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AMO engineers urged to complete license upgrade
New prerequisites expected soon for first assistant and chief engineer written exams
      American Maritime Officers members considering upgrading from second assistant engineer to first assistant, or from first assistant engineer to chief engineer, are advised to begin the process as quickly as possible.
      AMO and the Raymond T. McKay Simulation, Training, Assessment and Research Center expect that the U.S. Coast Guard will establish new requirements for upgrading to an upper-level engineering license in the near future. The Coast Guard has been compiling an interpretation of the standards for training and upgrading set forth in STCW '95 and has already gathered extensive input from the maritime community on the subject.
      RTM STAR Center has submitted suggestions and provided other input during the drafting process at the request of the Coast Guard, with the goal of minimizing classroom time and streamlining training and assessment requirements to better serve the needs of mariners, while working to ensure the standards of STCW '95 are met.
      In addition to the development of new requirements for upgrading engineering licenses, the Coast Guard, with input from the Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee (MERPAC), is in the process of creating a new set of standards for obtaining an original third assistant engineer's license.
      A subcommittee of MERPAC, which is comprised of mariners and other maritime industry representatives and makes recommendations to the Coast Guard on policy issues, was to have met Sept. 18 and 19 in Houston, Texas, to continue discussion on the training requirements for hawse pipers seeking to obtain an original engineering license. Representatives of RTM STAR Center were to have attended the meetings in September and have been participating in other MERPAC discussions on this subject.
      The Coast Guard has instituted a set of requirements for deck officers seeking to upgrade to a chief mate's or master's license. The Coast Guard interpretation of STCW '95 as it applies to deck officers sets forth a comprehensive battery of knowledge and skills assessments, as well as required courses, that must now be completed before a maritime officer can apply to sit for a written upgrade exam for an upper-level license.
      RTM STAR Center was the first training facility to establish a set of courses that met the U.S. Coast Guard's standards for upgrading to an upper-level deck license. The training center is already anticipating the assessment and training requirements for engineering officers seeking to upgrade to an upper-level license so that AMO members will have access to the necessary courses when the Coast Guard applies the new requirements.

Traditional upgrading process still valid
      Currently, AMO engineering officers seeking to upgrade from second assistant engineer to first assistant, or from first assistant to chief, can still do so through the traditional method of self-study, or assisted study at RTM STAR Center, and applying for and completing a written exam.
      Members interested in upgrading are urged to complete the required sea time and apply to sit for the written exam as soon as possible, most particularly second assistant engineers upgrading to first assistant. RTM STAR Center officials who have been following the drafting believe that officers holding a first assistant's license and seeking to upgrade to a chief engineer's license will have to complete some new prerequisite assessments and/or training, but probably less than a second assistant engineer seeking to upgrade to a first assistant's license.
      It is believed that the Coast Guard now has all of the information it will require to complete a policy, and a rulemaking is awaited on the requirements for upgrading to a first assistant engineer or chief engineer.

Engineering upgrade curriculum under development
      MERPAC is finalizing recommendations to the Coast Guard for at least two training requirements for upgrading to an upper-level engineering license: electrical troubleshooting and leadership and management.
      In anticipation of these and other potential requirements for upgrading to an upper-level engineering license, RTM STAR Center has established courses and is developing curriculum in several areas, including:
  • Leadership and management: RTM STAR Center has developed and received approval for two courses: engineroom resource management, a one-week simulator course that is currently offered at RTM STAR Center in Dania Beach, Fla., and shipboard management, a one-week course currently offered to deck upgrade candidates. Unofficial comments from the Coast Guard indicate these courses will meet the requirements for engineering upgrade candidates.
  • Electrical/electronic troubleshooting: this course is expected to be four weeks in length and would cover a wide spectrum of topics. RTM STAR Center is the course materials for this requirement. There are also plans to purchase simulation and laboratory equipment necessary for the training.
  • Gas turbine endorsement: RTM STAR Center has received approval for an 80-hour gas turbine endorsement course. It is expected that all engineers seeking to upgrade to first assistant or chief engineer will be required to complete this additional gas turbine training, including engineers holding operational-level gas turbine endorsements. This course is scheduled to be available in November 2003 at RTM STAR Center.
  • Advanced slow speed diesel: RTM STAR Center has recently received renewed certification for this course.
  • Steam crossover: RTM STAR Center's four-week steam crossover class is being revised to meet new Coast Guard requirements for practical training on a live plant. The current course approval expires in January 2004 and the school is seeking to have a replacement course online by that time.
      American Maritime Officer will provide updates as they become available.
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