The legal framework of seafarer certification
The certification and qualification of seafarers in Georgia is governed by a dedicated law that rests entirely on the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers of 1978 and on the accompanying STCW Code — for the purposes of the law, both instruments apply in their latest versions. The law determines who may become a certified seafarer, under what conditions and in what procedure, and it regulates examinations, the issuance, recognition and registration of certificates.
Day-to-day administration of the certification system belongs to the Maritime Transport Agency, a public-law legal entity within the system of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia. The Agency issues, recognises and endorses certificates of competency and qualification, organises and conducts examinations, keeps the register of issued certificates and supervises the system of seafarers’ education and training. The competent state authority — the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development — exercises state control over the activities of the Agency in the manner established by Georgian legislation.
Types of certificates and levels of responsibility
The law distinguishes seafarers’ certificates by their purpose and by the level of responsibility they confer. The principal types are:
- a certificate of competency — issued to masters, officers and GMDSS radio operators; it entitles its holder to serve in the relevant capacity and to perform the functions assigned to that level of responsibility;
- a certificate of qualification — a certificate issued to a seafarer other than a certificate of competency, confirming that the requirements concerning training, competence or maritime examinations laid down by the law are met;
- a certificate of endorsement — a valid document issued by the Agency in accordance with the Convention;
- documentary evidence — documents other than certificates which confirm compliance with the relevant requirements established by the law and the Convention.
Levels of responsibility follow the STCW Code: the management level covers the performance of the relevant functions by the master, the chief mate, the chief engineer officer and the second engineer officer; the operational level covers functions performed under the leadership of a management-level officer by an officer in charge of a navigational watch, an engineering officer in charge of a watch, an electro-technical officer or a radio operator; and the support level covers functions assigned to ratings, performed under the direction of a person working at the management or operational level. Seagoing service means a period of work on board a ship, determined in accordance with the Convention and the law, that is required to obtain a certificate or other competence or to renew an existing one. A month means a calendar month, or 30 days for periods shorter than one month.
Examinations, issuance of certificates and the register
A person interested in obtaining or renewing a certificate of competency or qualification applies to the Agency. The content, duration and form of the examination required for a certificate, as well as the assessment criteria, are determined by the Agency and published on its official website — so this source should be consulted before preparing for an examination.
The Agency’s further functions include monitoring the system of seafarers’ education and training, recognising and systematically monitoring maritime training institutions, verifying the authenticity of certificates and taking measures to prevent their forgery, approving the forms of certificates and the rules for their issuance and for keeping the register, and monitoring the selection of medical institutions and the conditions of that selection. The Agency also supplies information on the Georgian system of seafarer training and certification to the International Maritime Organization, other international organisations and other states, and draws up the administrative offence report provided for violations of the law.
The Agency is obliged to keep a register of all certificates of competency of masters, officers and ratings — issued, expired, extended, suspended, revoked, lost or destroyed — with an indication of the relevant exceptions. Information on certificates issued under the law is made accessible to all interested parties in the manner established by Georgian legislation. An official request for information must be answered by the Agency within 5 working days; if the Agency is unable to provide the information within that period, it must notify the requesting party within the same period that the request has not been fulfilled and indicate when the official answer will be sent.
Conditions of issuance and the documents to be submitted
The Agency issues an appropriate certificate only if the person satisfies the requirements concerning age, education, seagoing service, state of health, training and assessment of competence established by Georgian legislation and the Convention. Together with the application, the following documents are submitted:
- an identity document;
- a document on the state of health — in particular on the conformity of eyesight and hearing with the standards established by the Convention — issued by a selected medical institution;
- a document confirming approved seagoing service required for the relevant certificate;
- a document confirming completion of the mandatory training;
- a document confirming the relevant education;
- a document confirming conformity with the competence standards, taking into account the levels of duties, functions and responsibility that must be established for the endorsement of the certificate;
- other documents provided for by Georgian legislation or the Convention.
An important rule: in Georgia a certificate of competency is issued or renewed only to a citizen of Georgia and only on the basis of maritime education received on the territory of Georgia, in accordance with Georgian legislation. The master of a ship flying the flag of Georgia, in turn, must ensure that on board the ship where a certificate holder serves, the original of any certificate required by the law is available.
Seagoing service — what counts and what does not
The law defines precisely which service is not counted towards the seagoing service required for a certificate of competency. For a seafarer of the deck department, service does not count if performed on a light vessel, on a pleasure ship, within the water area of a port, on a floating dock or a floating crane, on a ship of less than 500 tons gross tonnage — where a certificate of officer in charge of a navigational watch of a ship of 500 tons or more is sought — or during a repair stay of more than one month.
For a ship’s engineer, service on a light vessel, a pleasure ship, a floating dock or a floating crane does not count, and neither does service on a ship with main propulsion machinery of 750 kW or less where the certificate sought relates to a ship with machinery of 750 kW or more. For an electro-technical officer, service is excluded on a non-self-propelled ship whose electrical equipment has a power of less than 50 kW, as well as on floating docks, floating cranes and pleasure ships.
Certain kinds of service are credited at a reduced ratio: 2 months of work at the Agency counts as one month of approved seagoing service, and 2 months of work as a pilot certified by the Agency likewise counts as one month — provided the pilot has performed 120 pilotage acts within the last 5 years, including at least 12 within the last 12 months. Service credited in this way may be used only to renew an existing certificate of competency and not to obtain a certificate of a higher level of competence.
Recognition of foreign certificates
A seafarer holding a valid certificate of competency issued by another party to the Convention in accordance with the STCW Code is entitled to serve on a ship flying the flag of Georgia, provided the certificate is recognised by the Agency. The Agency may recognise a certificate of competency issued by another state only where Georgia has concluded an international treaty with that state.
Recognition is limited to the powers, functions and scope of competence indicated in the certificate, and a recognised certificate of competency must be accompanied by a documentary confirmation of recognition. In the recognition process the Agency assesses the maritime educational institution of the respective state in accordance with the provisions of the Convention. The law also provides for the cancellation of a certificate’s recognition — the detailed conditions of assessment and cancellation are shaped by the norms regulating this very sphere.
Education, training and maritime institutions
The law requires that a seafarer employed on a ship flying the Georgian flag have completed a minimum educational programme or training course, a general educational programme or training course together with basic training, and that he or she meets the competence standards established by the STCW Code. Basic training or instruction is mandatory for every seafarer whose functions include the implementation of ship safety and pollution-prevention measures and the duties necessary for the proper operation of the ship; after completing the training or instruction a single certificate may be issued reflecting all its components, and a qualified person must confirm every 5 years that the required standard of competence has been maintained.
Seafarers’ education and training are delivered by educational and training institutions duly authorised for this purpose. Authorization of the higher educational institutions that implement seafarers’ training and accreditation of their educational programmes, as well as authorization of vocational educational institutions and programmes, are ensured by the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement — the Agency cooperates through an authorised representative and participates in the authorization and accreditation councils. Maritime training institutions and the courses they conduct are recognised by the Agency, and the recognition is valid for 5 years.
The application submitted to the Agency for the recognition of a maritime training institution and of a training course must set out, among other things, the minimum requirements for admission of persons to the course, the course plan and its duration, a description of the buildings, tools and other equipment used, the appropriate competence of the instructor, supervisor and assessor, the maximum number of persons admitted and the ratios of listeners to instructors and assessors and of equipment to the number of listeners, a detailed description of the quality standard applied with respect to monitoring, assessment and certification, the procedure, type and purpose of the examination and of the assessment, the minimum standard of graduates’ competence and a specimen of the document confirming completion of the course.
The Agency conducts periodic monitoring of maritime educational and training institutions, their educational programmes and training courses at least once a year, and the monitoring is carried out by persons who are not involved in the respective activity. Instructors, supervisors and assessors must be duly qualified: an appropriately qualified instructor, for example, must hold management-level competence and a higher education diploma, and have not less than 36 months of approved seagoing service on a ship of more than 3000 tons gross tonnage or with main propulsion machinery of 3000 kW, including 6 months at the management level. Where necessary, educational programmes and training courses for foreign seafarers or students must be provided in English, and the list of listeners enrolled in each maritime training course is submitted no later than the first day of the course.