The Maritime Authority of the Cayman Island has issued a shipping notice on revising format of “STCW endorsements”. Under the provisions of STCW I/2.5, the Cayman Islands accepts seafarers holding a Certificate of Competency issued by certain other Administrations for service onboard Cayman Islands ships.
Such a Certificate of Competency is recognized as valid for service on a Cayman Islands ship by the issue of an “Endorsement attesting the recognition of a certificate”. This is in accordance with STCW I/10. In order to fully implement the revised requirements for “certificates” in the 2010 Amendments to the STCW Convention, the Cayman Islands will be introducing a new format for such “Endorsements” during June 2016.
The new form of Endorsement is printed on watermarked A5 size high security paper. This endorsement features a digital photograph of the holder and digital signatures of both the holder and the issuing official.
Security Features: The front of the endorsement contains a hologram showing the Cayman Islands crest and a unique “audit number”. Both the front and back of the endorsement feature a “micro printed” background. On the front of the endorsement, this micro printing depicts the words “Cayman Registry” and the Cayman Islands crest. On the back of the endorsement, the micro printing shows the words “ADVANCED SECURITY”. Verification The endorsement contains a “QR Code” which can be used to verify the validity of the endorsement via any internet connected device with a QR Code reader, such as a smartphone. The QR code contains a specific URL which links to a dedicated validation web page. Contained in the URL are 3 parameters (Endorsement Number, DOB, Endorsement Issue Date) specific to each endorsement.
The new form of “Endorsement” will start to be issued during June 2016. The existing form of “Endorsement” will continue to be issued from certain locations until December 2016. This is to allow the new infrastructure to be rolled out to all issuing locations in a controlled and orderly manner. All existing “Endorsements” will continue to remain valid until the date of expiry stated on the “Endorsement”. This will also apply to any “Endorsements” issued in the existing format before 31 December 2016It is therefore possible for an “Endorsement” issued in the existing format to remain valid until 01 January 2021 (subject to the expiry date stated on the Endorsement).
A sample of the existing “Endorsement” may be found by reading the shipping notice below
Source & Image credit:Cayman Maritime
