Revoked by STCW.7/Circ.24/Rev.1
Circular
letter MSC/Circ.1032
INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION ON STANDARDS OF TRAINING, CERTIFICATION AND
WATCHKEEPING FOR SEAFARERS (STCW), 1978, AS AMENDED
(adopted
on 23 May 2002)
Guidance
for Port State Control Officers on References to STCW 95 in Certificates,
Endorsements and Documentary Evidence
1. The normal practice within the
International Maritime Organization is to refer to international conventions
by an acronym of the title of the convention and the date on which it was made
(e.g. SOLAS 1974). Where amendments are made to the original convention, the
title is then amended to reflect the amendments (e.g. SOLAS 1974, as amended)
but it is not normal practice to append the dates of the amendments to the
title of the amended convention. In the case of the STCW Convention, which was
subject to a major revision and expansion in
1995, the term STCW 95 Convention has been used as a convenient term and
short title and the term "as amended in 1995" has been included in
the format of certificates and endorsements given in sections A-I/2 and B-I/2
of the STCW Code, notwithstanding the fact that the Convention and Code have
been amended subsequently in 1997 and 1998.
2. The Maritime Safety Committee, at its
seventy-fifth session (15 to 24 May 2002), noted that the use of the term STCW
95 to mean the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification
and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as
amended, had led to some confusion. In particular, confusion had arisen during
port State control inspections of seafarers' certificates, endorsements
and documentary evidence when
documents attesting competency or training had been questioned or
deemed invalid because they did not bear a reference to STCW 95 or the format
of certificates and endorsements, as given in sections A-I/2 and B-I/2of the
STCW Code, had not included reference to the Convention "as amended in
1995".
3. The Committee therefore agreed that,
notwithstanding the format given in sections A-I/2 and B-I/2 of the STCW Code
which states that certificates or endorsements are issued "under the
provisions of the International Convention on Standards of Training,
Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers,
1978, as amended in 1995", a more appropriate expression would be
"under the provisions of the International Convention on Standards of