Parties to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), 1978, as amended, confirmed by the Maritime Safety Committee to have communicated information which demonstrates that full and complete effect is given to the relevant provisions of the Convention

　

1 The Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), at its first extraordinary session (27 and 28 November 2001), received reports by the Secretary-General pursuant to regulation I/7, paragraph 2 of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as amended, (STCW Convention). The reports were in respect of those STCW Parties whose information had not been fully evaluated in time for the seventy-fourth session of the Committee (30 May to 8 June 2001). A list of those STCW Parties confirmed at that session of the Committee and those confirmed by MSC 73 (27 November to 6 December 2000) to have communicated information which had demonstrated that full and complete effect was given to the relevant provisions of the Convention had been promulgated in MSC/Circ.996.

　

2 MSC, at first its extraordinary session (ES.1), noted that, in preparing the reports required by STCW regulation I/7, paragraph 2, the Secretary-General had solicited and taken into account the views of competent persons selected from the list established pursuant to paragraph 5 of section A-I/7 of the STCW Code and circulated as MSC/Circ.797, as revised from time to time.

　

3 In accordance with STCW regulation I/7, paragraph 3, MSC/ES.1 confirmed further STCW Parties, additional to those listed in MSC/Circ.996, which had communicated information demonstrating that they were giving full and complete effect to the relevant provisions of the STCW Convention, as amended. The list at annex contains those STCW Parties confirmed by the Committee at its seventy-third, seventy-fourth and first extraordinary sessions. The Committee noted that, as the process of communicating and evaluating information is continuing, further Parties may be added to the list at annex at subsequent meetings.

　

4 The Committee also noted that the Kingdom of the Netherlands had approved the necessary legislation for the implementation of the STCW Convention, as amended, in respect of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba and that a suitable footnote had been added to the annex to this circular to include them in the list.

　

5 The Committee draws the attention of maritime administrations, shipowners, ship operators and managers, ship masters and other parties concerned to the following:

　

　

6 Notwithstanding the Committee's identification of the Parties listed at annex, Member Governments are invited to draw the attention of their port State control offices to the guidance contained in MSC/Circ.918 including the fact that valid certificates of competency and endorsements issued or recognized by a Party in accordance with the relevant provisions of the STCW Convention, which were in force immediately prior to 1 February 1997, remain valid until 1 February 2002, subject to STCW regulation I/15.

　

7 As Parties are entitled to accept, in principle, certificates issued by or on behalf of Parties identified in the list at annex, and a position on that list is one of the necessary measures used by many Administrations for the issue of endorsements in compliance with STCW regulation I/10, the attention of port State control officers is drawn to the fact that this circular was issued on 28 November 2001 and, therefore, for practical reasons, seafarers should not be expected to hold certificates with such endorsements until 1 February 2002.

　

　

Parties to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), 1978, as amended, confirmed by the Maritime Safety Committee to have communicated information which demonstrates that full and complete effect is given to the relevant provisions of the Convention