2nd Mates Course (Officer of the Watch Course)  
Course Title:

Officer of the Watch (OOW) – Examination Route (earlier called as 2nd Mates course)

Eligibility Requirements:

• Minimum of 36 months of sea service on merchant ships in an acceptable deck capacity for e.g. Trainee OS, OS, AB, 
  Bosun, Deck Cadet, Junior Officer, etc. holding a valid medical fitness certificate recognized by the MCA, UK.
• 6 months of bridge watch-keeping certificate issued by master on board in  last 12 months of sailing.

EDUCATION QUALIFICATION:-

The following documents are required as proof of sea service:

• Minimum of 36 months of sea service stamps on  CDC Indian ( Panama, Liberia, Bahamas, 
  Thai, etc. ).
•  Company sea-time letter OR Masters testimonials for a minimum 36 months of sea service
   Either company sea time letter is required or Masters testimonials are required
  However, it is good to collect the company sea-time letter as well.
  
  
• The 6 months of bridge watch-keeping certificate from the Master (or the company) must mention that you have kept  
  4 hours of bridge watch-keeping duties every day as an assistant to the duty officer whilst the vessel was at sea. 
  This has to be completed in your last 12 months of sea service as per your CDC.
• In case of Lost CDC /or any other reason not to produce CDC then you must have Certificate of Discharge signed by either master or the company.

*******Diploma in Nautical Science (DNS) and BSc Nautical Science pre-sea courses from India are not approved by the MCA, UK. Therefore  DNS or BSc Nautical Science students also need to complete a
minimum of 36 months of sea service on ships before appearing 2nd Mates exams in the UK.

STCW advanced courses & GMDSS:

The following MCA, UK approved short courses need to be completed before issue of UK OOW COC.
These courses are not required for applying for a Notice of Eligibility (NoE) with the MCA, UK.

• Advanced Fire Fighting (AFF)

• Medical First Aid (MFA)
• Proficiency in Survival Craft and Rescue Craft (PSC&RB)
• GMDSS (UK)

 UK GMDSS  INDIA authorised centers:

• Anglo Eastern (Mumbai, Andheri) –  022 2683 7007
• St. Xaviers (Mumbai, Andheri) – 022 2446 3565
• TS Rahman (Mumbai, Nhava Sheva) – 022 2721 2288 / 2721 2236
• AMET (Chennai) – 044 2616 1438 / 2616 1180

 Short courses  to be necessarily done in the UK and they are included in your academic fees:

• NAEST (O) – also known as ROC  ARPA in India
• Efficient Deck Hand (EDH)

UKVI IELTS English Language Test:

An English language test is a requirement before you can apply for the UK student visa. 

You may book the UKVI IELTS test online by visiting the website given below:

www.ieltsidindia.com
 

Total expenditure in  UK:

Tuition Fees, Exam Fees, NoE, Short Courses, Food & Accommodation, 
Flight Tickets (to and fro), Visa Charges, etc, comes to about 12 Lakhs approx

1 £ = 90 Rs/-.(Tentative rates)

The approximate living cost :

Per Person 

• Accommodation rent: £ 180 – 240 / month /  in a non-sharing room
• Accommodation rent: £ 140 – 170 / month / in a room shared by 2 students
• Food (home cooked): £ 40 – 50 / month 
• Electricity and heating bills: £ 10 – 20 / month

Funds to show for UK Visa:

Visa rules keep on changing pretty frequently and hence every student should be aware of what the present rules are.
Approx 5-6 Lakhs are required in Account 1 month in advance prior submitting Visa application this fund is in addition to U.K college fees

The Bank must also certify the nature of amount(from where the account holder has received the declared fund
Keep yourself updated with the latest UK student visa rules by visiting the website:  
https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/student-visas

Notice of Eligibility (NoE):

Students need to apply for a NoE to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), UK to be eligible to sit for the written and oral examinations in the UK.

 NoE ca be apply from India prior  going to the UK

  Processing time :-  NoE (MCA) normally takes 40 working days but it may extend upto 2 – 3 
months also depending upon the work load at the MCA.

MCA is very strict about Forged documents if found ,documents will be seized and student can be filled with FIR in local country.

 Procedure to apply for a NOE:     

• Download the NoE Form MSF 4274 and fill up the NOE form  by black ball pen in CAPITAL LETTERS only.
• Enclose your NoE application form, Passport, CDC, STCW basic courses (PST, PSSR, FPFF, EFA), Sea Service Letters / Masters testimonials of 36 months, 6 months of Bridge Watch-keeping Certificate, valid Medical Fitness Certificate in ILO 147 Format, 2 passport size photographs (size 40mm x 50m with white background) and a DD of £ 
  201 in favour of “MARITIME AND COASTGUARD AGENCY”. Please note that all documents have to be in original except for the Passport whose notarized photocopy of first & last page is to be sent.
• Send the documents by a good courier .
• MCA will send you mail once they receive your courier.
• If you do not get any information from the MCA after 40 days, please send an email to the MCA asking for status of your application to               
  deck@mcga.gov.uk  mentioning your Name, Date of Birth and Courier consignment number.