Maritime and Coastguard Agency LogMARINE INFORMATION NOTE

MIN 620 (M)

Update on Online Oral Exams and the Future Issue of

Notice of Eligibilities During the COVID-19 Lockdown
Period
Notice to all Shipowners, Owners, Masters, Officers, Cadets and those concerned with
maritime training.

This notice should be read with MGN 69, MSN 1856, MSN 1857, MSN 1858, MSN 1859 and
MSN1860.
This MIn expires on 04 December 2020.

Summary

This MIN provides further information on the process relating to the online oral examination and
the order in which they will be prioritised. The MIN also provides information on the process for
applying for a Notice of Eligibility (NOE) and the order in which they will be issued once those
who have had their oral exam cancelled have had a chance to rebook.

Summary

1. Introduction

Following the outbreak of COVID-19 and the associated guidance issued by Public Health
England (PHE), the MCA announced it was cancelling all face to face oral exams. As the oral
exam is an integral part in ensuring the competency of those who will ultimately be responsible
for their safety, the safety of others at sea and the protection of marine environment, the MCA
has moved this process online. The MCA is currently rebooking the oral exams that were
cancelled and then prioritising those who need their Certificate of Competency (CoC) to start
working. This MIN provides an overview of the process and the priorities that will support this
approach. Candidates must not contact Marine Offices to book oral exams until they are
advised to do so as per this MIN.

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 2. Dates and Timelines

The new process and prioritisation requirements detailed in this MIN will be continuously
monitored so that we can provide the latest information to candidates. The expected dates and
timelines for oral examination booking and the issue of NOEs will be made available through the
document: “Latest Update on Oral Examination and NOE Issue”. This will be published in
around two weeks from the date of issue of this MIN and updated as required. The document
will be made available on the following webpage: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/uk-seafarer-
careers-training-provision-and-information#coronavirus-covid-19-contingency-plan-and-
guidelines-for-seafarers.

This document will provide an expected date window of when candidates can start to contact
the MCA based on the priorities listed in section 3.

3. Online Oral Exams

3.1 The MCA has now moved to conduct oral examinations online through Microsoft’s
Teams platform. Engineering exams are currently underway and Deck exams are expected to
commence later in June 2020.

3.2 Oral Exam Priorities

The first candidates to be offered an exam will be those candidates who had their oral exams
cancelled. Marine Offices will contact candidates individually to arrange a date for their online
oral exam, Candidates must not contact Marine Offices. Priority will be given to Officer of the
Watch (OOW) and Engineering Officer of the Watch (EOOW) applicants to allow them to obtain
their first CoC and enable them to start working. However, every effort will also be made to
expedite applications for those who have been offered employment and are only required
to pass an oral exam to be issued with a CoC – please see section 5.

The following priority list will be established once the MCA has allowed the candidates who had
their oral exam cancelled a chance to rebook:

Candidates who had an NOE issued prior to the postponement of the oral examinations and
only require to pass an oral exam to be issued with a CoC1.

I. Candidates who fall into this category should email a scanned copy of their NOE to
either:

• Deck: [email protected],
• Engineer/ Electro-technical Officers (ETO): [email protected].

Their details will then be passed onto a Marine Office who will contact the candidate to
arrange an online oral examination date.

II. Following on from ‘I’, priority will then be given to those who had an NOE issued after
the postponement of the oral examinations and only require an oral exam to be issued
with a CoC1. Please note, at the time of publishing this MIN, these candidates will not

1Priority may also be given to those who only require an Oral Exam and a Written Exam. Providing you
have their written exam booked. Evidence of the written exam booking must be provided with the scan
of your NOE.

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 yet hold an NOE. Once they have an NOE, candidates who fall into this category should
email a scanned copy of their NOE to either:

• Deck: [email protected],
• Engineer/ Electro-technical Officers (ETO): [email protected].

A Marine Office will then contact the candidate to arrange an online oral examination
date.

III. Once the above priorities have been completed the oral examination process will return
to normal. See process in 3.4.

3.3 What candidates need to know prior to an Oral Exam

We will use Microsoft Teams for the examination. Microsoft Teams will need to be downloaded
prior to the start of the examination and you must log onto the meeting at least 10 minutes prior
to the designated start time. If you are unable to attend without a valid reason this shall be
considered as a fail.

You will need to ensure you have a suitable room available with the necessary amenities i.e.
clear desk, comfortable chair; water, low ambient noise and adequately lit with no glare. The IT
equipment provided must have a camera and access to a reliable high-speed internet
connection (recommended minimum 10mbps), enough for Microsoft Teams to be successfully
supported.

If during the exam there are connectivity and/or reliability issues resulting in repeated interruption
to IT equipment or connections, this will result in postponement or referral to a face to face exam.

If you want to postpone this appointment, we need at least 14 days email notice. More than 2
cancellations may result in forfeit of the examination fee. If you cancel within 14 days of your
appointment, or fail to attend without a valid reason, you will fail the examination by default.

You will need to email the following documents to the Marine Office prior to your examination:

• Scanned Government ID
• Scanned Copy of Discharge Book
• Scanned NOE (both side) or Electronic NOE
• Email confirming date and time are acceptable
• Confirmation you have access to ‘Microsoft Teams’
• Scanned copies of the overview signature pages from the MNTB TRB*

*To clarify these are the 1st Ship, 2nd Ship, 3rd Ship and so on for

• Designated Shipboard Training Officer's Reviews of Progress

• Masters' Monthly Reviews of Progress, Company Training Officer's Inspection of
Progress.

3.4 Booking New Oral Exams

Once we have allowed candidates from priorities ‘I’ and ‘II’ of section 3.2 of this MIN the
opportunity to book an oral exam, we will then publish a date in the ‘Latest Update on Oral
Examination and NOE Issue’ document, allowing the standard NOE booking process to

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resume (section 4 of this MIN). Further information on the planned centralised booking system
will also be provided in this document.

4. New Applications for Notice of Eligibilities

4.1 Applying for an NOE

Candidates can currently apply for an NOE using the appropriate application form and scanning
and sending the required documentation to the email address listed on the form. If you are
required to submit the Training Record Book (TRB), the full physical book should be sent to the
Seafarer Training and Certification Branch (address in the ‘more information’ section of this
MIN), but you must retain scanned copies of the overview signature pages from the TRB . These
will be required for your oral exam as per section 3.3 of this MIN.

4.2 Issuing new NOEs

The MCA will not issue any new NOEs until we have allowed those with cancelled oral exams
and those who have met the criteria in priority ‘I’ in section 3.2 of this MIN a chance to rebook.

Once we have allowed a reasonable time for candidates holding NOEs issued prior to lockdown
to book an oral examination, we will then start issuing new NOEs. We will prioritise those who
only require an oral exam to be issued with a CoC. When applying for an NOE, you should
include all the supporting evidence required for the issue of your CoC.

You must refer to the online guidance dates prior to contacting the MCA (section 2 of this
MIN) to book an oral exam.

Priority will be given to those who have been offered employment and are only required
to pass an oral exam to be issued a CoC – please see section 5.

5. Expediting an NOE or an Oral Exam or the Issue of a CoC

Please note: If you have a job opportunity and you have completed all other requirements for
the issue of your CoC, then we may be able to expedite your application – you should ask your
employer to email a request to us ([email protected] or [email protected] or
[email protected] ) confirming the job offer and the date you are required onboard.

At the time of publishing, the Deck oral exams have not gone live. However, if you are a Deck
candidate and have employment waiting please contact the MCA and we will aim to prioritise
your oral exam as soon as we can.

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More Information

Seafarer Training and Certification

Maritime and Coastguard Agency,
Bay 2/11
Spring Place,
105 Commercial Road,
Southampton,
SO15 1EG.

Tel : +44 (0) 203 81N/A.

e-mail: [email protected] .

Website Address: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/maritime-and-coastguard-agency .

General Enquiries: [email protected]

Published: Insert June 2020

Please note that all addresses and
telephone numbers are correct at time of publishing.

© Crown Copyright 2020

Safer Lives, Safer Ships, Cleaner Seas.

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