International Certificate of Competency

[PamlicoTraveler]

We are going to be sailing from the East Coast and to and through the Med next year. I keep reading about the need for an ICC.

How do I get one here? We have significant offshore experience and I hope I don't have to jump through too many hoops, but I have no idea how to go about it.

Any info much appreciated...

[keseyken]

Enjoy the following bit of reading:-)

The ICC and Proof of Competence Abroad | Boating Abroad | Information & Advice | RYA

About the ICC
About the ICC | The ICC and Proof of Competence Abroad | Boating Abroad | Information & Advice | RYA

Applying for the ICC
How to apply for an ICC | The ICC and Proof of Competence Abroad | Boating Abroad | Information & Advice | RYA

How to apply for an ICC

To obtain an ICC from the RYA you must be over the age of 16 and eligible to be issued with the certificate. You will also need to provide evidence that you are sufficiently competent to have the certificate issued.
Eligibility
The RYA issues the ICC in accordance with the eligibility criteria detailed in Resolution 40. A flow chart to help you ascertain if you are eligible for the ICC and have adequate evidence of competence is printed inside the ICC application form.
Minimum Age
The ICC cannot be issued to anyone under the age of 16. Therefore please only apply for the ICC if you are age 16 or over.
Nationality
The RYA is permitted to issue the ICC to British nationals and residents. You are a British national if you are one of the following:
A British citizen
A British Overseas Territories citizen
A British overseas citizen
A British national (overseas)
A British subject
A British protected person
Evidence of residency is required for non-nationals this is usually a photocopy of a driving licence, utility bill, Council Tax bill, bank statement or similar. Further authenticated evidence of residency may be requested.
The RYA is also permitted to issue the ICC to the nationals of non-UNECE countries and nationals of the USA and Canada (which by a quirk of history are UNECE member states).
The RYA is not permitted to issue the ICC to the nationals of other UNECE countries unless they are British residents. This means that the RYA cannot issue the ICC to the nationals of: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.
Nationals of these countries should speak to their national maritime authority as you will only be able to obtain an ICC through their acceptance of Resolution 40.
Dual Nationality
Individuals with dual nationality may apply for the ICC if either nationality makes them eligible to do so. It should however be noted that the nationality recorded on the ICC will be the one which made the individual eligible only.
Evidence of Eligibility
Every ICC applicant is required to produce evidence of their eligibility to apply to the RYA for an ICC. This will usually be:
Evidence of your nationality: a copy of the photo page of your passport or a recognised national identity card.
Evidence of residency: a photocopy of a driving licence, utility bill, Council Tax bill, bank statement or similar. Further authenticated evidence of residency may be requested.
Evidence of competence
Resolution 40 requires that the issuing country has evidence that an ICC applicant is competent, either through them having a national certificate or by them demonstrating their competence in practice.
If you have already passed an RYA practical course, your course completion certificate or certificate of competence may help you to obtain an ICC. The RYA Powerboat Level 2 and RYA Day Skipper practical course completion certificates (or those above them in the RYA training schemes) can provide evidence of your competence for your ICC application.
Experienced skippers can also qualify for the ICC by successfully completing an assessment of their competence through a RYA recognised training centre or an affiliated club authorised to carry out the assessment, rather than having to attend a full RYA training course. The syllabus for the ICC assessment is detailed on the ICC application form.
Boating Inland and CEVNI
Code Européen des Voies de Navigation Intérieure (CEVNI) is the code governing navigation on the interconnected European inland waterways and is the basis of the various countries' own regulations.
Signs, rules and procedures for navigating the European inland waterways are all included within CEVNI and in the same way as pleasure craft on coastal waters are expected to abide by the COLREGS, pleasure craft on the inland waterways of Europe, which in places are heavily utilised by commercial traffic are expected to know and follow CEVNI.
Knowing and abiding by the regulations is the best way to protect yourself and your boat and if you wish to have an ICC which is valid for inland waters then you must learn the CEVNI code and sit the CEVNI test either online or in person through a RYA recognised training centre or an affiliated club authorised to carry out the test.
ICC Categories
The UK (RYA) ICC has six categories. When an ICC certificate is issued, only the categories for which competence has been demonstrated will be validated.
Coastal The RYA practical training course or ICC assessment must have been taken on coastal waters.
Inland The applicant must have passed the CEVNI test through a RYA recognised training centre or an affiliated club authorised to carry out the test in addition to demonstrating competence through completion of a RYA practical training course or an ICC assessment.
Power up to 10m LOA

Which of these categories are validated, depends on the certificates the applicant presents with their application form or in the case of an ICC assessment, the vessel on which the test was completed.
Power 10m LOA and over
Sail
Personal Watercraft The practical test is not available for PWC, however an ICC can be issued to holders of a RYA Personal Watercraft Proficiency Certificate. See the ICC application form for details of other certificates which allow the PWC category to be validated.
Details of which categories will be validated on presentation of which RYA certificates can be found on the ICC application form.
Your ICC Application
Once you have established how to prove your competence to ensure you receive an ICC validated for the categories you require, you need to complete an ICC application form.
This should be sent, together with a passport sized photograph, proof of eligibility, photocopies of any certificates you are presenting as evidence of competence and payment (see the application form for the current charge) to the Certification Department. Issue of the ICC is free of charge for RYA members. The ICC is valid for 5 years.
Who to Contact With Any Queries
If you have a query relating to the ICC, please contact the following:
Certification department
Request an ICC application form
Find out what has happened to an application
Cost of having an ICC issued
Check if you are eligible for the ICC
Training department
How to arrange an ICC test
How to arrange a CEVNI test
Cruising department
Foreign regulations - is an ICC required or recommended?
Contact Us
Article Published: September 23, 2011 16:49

[s/v Moondancer]

"The RYA is also permitted to issue the ICC to the nationals of non-UNECE countries and nationals of the USA and Canada (which by a quirk of history are UNECE member states)."

How to apply for an ICC | The ICC and Proof of Competence Abroad | Boating Abroad | Information & Advice | RYA

If you work your way through the above site you should find that an English Yacht Club can give you the ICC on your experience. If you are heading directly to the Med you should be able to get an ICC in Gibraltar.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by PamlicoTraveler

We are going to be sailing from the East Coast and to and through the Med next year. I keep reading about the need for an ICC.

How do I get one here? We have significant offshore experience and I hope I don't have to jump through too many hoops, but I have no idea how to go about it.

Any info much appreciated...

Why do you think your national license will not suffice?

I have never met anybody who sails their own boat and who was asked to show any ICC.

Is it not the case that you need the ICC if you are on a charter boat?

I am sorry if I introduce any silly sillies. I ask because I am here I nobody ever asked me to show any papers either.

b.

[keseyken]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Is it not the case that you need the ICC if you are on a charter boat?

b.

This is a particularly good thread and sensible about the ICC:

ICC in the med - Yachting and Boating World Forums

This post, from that thread, is pretty clear:


Tranona 27-08-11 Registered User



"It is true that you do not need a certificate of competence in the UK, but most other countries do require it of their citizens. The UN convention is an attempt to provide a document that will allow people to sail in other countries' waters and meet their licencing requirements. It sets out a minimum level of competence and in the UK you can get the certificate if you have an appropriate RYA certificate or you can be assesed against the requirements.

What you are suggesting (anybody could issue a "certificate") is exactly what existed before the ICC was introduced. And yes, as you have already been informed it is a governmental responsibility to issue the certificate and the government delegates it to competent bodies of which the RYA is the biggest.

Hope this is clear now"

[PamlicoTraveler]

Yeah, I have been going through the RYA info and will submit an application. The problem will be having the "Evidence of Competence" section as it includes all RYA courses like:

"RYA Day Skipper / Coastal Skipper Practical Course Completion Certificate (Sail)"

"Coastal Skipper / Yachtmaster® Coastal or higher RYA/MCA Certificate of Competence (Sail)"

Anyway...I'll figure something out here that will work.

[FSMike]

Originally Posted by keseyken

This is a particularly good thread and sensible about the ICC:

ICC in the med - Yachting and Boating World Forums

This post, from that thread, is pretty clear:


Tranona 27-08-11 Registered User



"It is true that you do not need a certificate of competence in the UK, but most other countries do require it of their citizens. ----"

Uh - Which countries? I'm not familiar with national governments having such a requirement for recreational vessels.

[Roaring Girl]

Although neither UK nor US do require such a certificate many other countries do - including Spain and Italy.

We have never been asked for an ICC but we do know and have met people who were asked to show it. Sometimes there are various arguments about whether (say) a UK skipper on a UK flagged boat is required to comply with 'their' rules in this respect, and it might be debatable. But given that it is possible to seek one if you can show competence, then for relatively effort and so on it is worth it.

There is some anecdotal evidence of hard-pressed eurozone countries bearing down harder on regulation, eg Portuguese customs being stricter on searching vessels as they enter Portuguese waters and checking relevant items like fire extinguishers and flares. I wouldn't choose to be the test case about how the rules apply.

To prove competence - well arriving across the Atlantic on your own keel would do it so if you can get some honest yacht club to say you're leaving and then turn up in Lagos, Cascais, or Gib then you should be ok! The ICC does not cover inland waterays and if you want to use the canals and rivers beyond tidal limits you must also get your CEVNI certificate.

[goboatingnow]

I would suggest that you apply to the RYA. The ICC can be done via a direct assessment , ie a day on your boat. It can not be granted on holding non RYA certificates. I am not aware that there is anyone in the US doing ICC exams, but check with IYT in florida, they were making noises that they could.

If you work your way through the above site you should find that an English Yacht Club can give you the ICC on your experience. If you are heading directly to the Med you should be able to get an ICC in Gibraltar.

This would require a club to issue an RYA ticket without any exam , A situation I beleive no club would do, irrespective of experience.

Dave

[gravosa]

Do you have any "driving" licence?

In croatia you have to have "certificate of competency", but you do not need ICC. Can be any licence, day skipper,coastal skipper, yahtmaster offshore. they (croatia) even recognize rya short range certificate. I have RYA short range certificate. Couple of years ago I used it together with my old croatian yacht master ocean to exange for new one.

[jim_thomsen]

When we first sailed in Europe I tried to get an ICC from the RYA (I'm American) but they only issue them to residents of the UK. I did get a "ICC" from the ASA in the US and it looks pretty official. But in 3 years of sailing in Europe no one ever asked for it.

[hellosailor]

Pamlico, you can always get an online boating safety certificate or one from a USPS course, about $40 either way and I think that's accepted by all 50 states here in the US, makin git about the closest thing we have to a "competency" certification. If come foreign official wants to see formal papers, it is "formal papers" from the US. Get the online one, print it out on a certificate border, impress the man.

[David M]

Geeze...that looks like more hoops than getting a USCG license.

Do they recognize USCG issued licenses?

[Roaring Girl]

Originally Posted by David M

Geeze...that looks like more hoops than getting a USCG license.

Do they recognize USCG issued licenses?

I think the last poster meant that Croatia recognise all sorts of licences, not just the one.

As I said above, we've never been asked for a licence, although we both have ICCs. Some (US) friends were asked for one in Italy, and I'm quite sure a USCG one would have been sufficient. As it was, they didn't have one and only some fast talking and the Italian dislike of the paperwork involved saved them an EU3000 fine!

[swagman]

On the Turkish entry / exit documents it has a box for 'Certificate of Competence' so I think anything offical would do.
I was with two other Brit registered boats seeking to clear out with paperwork. One of the guys showed his ICC, one presented a RYA Yachtmasters. I had nix to present, and that did lead to the offical refusing to clear our boat out. We argued but could not win. We'd cleared in and out of Turkey and other countries many times before and always accepted that if the UK does not require a 'license' for my boat then the other maritime coutry should not either......but this official got a bit too excited and refused to complete the paperwork without that number in his box.
A day later via an agent, it was intimated if we agreed to pay say a 150 euro 'fine' then maybe something could be done. That was all in Datcha in 2007.
We declined and moved on to clear out 48 hours later from Bodrum just up the coast. No certs was no problem to them just as it hadn't been a problem in Iskanderun or Fineke in previous years.
But that Datcha experience made me go get an ICC when we returned to the UK and it did not even take 2 hours - and guess what?
We've never been asked for it since...........
JOHN