Transport Canada announced that any certificate of competency, certificate of proficiency, examiner certificate or training certificate expiring between October 2019 and March 2021, is granted an extension until 31 March 2021.
Transport Canada issued a new ship safety bulletin providing revised temporary measures pertaining to marine personnel certificates, discharge books, marine medical certificates and general marine counter services implemented during the COVID-19 period in Canada, which now includes the virtual delivery of oral examinations.
1. Marine Personnel Certificates
-Extension of Certificates
Any certificate of competency, certificate of proficiency, examiner certificate or training certificate expiring between October 2019 and March 2021, is granted an extension until March 31, 2021.
There is no requirement to submit an application to obtain this extension. It is recommended that you retain a copy of this bulletin with your certificate.
Please note that this extension does not apply to certificate upgrades.
-Renewal of Certificates
Although certificates are being extended until March 31, 2021, we encourage any seafarer seeking to renew their certificate of competency to do so.
You simply need to follow these 2 easy steps:
- Scan the relevant pages of your discharge book and signed testimonials, if applicable; and
- Send the scanned information by email to your local Transport Canada Marine Examination Centre.
2. Medical Certificates
-Medical Certificates to work domestically:
For seafarers who require a medical certificate to work domestically, please note this Bulletin is further extending, by six months beyond its date of expiry, any marine medical certificate or provisional marine medical certificate that expires before September 30, 2020 (replacing the previous date of September 1, 2020). This is the last extension that will be granted. There is no requirement to submit an application to obtain this extension.
Please be advised that the extended validity of a marine medical certificate does not extend the validity of a certificate of competency.
-Medical Certificates to work internationally:
Transport Canada Marine Safety wishes to remind all seafarers subject to subsection 200(7) of the Marine Personnel Regulations, that they must have a valid medical certificate to work overseas. To that end, if your marine medical certificate expires after September 1, 2020, we recommend you see a Transport Canada designated Marine Medical Examiner at your earliest opportunity. Do not wait until the last minute.
The list of designated Marine Medical Examiners can be found at the following link:
https://wwwapps.tc.gc.ca/saf-sec-sur/4/mme-mdm/eng/marine-medical-examiners/search
Also, we ask that you remind your Marine Medical Examiner to send your information to Transport Canada as soon as possible.
