Recognition of a certificate of competency or a certificate of proficiency

A recognition of a certificate of competency and/or a certificate of proficiency for serving on tankers is issued to officers who have a valid STCW "Certificate of Competency" and/or "Certificate of Proficiency", issued by an EU country or another country with which the Netherlands has entered into a treaty (undertaking in accordance with STCW I/10).

Digital application

In order for a non-Dutch resident or company to apply, we need to create an account for you. Please e-mail us at nl.scheepvaart@kiwa.nl with ''KIWA-ID'' as the subject.

In the e-mail please include:

• First name
• Surname
• Date of birth
• Place of birth
• Country of birth
• Nationality
• Emailadres
• Phone number
• Mailing address

Once an account has been created you can log in via our application portal.

For whom?

Regulations require that a seafarer on board a ship that sails under the Dutch flag must be in possession of Dutch recognition of the certificate of competency and/or certificate of proficiency for serving on tankers. This means that a foreign seafarer with a foreign certificate of competency and/or a certificate of proficiency for service on tankers can submit an application for Dutch recognition of the certificate of competency and/or certificate of proficiency for serving on tankers.

Application

To apply for a recognition of the certificate of competency, the following documents are required: 

• copy of your valid passport or identity card;
• a recent passport photo (in colour);
• copy of a valid medical certificate for seafarers. Medical examinations from other EU countries, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, India, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Liechtenstein, South Africa and the Ukraine are also accepted, if carried out by an appointed physician. Click here for a list of Dutch recognised physicians;
• copy of a valid GMDSS certificate (in the case of nautical positions);
• copy of a valid "Certificate of Competency" (CoC) or "Certificate of Proficiency"(CoP). The country in question must be an EU country, or have concluded a (I/10 STCW) treaty with the Netherlands;
• RTK statement from the KVNR or Association of Water builders (Vereniging van Waterbouwers) (only applicable for a captain who is not from an EU member state);
• Legislation certificate: For the position of Captain, the legislation certificate is required (Maritime Law and Public Legislation). Click here for a list of recognised training courses.

Please note that in most cases the CoC and CoP are separate documents. If you wish to obtain recognition of both your CoC and CoP you will have to submit a separate application for each product.

Expiry date of the recognition

The validity date of the Dutch certificate of competency for recognition is equal to the validity date of the underlying "Certificate of Competency", Radio Certificate or "Certificate of Proficiency".

Please note that we process your application based on the documents you provide. If you submit documents with a relatively short expiry date, we will also issue a CoC with a short expiry date. We cannot adjust this after we have processed your application.

British Yachtmaster certificates

British Yachtmaster certificates can only be recognised if they have been issued by the British MCA. We recommend e-mailing a copy of your document to Kiwa Register to see what the possibilities are prior to your application.

Lost or stolen

Because a recognition is always fully based on the foreign CoC, we recommend submitting a new request for a recognition in the event of loss or theft.