STCW Training News
In STCW Training News update nr. 16: New Dutch Seafarers Act
May 2025
New Dutch Seafarers Act in to force as of July ’25
We have been informed the new Dutch Seafarers Act will come into effect on July 1, 2025. This will eliminate the Dutch CoC’s for ships under 500 GT near the international coast. Additionally, minimum GT and kW requirements will be introduced for the renewal of officer CoC’s for ‘all ships.’ In this news update, we will explain these two changes. We will compile an overview of all changes regarding CoC’s and training in the month of July.
Minimum GT and kW requirement when renewing CoC all ships
In order to renew a CoC, sufficient relevant sea time in the five years prior to the application must be demonstrated at Kiwa. There has been some confusion regarding whether sea time on board ships <500 GT and <750 kW will be accepted for the renewal of a CoC for all ships. In the new Seafarers Act requirements will probably be:
- For nautical officers, renewal of a CoC for all ships will require experience on ships >100 GT
- For engineering officers, renewal of a CoC for all ships will require experience on ships with engine power >750 kW
When experience on ships <100 GT or <750 kW is provided at the application, the renewed CoC will be limited to 3000 GT or 3000 kW (whichever applicable).
Alternatively, experience gained on board of vessel <100 GT or <750kW WILL be taken into account in renewal applications, when no upgrade of the CoC is requested and at least 24 months of experience in the last 5 years can be demonstrated.
Also, it is still possible to keep the CoC for all vessels when a minimum of 90 days on vessels >100 GT or >750 kW has been made in the 6 months prior to the application.
CoC for voyages near international coasts will disappear (code 108 etc.)
The Dutch CoC for 1st officer, master and engineer on ships <500GT with limitation to voyages near the international coast (code 108/138/208/239), has been revoked in the new Dutch Seafarers Act because these are not in line with international regulations on sailing in near coastal waters, as laid down in the STCW convention. These regulations offer flag states the possibility of issuing smaller CoC’s for sailing on ships >500 GT in their own coastal waters. However, these smaller CoC’s are not meant for use in the coastal areas of other states unless explicitly recognized. Also, it is explicitly forbidden to use these near coastal CoC’s to sail worldwide, hopping from one coastal area to the next. The Dutch CoC’s ‘near the international coast’ suggested otherwise.
What if your trading area does involve the international coast?
Under the new act, it will stay possible to navigate in the coastal areas of other countries with the CoC for Dutch coastal waters and EEZ (code 107/137/207/238). No new CoC will be required, but instead, another possibility provided by STCW will be utilized. This will allow seafarers to sail in the coastal areas of other countries with their ‘own’ CoC provided that the countries involved have a mutual agreement (MoU). As a result, the training certificate ‘aanvulling-N or -W’ will become a requirement for this CoC.
Regarding existing CoC’s, transitional provisions apply and these will keep their validity. However, no new CoC’s ‘near the international coast’ will be issued once the new law comes into effect. As for seafarers who already have a CoC for Dutch coastal waters and EEZ, they will be exempted from the new training requirement ‘aanvulling-N or -W’.