Near Coastal Question??

[DAN BOY]

Captains License question

I recently received my 100 Ton Near Coastal masters license.My license reads as follows..

Master of steam or motor vessels of not more then 100 gross registered tons (domestic tonnage) Upon Near coastal Waters. For domestic voyages only,the holder of this credential meets the STCW 1995 regulations without further endorsement.

this is word for word how it reads. my question is what is meant by "domestic voyage only" I thought near coastal meant not more then 200 miles from shore?? What are the boundries of domestic waters?? I live and boat in the atlantic off of new jersey..How far off shore can I go . I tried to Contact the NMC but didnt get much of a explanation. Thank You in advance for any helpful info anyone can provide me ..

[Steamer]

Captains License question

Can I go to the Bahamas ?

Bahamas is a foreign country. You are welcome there as a tourist. As long as you have a passport you can come home again with little difficulty.

But, you can't do it as a master of a vessel. What part of international don't you understand?

[DAN BOY]

my seaschool instructor said I could under my license, But I didnt believe him so thats why I was looking for others input..sorry to scrape your barnicles capt..AAAArrrrgggg

[PMC]

A domestic voyage is a voyage that is not international.

§ 42.05-45 International voyage.

(a) The term international voyage as used in this part shall have the same meaning as the term international voyage in Article 2(4) of the 1966 Convention. Except for vessels operating solely on the waters indicated in Article 5(2) of the 1966 Convention, an international voyage means a sea voyage from any country to a port outside such country, or conversely. For this purpose, every territory for the international relations of which any specific Contracting Government is responsible or for which the United Nations are the administering authority is regarded as a separate country.

(b) The 1966 Convention does not apply to vessels solely navigating the Great Lakes. Accordingly, such vessels shall not be considered as being on an international voyage for the purpose of this subchapter.

(c) For the purpose of administration of load line requirements in this subchapter, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Territory of Guam, the Virgin Islands, and all possessions and lands held by the United States under a protectorate or mandate shall each be considered to be a territory of the United States.

So, you can go to Canadian side of the Great Lakes from the US side.

[PMC]

My guess is that you did not submit a certificate for Basic Safety Training, hence the domestic limitation.

[Jeffrox]

200 miles off our coasts. In my view you can run a boat around PR but you can't run a boat between the USA and PR. The Bahamas and Bimini are close enough, but not domestic, a gray area maybe as I have a hunch there are lots of charter boats running back and forth with near-coastal licenses. We have an agreement with Canada for reciprocity of licenses, I posted it on here a couple of months ago.

[DAN BOY]

My guess is that you did not submit a certificate for Basic Safety Training, hence the domestic limitation.

I sumitted the diplomas I received from Sea School their was nothing else they gave me to sumit. But my license states i meet the 1995 STCW without further endorsement , so I dont get it..

[skinny stick]

sounds like you need to do alot of reading on here.Or go to the coast guard website and read the CFR's. I cant believe you did not even know what Lic you applyed for. What kind of boats are you running?

[DAN BOY]

sounds like you need to do alot of reading on here.Or go to the coast guard website and read the CFR's. I cant believe you did not even know what Lic you applyed for. What kind of boats are you running?

I know exactly what kind of license i applied for, Its the info from my seaschool instructor that doesnt make sense..

[cappy208]

do a search on this forum there is alot of recent (3 or 4 months old) stuff on just this topic.

I would suspect you 'meet' stcw 95 requirements because. are you sitting down? vessels UNDER 100 tons don't even require this!! How's that to further cloud the issue. You 'meet' the requirements because you DON'T have to fulfill ANY of them! Sounds like a stupid phrase to put on a license!

To put the international thing into perspective, Officially there are only two countries that respect our license structure (Canada and Mexico) so we have reciprocity with them. NO other countries officially ' respect our domestic license. For instance you could conceivably run a boat all the way from new york to rio de janiero brazil, if you stayed within 200 miles of ''shore'' but if, or when boarded by some overzealous countries officials they could seize you and the boat for operating without a license. Want to chance it? Oh by the way, the Bahamas IS a foreign country!

And if you think that's confusing, call two REC's and ask this question. I would be willing to bet $$ that you will get a different answer from each one, with varying degrees of similiarity but NO one will be willing to put the answer in writing. How's that for responsibility!?

[Jon]

If you knew what type of license you were applying for and had read the CFRs then there shouldn't have been any surprise when you got your 100 ton ticket. Your ticket was endorsed "Domestic Voyages Only" because you did not submit a Basic Safety Training certificate. Submit one and the restriction will be lifted. As for giving a shit what your seaschool instructor said... I don't.

Masters/Mates on Passenger Vessels under 100 GRTs and other vessels under 200 GRTs, not on foreign voyages may choose to have their licenses endorsed for “Domestic Voyages only, the holder of this license meets the 1995 STCW requirements without further endorsement”, without meeting any of the below requirements. Those wishing to operate on foreign waters must meet only the Basic Safety Training Requirements listed below.

Basic Safety Training (BST): Includes the following four elements
Personal Survival Techniques
Fire Prevention and Firefighting
Elementary First Aid
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities

[DAN BOY]

CAPPY you are exactly right I have had several Emails with NMC and they cant even explain it to me...

do a search on this forum there is alot of recent (3 or 4 months old) stuff on just this topic.

I would suspect you 'meet' stcw 95 requirements because. are you sitting down? vessels UNDER 100 tons don't even require this!! How's that to further cloud the issue. You 'meet' the requirements because you DON'T have to fulfill ANY of them! Sounds like a stupid phrase to put on a license!

To put the international thing into perspective, Officially there are only two countries that respect our license structure (Canada and Mexico) so we have reciprocity with them. NO other countries officially ' respect our domestic license. For instance you could conceivably run a boat all the way from new york to rio de janiero brazil, if you stayed within 200 miles of ''shore'' but if, or when boarded by some overzealous countries officials they could seize you and the boat for operating without a license. Want to chance it? Oh by the way, the Bahamas IS a foreign country!

And if you think that's confusing, call two REC's and ask this question. I would be willing to bet $$ that you will get a different answer from each one, with varying degrees of similiarity but NO one will be willing to put the answer in writing. How's that for responsibility!?

[cappy208]

cut and pasted from NMC website.


The Standards for Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping was created in 1978 and amended in 1995 in order to ensure that US Merchant Mariners have the skills & abilities to serve aboard seagoing vessels. International Maritime Organization (IMO) is the owner of the STCW. The US Coast Guard implements its polices through legal means established in 1978 and amended in 1995.

• Standards for Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (IMO)

Who must comply with the STCW?

STCW only applies to Mariners employed on vessels greater than 200 Gross Register Tons (Domestic Tonnage), or 500 Gross Tons (ITC Tonnage), operating seaward of the boundary lines specified in Title 46 CFR Part 7.

• Title 46 Code of Federal Regulations

For additional information on policy guidance in STCW implementation, go back to Policy and Guidance. You may also contact any of the 17 Coast Guard Regional Examination Centers (RECs). To see a list of RECs and their locations, click here.



What you have 'met' to comply with STCW is the safety portion and the security portion. Because you have this strangely worded phrase on your license does NOT mean you can go foreign, or loop around the bahamas on a trip. Although you MAY get away with it, I would be certain that it would not be legal to do so. Typically you would never get caught unless there was an accident or you got boarded and an unusually sharp boarding officer figured this out. (most that I have had the pleasure of meeting are so so concerning all the laws.) Usually the boarding detachment is a short time job, with junior guys who have just finished either their OCS school, or are rotating through after attending the classes they need to BE a boarding officer. So usually (in my experience) they concentrate on what the 'hot topics' covered in the class they just had. This is just my opinion, with nothing to go on but my 30 years experience, and observations.