All foreign seafarers that serve on board a UK flagged vessel are required to hold a valid Certificate of Equivalent Competency (CEC). These certificates are issued on a like-for-like basis against a valid Certification of Competency and are issued in line with the international convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW). Full requirements for obtaining a UK CEC are outlined in MSN 1867.
Application Process
We work to make the application process as seamless as possible and aim to issue a CEC within 28 days of receipt. If a company is making an application on behalf of a seafarer, a Certificate of Receipt of Application (CRA) will be issued within one working day of the application being received. This will ensure that seafarers are able to embark the vessel as required and remains valid for a period of up to three months.
If an urgent embarkation of a seafarer is required we can issue an Emergency CRA (ECRA). This is issued as and when applications are received and permits the seafarer to embark the vessel prior to a CEC application being submitted for a maximum period of one month.
We also issue Authority to Operate (ATO) certificates which is a UK endorsement of a recognised GMDSS certificate. All that is needed to obtain an ATO is a covering letter and an attested copy of the applicants GMDSS to be submitted via post to the CEC Team.
It is our objective to meet the expectations of our customers and strive to to offer the highest levels of Customer Service and we appreciate all feedback from our customers. We hold an annual Customer Service Survey which we use to help us develop our Customer Service strategies to meet the expectations of our valued clients.
If you require any assistance please contact us.