Electro-technical officer and electro-technical rating compared, and the three routes of seagoing service (STCW Regulations III/6 and III/7)

The 2010 Manila amendments added two qualifications to chapter III of the STCW Convention, the electro-technical officer (ETO) and the electro-technical rating (ETR). Regulation III/6 covers the officer and Regulation III/7 the rating. The two regulations apply to the same ships but differ in the kind of certificate and in the seagoing service required.

This article puts the sentences of the two regulations side by side. Which ships they apply to, by which routes the seagoing service is built up, which extra standards attach only to the ETO, and how pre-amendment certificates and other qualified persons are handled.

The application threshold is the same, the kind of certificate is not

1 Every electro-technical officer serving on a seagoing ship powered by main propulsion machinery of 750 kW propulsion power or more shall hold a certificate of competency.

1 Every electro-technical rating serving on a seagoing ship powered by main propulsion machinery of 750 kW propulsion power or more shall be duly certificated.

The first sentence is Regulation III/6, the second Regulation III/7. The threshold is the same for both, a seagoing ship with main propulsion machinery of 750 kW or more. The difference is at the end. The ETO must hold a certificate of competency. The ETR need only be duly certificated. The distinction chapter III draws between officers with a certificate of competency and ratings with a certificate of proficiency is kept here.

Neither regulation says a ship must carry an ETO or an ETR. It says that a person serving in that capacity must hold the certificate. Whether the ship has to carry one is set by its minimum safe manning document.

ETO seagoing service runs by a 12-month route or a 36-month route

.2 have completed not less than 12 months of combined workshop skills training and approved seagoing service of which not less than 6 months shall be seagoing service as part of an approved training programme which meets the requirements of section A-III/6 of the STCW Code and is documented in an approved training record book, or otherwise not less than 36 months of combined workshop skills training and approved seagoing service of which not less than 30 months shall be seagoing service in the engine department;

This is the seagoing service requirement in paragraph 2 of Regulation III/6. One sentence holds two routes, split by or otherwise.

The first route is not less than 12 months of workshop skills training and approved seagoing service combined. Of that, not less than 6 months must be seagoing service as part of an approved training programme meeting Code section A-III/6, documented in an approved training record book. The second route is not less than 36 months of the same combination, of which not less than 30 months is seagoing service in the engine department. The training record book condition does not attach to the second route.

The conditions the training programme on the first route must meet are in paragraph 2 of Code section A-III/6.

2 Every candidate for certification as electro-technical officer shall follow an approved programme of onboard training which: .1 ensures that, during the required period of seagoing service, the candidate receives systematic practical training and experience in the tasks, duties and responsibilities of an electro-technical officer; .2 is closely supervised and monitored by qualified and certificated officers aboard the ships in which the approved seagoing service is performed; and .3 is adequately documented in a training record book.

Three conditions for the onboard training programme. Systematic practical training in the duties of an ETO, close supervision by qualified officers on the ship where the service is performed, and documentation in a training record book. The record book is both the evidence for the 12-month route and a component of the programme that Code section A-III/6 requires. Time on board without the record book has to be counted on the 36-month route instead.

ETR seagoing service has three routes with different lengths

.2 have: .2.1 completed approved seagoing service including not less than 12 months training and experience, or .2.2 completed approved training, including an approved period of seagoing service which shall not be less than 6 months, or .2.3 qualifications that meet the technical competences in table A-III/7 and an approved period of seagoing service, which shall not be less than 3 months; and

This is paragraph 2 of Regulation III/7. Three routes, each with a different floor for time at sea. Approved seagoing service alone needs 12 months. Approved training needs 6 months of seagoing service within it. Qualifications that meet the technical competences of table A-III/7 need 3 months of seagoing service. The more qualification acquired ashore, the shorter the seagoing service required.

The third route, qualifications that meet the technical competences in table A-III/7, is the door for a person with shore-side electrical qualifications. Whether those qualifications meet the competences in the table is for the Party to judge.

Item compared	ETO (Regulation III/6)	ETR (Regulation III/7)
Ships	Main propulsion 750 kW or more	Main propulsion 750 kW or more
Certificate	Certificate of competency	Duly certificated
Minimum age	18	18
Seagoing service routes	Training plus service 12 months (6 months at sea, training record book) or training plus service 36 months (30 months at sea in the engine department)	Service 12 months, or approved training with 6 months at sea, or table A-III/7 qualifications with 3 months at sea
Standard of competence	Code section A-III/6	Code section A-III/7
Additional standards	Designated paragraphs of A-VI/1, A-VI/2, A-VI/3 and A-VI/4	None

The ETO must also meet the safety, survival craft, fire fighting and medical standards

.4 meet the standard of competence specified in section A-VI/1, paragraph 2, section A-VI/2, paragraphs 1 to 4, section A-VI/3, paragraphs 1 to 4 and section A-VI/4, paragraphs 1 to 3 of the STCW Code.

This is the last item of paragraph 2 in Regulation III/6. The designated paragraphs of basic training (A-VI/1), survival craft and rescue boats (A-VI/2), advanced fire fighting (A-VI/3) and medical first aid (A-VI/4) must be met. It is the same bundle Regulation III/1 attaches to engineer officers. Regulation III/7 has no such item. The ETR’s basic safety training comes from Regulation VI/1, which applies to all seafarers.

For certificate management this item means one thing. Checking the ETO’s certificate of competency alone does not close the file. The survival craft and advanced fire fighting proficiencies each need evidence of maintained competence at five-year intervals, and their expiry dates can differ from that of the certificate of competency.

Certificates issued before 2012 and service within 60 months are handled by transitional provisions

4 Seafarers may be considered by the Party to have met the requirements of this regulation if they have served in a relevant capacity on board a ship for a period of not less than 12 months within the last 60 months preceding the entry into force of this regulation for that Party and meet the standard of competence specified in section A-III/6 of the STCW Code.

This is paragraph 4 of Regulation III/6. A person who served in the relevant capacity for not less than 12 months within the 60 months before the regulation entered into force for that Party may be considered by the Party to have met the requirements. The standard of competence in Code section A-III/6 still has to be met. Paragraph 4 of Regulation III/7 gives the ETR the same structure.

Paragraph 3 of both regulations deals with certificates issued before 1 January 2012. The Party compares the standard of competence it required at the time with the standard in the Code and decides whether these personnel need to update their qualifications. A pre-amendment certificate is not void by itself; the Party decides whether updating is needed.

A suitably qualified person may perform certain functions

5 Notwithstanding the above requirements of paragraph 1 to 4, a suitably qualified person may be considered by a Party to be able to perform certain functions of section A-III/6.

This is paragraph 5 of Regulation III/6. Paragraph 5 of Regulation III/7 has the same sentence for A-III/7. A Party may consider that a suitably qualified person is able to perform certain functions. Certain functions, not all, and the judgement belongs to the Party.

The clause does not mean the whole ETO role can be given to someone without an ETO certificate. Which person may take which function holds only within the scope the flag State has set. Where the manning document lists an ETO, that post has to be filled by a person holding the certificate of competency.

Worth confirming

This article covers the text of Regulations III/6 and III/7 and the training paragraphs of Code section A-III/6. The competence items in tables A-III/6 and A-III/7 are not covered. approved in the seagoing service requirements means approved by the flag State, so which training programmes and training record books count as approved is found in the rules of the flag State issuing the certificate.

Whether a ship must carry an ETO is set not by these regulations but by its minimum safe manning document. An engineer officer looking after the electrical installation on a ship whose document lists no ETO is one situation. Leaving the ETO post empty on a ship whose document lists one is a different one.

You can consult the cited source documents

These links lead to the official publishers of the documents discussed here. Match the edition and provisions cited in the article, and check subsequent amendments and flag-state implementation before applying them.

• IMO · STCW Convention and Code (Manila Amendments)

Continue with the related operational guidance

• Five-year revalidation of certificates and the two seagoing service routes (STCW Regulation I/11)
• Five-year proof of maintained competence for survival craft and advanced fire fighting (STCW Code A-VI/2 and A-VI/3)