Entry & progression
Governing: MSN 1858 Amendment 2, section 6.11; MSN 1861 Amendment 1, section 6.1; STCW Code Table A-II/1. Builds on: your OOW navigation training.
ECDIS is the bridge equipment most likely to be trusted more than it deserves. The generic course exists because the 2010 Manila amendments to STCW made ECDIS a competence in its own right, and the MCA built that into every yacht deck certificate.
Where ECDIS sits in the yacht CoC structure
| Certificate | ECDIS course (MSN 1858 A2, table 6) |
|---|---|
| Master Code Vessel <200 GT (II/3 and II/2) | Optional, but see limitation below |
| OOW (Yachts) <3000 GT | Mandatory |
| Chief Mate (Yachts) <3000 GT | Mandatory |
| Master (Yachts) <500 GT and <3000 GT | Mandatory |
| Chief Mate / Master (Yachts) Unlimited | Mandatory (plus NAEST Management) |
If you take a Master Code Vessel <200 GT CoC without the course, it is issued with the limitation: "From the 1 January 2017 this certificate is not valid for service on ships fitted with ECDIS." The course certificate must be MCA-approved; foreign certificates are not automatically accepted for this item.
What the approved course is
An MCA-approved generic course follows IMO Model Course 1.27, Operational Use of ECDIS. Providers typically run it over one week (5 days) on desktop simulators, with practical exercises and assessment. The STCW Table A-II/1 competence it serves has two halves:
- Knowledge of capability and limitations: ENC data, accuracy, presentation rules, display options, other chart formats, the dangers of over-reliance, and the functions required by the performance standards.
- Proficiency: setting up and adjusting the system, monitoring own position, display mode and orientation, route monitoring, user layers, AIS and radar overlay, confirming position by other means, and setting alarm parameters for anti-grounding, proximity to contacts and special areas.
Generic is not the end of it
MSC.1/Circ.1503/Rev.2 is blunt: generic training is the minimum. Before you navigate on a particular ECDIS you must also be familiarised with that installation, its back-up, sensors and peripherals, under STCW regulation I/14 and ISM Code section 6.3. We cover that in L5.1.
Revalidation and the history
The UK cut-off was 31 December 2016: CoCs had to show ECDIS training to remain valid on ECDIS-fitted ships after that date (MIN 494, now expired). Under MSN 1861 Amendment 1 today, any of these avoids the limitation on revalidation:
- MCA-approved NARAS/NAEST Operational or Management course completed on or after 1 January 2005;
- MCA-approved ECDIS course completed on or after 1 January 2005;
- an ECDIS simulator course to Model Course 1.27, accepted by the MCA for revalidation only.
A limitation already on your CoC is removed when you send the evidence with your revalidation, or separately with the upgrade fee.
TIP — Keep the paper Keep the original course certificate aboard with your CoC. Port State Control and yacht managers both ask for it, and a limitation on the CoC itself is visible to anyone who reads it.
For the wider revalidation picture see Keeping Your CoC Valid; for the radar and ARPA side of the simulator work see Navigation, Radar & ARPA (Operational & Management).