Entry & progression
Governing: STCW regulation VI/1 and Section A-VI/1; MSN 1865 (M) Amendment 1, sections 2 to 4. Builds on: nothing, start here.
Personal Survival Techniques is the first of the four STCW basic training elements. It teaches you to stay alive if the ship has to be abandoned. Everything else in this course hangs off Table A-VI/1-1, whose single competence is: survive at sea in the event of ship abandonment.
Where PST sits
MSN 1865 lists the four elements every seafarer with designated safety or pollution-prevention duties completes before being assigned any shipboard duties:
| Element | STCW table | xplor course |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Survival Techniques | A-VI/1-1 | this course |
| Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting | A-VI/1-2 | Fire Prevention & Fire Fighting |
| Elementary First Aid | A-VI/1-3 | Elementary First Aid |
| Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities | A-VI/1-4 | PSSR |
The REG Yacht Code, Annex G3, applies the same rule to Code yachts: basic safety training and documentation before assignment to shipboard duties.
Familiarisation first
Before anyone employed aboard a seagoing ship is given duties, they must receive familiarisation under Section A-VI/1. MSN 1865 section 2.1 says it should enable you to:
- communicate on elementary safety matters and understand safety symbols, signs and alarms;
- know what to do if someone falls overboard, fire or smoke is detected, or the fire or abandon ship alarm sounds;
- identify muster and embarkation stations and escape routes;
- locate and don lifejackets;
- raise the alarm and use a portable extinguisher at a basic level;
- take immediate action with an injured person;
- close and open fire, weathertight and watertight doors.
On a yacht this is the chief officer's or safety officer's first hour with a new crew member. The company and master must keep documentary evidence that it happened.
The certificate
For a PST certificate of proficiency, MSN 1865 section 3.2 requires:
- age at least 16 (a physically able learner may exceptionally complete the course a little earlier);
- successful completion of training at an MCA-approved provider to the Table A-VI/1-1 standard.
The practical content is non-negotiable and cannot be done online: donning a lifejacket and immersion suit, jumping into water, swimming, righting a liferaft, boarding survival craft, and operating the equipment.
Keeping it valid
MSN 1865 section 4.4 requires documentary evidence that PST was completed or updated within the last 5 years. Section 4.5 allows part of the update to be earned on board, recorded on the Annex B self-declaration:
| Annex B onboard elements (last 5 years) |
|---|
| Don a lifejacket |
| Board a survival craft from the ship, wearing a lifejacket |
| Take initial actions on boarding to enhance survival |
| Stream a liferaft drogue or sea-anchor |
| Operate survival craft equipment |
| Operate location devices, including radio equipment |
| Your position | Shore course |
|---|---|
| All elements completed and declared | 4 hours |
| Not all completed | Full PST course |
CAUTION — Declare only what you did The declaration is signed by you and lists the vessels and IMO numbers. Few yacht crew have boarded a liferaft from the ship in the last five years. If you have not, take the full course.
TIP — Diary it PST and FPFF are updated on the same five-year cycle. Book them together; many centres run them back to back.