This course provides classroom and practical training to
mariners who wish to obtain an endorsement to their U.S. Coast
Guard Merchant Mariner’s Document as Able Seaman with
Lifeboatman Limited/PSC (limited to service on vessels not
equipped with lifeboats).
The course meets the following U.S. Coast Guard
requirements:
- Any applicant who has successfully completed the 62 ¼
hour Able Seaman course and who presents the Certificate of
Training within one year of completion of training will
satisfy the following requirements:
- the written examination requirements of 46 CFR 12.05-9
for the “Deck & Navigation General / Deck Safety” and “Deck
General & Safety / Rules of the Road” examination modules
for any Able Seaman endorsement; AND
- the practical (knot tying) examination requirements of
46 CFR 12.05-9 for any Able Seaman endorsement; AND
- the training requirements of Section A-VI/2 and Table
A-VI/2-1 of the STCW Code restricted to service on vessels
that are not equipped with lifeboats provided that they have
also satisfied the requirements of Table A-VI/1-1 for
Personal Survival Techniques and Table A-VI/1-3 for
Elementary First Aid; AND
- the Rescue Craft practical demonstration requirements
for a Lifeboatman Limited endorsement; AND
- the written “Survival Craft” examination
requirements of 46 CFR 12.05-9 for an endorsement as
Lifeboatman Limited (exam modules 441xx or 761xx)
Ideally, students attending the course should have
completed a minimum of 6 months underway on vessels over 15
Gross Register Tons to be eligible for the Able Seaman –
Special (Offshore Supply Vessel) endorsement. Additional sea
time, tonnage and vessel length requirements must be met for
AB – Special, Limited or Unlimited ratings as well as STCW –
95 Basic Safety Training course attendance. The course is
also useful to mariners and others who wish to obtain training
in basic seamanship and rescue craft operation skills. In
most cases, the students for each course will normally have
backgrounds that meet or exceed the ideal entry standards
stated above.
The course covers the following topics:
- Navigation Rules, International and Inland
- Marlinespike Seamanship
- Eye splice / short splice
- Knots, bends & hitches
- Lines and ropes
- Blocks, block & tackle, formulae
- Aids to Navigation
- Nautical Terms & Ship Construction
- Anchoring, Mooring and Line Handling
- Maneuvering and Ship Handling
- Advanced Seamanship – Break Bulk Cargo Operations
- Pollution Control and Prevention
- Fires, Firefighting and Fire Prevention
- Emergency Procedures
- Shipboard emergencies
- Emergencies and equipment
- Personal Flotation Devices
- Abandon Ship and Rescue at Sea
- Earth Coordinates
- Magnetic and Gyro Compass
- Survival Craft Practical Assessment
It should be noted that the U.S. Coast Guard requires that
candidates for any level of AB higher than AB Special (OSV)
complete at least the First Aid/CPR and Personal Survival
elements of STCW Basic Safety Training. In addition,
practical demonstrations of knowledge and additional sea
service may be required on board a vessel before the U.S.
Coast Guard will issue an STCW certificate endorsed as a
"Rating Forming Part of a
Navigational Watch" (RFPNW).
Note concerning lifeboatman - Most vessels are
only equipped with survival craft and not lifeboats. If you
are embarked on a vessel equipped with lifeboats lowered by
gravity davits - usually found only on some deep-draft
vessels, this course will meet the examination requirements
but NOT the
practical demonstration requirements for "unlimited"
lifeboatmen. Completion of this course, coupled with
appropriate sea time, will satisfy the requirements for
issuance of an endorsement as "Lifeboatman Limited". To
remove the limitation you will be required to serve aboard a
vessel equipped with lifeboats and gravity davits, participate
in training and drills and have practical demonstration
competencies signed off by a licensed officer.
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