Visit our Popular Forums

gjordan · 26-11-2011, 12:12

I have been land locked for about 15 years, But I plan to return to Cruising in the next year. I used to hold a 200 ton Masters/500ton Mates license, but it is expired. I plan on getting a license again, but dont know if I will have to start all over, or if my sea time will count. The reason I am asking here before I talk to the Coast Guard is that sometimes how you present your problem can make a difference . I am mostly interested in being licensed again for insurance reasons, and doing a few deliveries. I assume I will have to take the firefighting course and CPR again, but they are a good idea anyway. Any help or advice is welcomed._____Grant.

**delmarrey** · 26-11-2011, 12:41

If you have a problem with the past 3 year time at sea, you might contact this lady. http://www.maritimelicensing.com/mariner/faq.htm

She seems to know all the angles for getting the license.

**twistedtree** · 26-11-2011, 12:45

Your past sea time will still count towards your total sea time requirements, but as I understand it you will still need 90 days in the past 3 years, so you will have to re-accumulate that before you apply.

**CharlesFCook** · 26-11-2011, 12:48

Just going through this now....

Your seatime never expires.

What you need are:

Recency – 90 days in the past 3 years on vessels of appropriate tonnage or horsepower. This will determine how big of a License you will get.

360 days seatime in the last 5 years otherwise you will need to retest.

You must have a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) card to get a License.

CG-719B Application.
CG-719K Physical
CG-719p Drug test

Optional but really good to have.

STCW 95 BST includes First Aid and CPR using an AED.
Radar Observer (Unlimited)

Charlie

svtrio · 26-11-2011, 13:42

My understanding is that if your license has expired, you have a grace period of one year during which you can renew the license and take a short exam at home.

If more than a year has passed since expiration of the license, you must reapply for a new license.

Get the details at the following link:

<http://www.uscg.mil/nmc/renewal_guide.asp>

Roger

gjordan · 26-11-2011, 20:30

Thanks for the info. I dont mind retesting ( I need the brush up), but I was hoping not to have to start over again at 25 tons and work my way up. It took a lot of years and miles to get the tonnage up. I would also like to hang on to my Oceans endorsement.I will check with the links given, and also check with the local licensing schools in San Francisco area. If anyone has a recommendation on a good school in the Bay Area, i would like to hear about it.____Thanks Again_____Grant.

gjordan · 26-11-2011, 20:37

I just reread the posts and was wondering what a TWIC card is and what a STCW 95 BST is? Is that the new name for a Z card ,or something different?___Grant.

boasun · 26-11-2011, 22:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by gjordan

I just reread the posts and was wondering what a TWIC card is and what a STCW 95 BST is? Is that the new name for a Z card ,or something different?___Grant.

1. TWIC: is the Transportation workers Idenification Card required to enter many commerical sea ports, truck terminals, and airports.
2. STCW: Standards of Training and Watch Keeping. Required for any vessel over 300 tons GRT. And a few under that GRT. This is for vessels working offshore beyond the 3 mile limit.
3. Merchant Mariners Credentials: Replaced both the license and the "Z" card. Required to work commercially. Need the physical, Drug test, and passing of the tests for the type license you are going for.

Plus it is best to have #1 & 2 to ease the acquirement of #3

You can do a search to find where you can acquire said "Documents". And you may do this a time or two

**delmarrey** · 26-11-2011, 22:43

Twic is a TSA document now required to get onto shipping yards, even workers.

TSA: Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC®)

gjordan · 27-11-2011, 10:53

Again,Thanks for the info. I have been reading some of the links and I feel like Big Brother has taken over. Oh well, just more hoops to jump through. This is going to take a while, since I dont have 90 days in the last 3 years. This week I will contact some of the training centers in the area and see what they have to offer. At least I wont be baffled by the new terminology._____Grant.

**David M** · 27-11-2011, 11:34

Accumulated seatime is not permanent. It can lapse, depending. The surest way of knowing is to call your local Coast Guard Regional Exam Center.

gjordan · 06-12-2011, 20:13

I talked to 3 different licensing schools this last week and got three different answers. I tried to locate the exam center in Alameda Ca, but got a phone message system similar to Kaiser Hospital or the SS administration. I will try again this week, but still feel I need to know how to ask the question, before I actually ask it. The link given by Dellmare seemed to be the best but was out of date, since it still talked about Z cards. Onward and upward,___Grant.

Ram · 07-12-2011, 00:40

Here is one of the, biggest & the best schools and they will know what you need- they also can find you a place to stay very cheap -I can also tell you that currently (December 2011) its taking only 9 days from the time you have all your paper work handed in to the USCG your licence comes to your door thru this school
Maritime Professional Training - Captain's License | Sea School | Merchant Marine | Simulation

captainKJ · 07-12-2011, 03:25

This is the link you will need

USCG National Maritime Center

ask nmc and they will tell you.
time it takes to get a license is up to NMC NOT the school. The schools have nothing to do with it. They can assist you with the paperwork. You can do everything online now, including emailing NMC your paperwork and paying online. the NMC website will tell you more. Best bet is to put in the application and they will tell you what you need. Most of the local rec will tell you to call NMC for the answer. Cost is 100 for application and 45 for issuance. Put the app in but do not pay the issuance fee. Once the app is in you have 90 days to complete any additional requirements,,If you can not complete them in 90 days you have to reapply and pay another 100 dollars. this is why I say do not pay the issuance fee until you have all the requirements in. NMC will tell you what you need. On there web site is an email button. Include you mariner name and number in any correspondence with them. It usually takes 24 hours to get a response

psneeld · 07-12-2011, 03:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by captainKJ

This is the link you will need

USCG National Maritime Center

ask nmc and they will tell you.
time it takes to get a license is up to NMC NOT the school. The schools have nothing to do with it. They can assist you with the paperwork. You can do everything online now, including emailing NMC your paperwork and paying online. the NMC website will tell you more. Best bet is to put in the application and they will tell you what you need. Most of the local rec will tell you to call NMC for the answer. Cost is 100 for application and 45 for issuance. Put the app in but do not pay the issuance fee. Once the app is in you have 90 days to complete any additional requirements,,If you can not complete them in 90 days you have to reapply and pay another 100 dollars. this is why I say do not pay the issuance fee until you have all the requirements in. NMC will tell you what you need. On there web site is an email button. Include you mariner name and number in any correspondence with them. It usually takes 24 hours to get a response

Good advice...I used to teach licensing and the new center is great about answering questions/respnse...get a name when they answer an unusual question so you can get back to them if it comes back to haunt you (e-mail works great that way too).....