Question 1

What is an NOE or Notice of Eligibility?

Accepted Answer

NOE stands for Notice of Eligibility. The MCA issues this document and it means you have met all the requirements to sit an oral examination with the MCA for a Certificate of Competence (CoC).

Before you can book a date for an oral exam, you must have obtained an NOE. It will come with instructions on how to book an oral and details on how the oral exam works.

Question 2

What is a testimonial? Why can’t Reference Letters or Seaman Discharge Books be accepted instead?

Accepted Answer

A testimonial is documentary proof of your onboard yacht service and sea service. It contains the details of the yacht, your position, and your detailed sea service, with days at sea, standby, shipyard, and watchkeeping (whichever applicable).

Most of the time, letters do not contain all the necessary information related to your sea service, so even if they can serve as a reference, they will not qualify as a testimonial as well.

The same applies to Seaman Discharge Book (SDB) entries. They refer only to your dates and role on board but do not specify the sea service you acquired.

Testimonials must be signed by the Master of the vessel on board which the qualifying service has been performed, or can also be signed by the Chief Officer or Chief Engineer (where engineers are concerned).

In the case of service as Master, the testimonials must be signed by the owner or a responsible person from the Yacht Management Company such as a company director or yacht manager.

Question 3

When should I get a testimonial?

Accepted Answer

The best would be to get a testimonial every 6 months or seasonal.

You can always ask for a testimonial afterwards but it may prove more complicated as people might move on to other jobs in the meantime and not necessarily have access to the required information later.

You can ask the Captain, Chief Officer, Chief Engineer (if you were working in an engineering role and weren't the Chief Engineer onboard), yacht manager, owner or owner's representative to sign your testimonials and verify them.

Question 4

What happens if my Captain no longer works on the boat where I was employed?

Accepted Answer

You can still use the captain as a signatory, as long as you have their contact information (email).

Question 5

When can a testimonial be ‘declined’?

Accepted Answer

This can happen for various reasons:

If the definitions of sea service have been disregarded, i.e. standby time exceeds days at sea, sea service totals are higher than employment period, etc. 
If the testimonial is self-signed
If the testimonial for a Master is signed by another Master and does not fall in an exceptional situation.

See guidelines.

Question 6

What is the procedure to issue/update my D-SRB? How do my testimonials get verified? How do I know the status of my testimonials’ verification?

Accepted Answer

Log into your PYA profile and upload your testimonials/certificates to ‘your documents’.

The documents will then go through our verification process.

You can verify the status of your documents in your profile under ‘your documents’.

Question 7

How does the sea service verification work?

Accepted Answer

Please read here.

Question 8

How does the PYA D-SRB work?

Accepted Answer

Please go back to the D-SRB FAQ here.

Question 9

What is Seaman's Discharge Book (SDB)? What is the difference between the SDB and the PYA D-SRB (Digital Service Record Book)?

Accepted Answer

A Seaman's Book / Seaman's Discharge Book / Discharge Book is a physical booklet, issued by maritime authorities all around the world, which, traditionally, has two purposes:

Identity document, and
Record of your employment history

Additionally, a Seaman's Book can be useful when passing through an airport or when taking shore leave.

You can read more about SDBs here.

A D-SRB (Digital Service Record Book) is a PYA-generated electronic document that replaced the PYA's physical Service Record Book (SRB).

The PYA's SRB (now D-SRB) was introduced to make it easier for yacht crew to prove to the MCA their experience and that they held the relevant qualifications required to apply for a Certificate of Competency (CoC). It is recognized by the MCA and Transport Malta but not necessarily by the maritime authorities of other countries.

We recommend that you have BOTH. As they serve different purposes.

You can read more about the PYA D-SRB by going back to the FAQs here.

Question 10

What is a TRB or Training Record Book?

Accepted Answer

TRB stands for Training Record Book.

For deck, the OOW 3000 Yachts MCA Training Record Book is a requirement that must completed before you can apply for an OOW 3000 Yachts CoC. You can download this online on the MCA website or ask us for a free bound copy when you are a PYA member.

For engineers going through the Small Vessel Route, the Engineering TRB can only be obtained after you've registered into the Program and from Training Providers or Colleges that offer SV courses. To register, you have to prove you satisfy all the entry requirements.

Question 11

How can I get certified copies of documents? Who can certify documents that I need to submit to the PYA? Do they all (testimonials and certificates) need to be certified?

Accepted Answer

The certification of your documents for PYA use can be done by anyone holding a CoC, a management company, a training provider, or other professionals such as doctors, lawyers or teachers, who declare that the copies are true copies of the originals.

Only certificates need to be certified as true copies, not testimonials.

We cannot process your testimonials without confirming your identity so your file will remain pending until you upload a certified copy of your passport.

Text sample:

-----
"I certify that this/these is a/are true copy/ies of the original/s."

Full name,

COC number and issuing authority (if available),

stamp (if available),

signature.
-----

Whoever is certifying your documents can:

-	write the declaration on each copy;

Alternatively, you can go to one of our Agents listed in the Contacts section, or any notary public, or MCA-approved nautical colleges, or IYT

NOE Application documents and certificated are send to the MCA via EMAIL ONLY at deck@mcga.g.uk or engineering@mcga.g.uk

Question 12

Is the Y route still available to engineers?

Accepted Answer

No, the Y route was closed at the end of December 2022. Now, the route has been completely replaced by the Small Vessel Program. To learn more about it you can read MCA's MSN 1904 or contact us at srb@pya.org.

Question 13

Does the MEOL still exist?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it is the new SV MEOL CoC. You can learn more about it by reading the MCA's MSN 1904 or contacting srb@pya.org

Frequently asked questions

What is an NOE or Notice of Eligibility?

What is a testimonial? Why can’t Reference Letters or Seaman Discharge Books be accepted instead?