PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Merchant Shipping: Qualifications (7 November 2017)

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average waiting time was for an oral examination required to obtain a seafarers' Certificate of Competency in the last 12 months; and what the average waiting time was for that exam in each of the previous 10 years for which figures are available.

Asked by:
Karl Turner (Independent)

The Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA) does not currently record the average waiting time for an oral examination required to obtain a seafarers’ Certificate of Competency. Candidates or their Nautical College book an examination to fit a study plan. The MCA works with the colleges to meet the needs of an individual candidate.

The MCA has improved the services it offers to seafarers and ship owners including a target of offering 95% of oral examinations within 21 days of request by a candidate holding a valid Notice of Eligibility.

Answered by:
Sir John Hayes (Conservative)
13 November 2017