certificate of Competency (MR 502a).
- Compete a form called 'Medical Fitness for Revalidation of Marine Certificate of Competency (MR 504a), which must be signed by a doctor. This covers a fitness test and an eye test.
- Provide identification such as a photographic driver's licence.
- Provide a copy of a current Senior First Aid Certificate. We will not accept expired certificates.
- Pay a revalidation fee.
You also need to provide one of the following:
- Be able to prove 12 months (360 days) of sea service within the last 5 years.
- As a seasonal fisher, be able to prove continuous employment each fishing season in the last 5 years.
- Prove that you have satisfactorily completed a revalidation course appropriate to the Certificates of Competency held immediately preceding the date that you apply.
- Prove that, in the last 6 months you have served for at least 3 months (90 days)as an understudy to a qualified person, while performing duties appropriate to the Certificate of Competency held.
- Pass an oral exam.