Fishermen

With your blue certificate, you can sail on deck as a commercial fisherman. You can also sail as a captain of fishing vessels up to 9 meters in length.

If you are to be a mate in fishing vessels over 9 meters in length, at least Certificate of Competency as second hand in fishing vessels is required.

With a certificate as second hand in fishing vessels, you can basically be a mate in fishing vessels up to 24 meters in length, in local trade as well as master of fishing vessels up to 15 meters in length.

If you are going to be a master in fishing vessels, seagoing service as second hand is qualifying, you must therefore remember to get a Certificate of Competency issued as second hand in fishing vessels, and register your seagoing service.

In addition, your blue certificate, supplemented by the STCW course in basic maritime safety and fire-fighting in ships, as well as a valid health certificate, entitles you to muster as an ordinary ships assistant on merchant ships.
We recommend in this case that you apply for a qualification certificate as an ordinary ship's assistant.

In order to be issued with a certificate of competency, you must hold a valid medical certificate, declaring that you are fit for ship service.

Navigating officers must be fit for lookout duty.

Here you can find the maritime medical examiner nearest you

Medical certificates are accepted from countries that has implemented the STCW convention and ratified the MLC.

When you have passed your exam at one of the approved educational institutions, you must apply for your certificate here.

Here you can see which Certificate of Competency your education leads to. Our self-service and app will also help you by recommending certificates based on your education.
Below you can see the highest degree of Certificate of Competency that can be obtained on the basis of your education.

The first Certificate of Competency must be issued no later than 5 years after the diploma was issued.

The LRC certificate has no expiry date and therefore does not need to be renewed. The certificate is used exclusively in fishing vessels.

You can apply to have the certificate issued after passing the exam as a commercial fisherman or master of fishing vessels.

Read more about radio certificates here

You must have a separate certificate of proficiency in motor operation if you are to hold a position where this certificate is required.

Please be aware that you can omit a separate certificate of proficiency if motor operation is included in your certificate as a mate/master on fishing vessels, see below:

Certificates of proficiency in motor operation are automatically endorsed on Certificate of Competency as Mate 3rd and 1st class in fishing vessels and Master 3rd and 1st class in fishing vessels.

A certificate of proficiency in motor operation can be endorsed on a Certificate of Competency as Second hand in fishing vessels, when documentation of a passed test is submitted together with the application for a Certificate of Competency.

If you have a certificate of proficiency in motor operation as an endorsement on a Certificate of Competency, you must be aware that it is only valid until the certificate in question expires. Therefore, remember to renew your certificates.

If you have a certificate of proficiency in motor operation as a separate certificate, it does not expire.

Before you apply for a certificate, remember to register and document your seagoing service in our self-service or app.

You have several options, however what they all have in common is that you are not allowed to sign your seagoing service declaration/discharge book yourself.

• You have the option of obtaining a digital seagoing service statement from your employer, directly from our self-service and the app
  
  • This way, your seagoing service can be documented and approved even before you apply for a certificate
• You can upload a copy/image of your discharge book.
• If you have your own fishing vessel and do not have an employer, you can also submit documentation in the form of a seagoing service statement from your accountant.
  • The statement must contain job title, ship name/identification letters and period for the seagoing service statement.
• As an alternative to the accountant, you can have the port officer or another impartial person sign your seagoing service statement.

Here you can read more about seagoing service and find instructions on how to register your seagoing service

Renewal of Certificates of Competency requires at least 12 months of seagoing service within the last 5 years, or 3 months within the last 6 months.
The seagoing service must be in fishing vessels and in a qualifying position for the maintenance of your certificate.

Most Certificates of Competency and proficiency expire 5 years after issue. The expiry date is stated on the certificate.

You must remember to apply for the renewal of your certificates before they expire. We send reminders twice before your certificate expires, via Digital Post.
You also receive notifications at the same time in the My Maritime app, and you can always see the status of your certificates in self-service and the app.

It is always your responsibility that your certificates are valid. It is illegal to sail without valid certificates.

Violation may result in a police report and a fine.

In order to upgrade your certificate, it requires seagoing service in fishing vessels.

There are different seagoing service requirements depending on the type of certificate

Before applying for an upgrade, remember to register and document your seagoing service in our self-service or app.

The seagoing service requirement is laid down in the The Executive Order on certificates of competency

If you, as a fisherman, want to change your career to the merchant navy, your seagoing service in fishing vessels can be recognized in connection with the transition and the issuance of your first Certificate of Competency as a navigator for the merchant navy.

It is required that you have passed either a proficiency test in sailing, Master (Home Trade) og Master (Restricted) exam, and seagoing service in fishing vessels can be used to issue a certificate.

In addition, your seagoing service in fishing vessels must, as a starting point, have been acquired in fishing vessels over 20 GT.

For later upgrading of the certificate to Master (Home Trade) or Master (Restricted), seagoing service in merchant ships is required, as described in The Executive Order on certificates of competency §§12 & 13

If you have any questions about this, contact us at bevis@dma.dk.

There is no requirement to refresh basic maritime safety and fire-fighting in ships for fishermen.

You must be able to document completion of the courses within 5 years in these situations:

• If you need to reacquire a certificate that has expired
• If you need to switch from fishing to merchant navy

If you do not meet the requirements for renewal or your certificate has expired, you must reacquire your certificates.

We currently have an average processing time of 5 working days, but always remember to apply in good time.

After applying, you will receive an e-mail with a receipt for your payment, confirmation that the application has been received and your case number.

If you have questions or need to send additional documentation for your case, you can reply to the e-mail you received with your case number.

You can also follow the status of your applications at any time in our self-service and app.