11.211—Creditable service and equivalents for officer endorsements.

(a) Sea service may be documented for the purposes of this part in various forms such as certificates of discharge, pilotage service and billing forms, and letters or other official documents from marine companies signed by appropriate officials, or individuals holding an officer endorsement or license as master. For service on vessels of under 200 gross tons, owners of vessels may attest to their own service; however, those who do not own a vessel must obtain letters or other evidence from licensed personnel or the owners of the vessels listed. The documentary evidence produced by the applicant must contain the amount and nature (e.g. chief mate. assistant engineer, etc.) of the applicant's experience, the vessel name, gross tonnage, shaft horsepower and official numbers, the routes upon which the experience was acquired, and approximate dates of service.
(b) Port engineer, shipyard superintendent experience, instructor service, or similar related service may be creditable for a maximum of six months of service for raise of grade of an engineer or deck officer endorsement, as appropriate, using the following:
(1) Port engineer or shipyard superintendent experience is creditable on a three-for-one basis for a raise of grade. (Twelve months of experience equals four months of creditable service.)
(2) Service as a bona fide instructor at a school of navigation or marine engineering is creditable on a two-for-one basis for a raise of grade. (Twelve months of experience equals six months of creditable service).
(c) Service on mobile offshore drilling units is creditable for raise of grade of officer endorsement. Evidence of one year's service as mate or equivalent while holding a license as third mate, or as engineering officer of the watch or equivalent while holding an officer endorsement or license as third assistant engineer, is acceptable for a raise of grade to second mate or second assistant engineer, respectively; however, any subsequent raises of grade of unlimited, nonrestricted officer licenses or endorsements must include a minimum of six months of service on conventional vessels.
(d) Service on a Dual Mode Integrated Tug Barge (ITB) unit is creditable for original or raise of grade of any deck officer endorsement. Service on a Dual Mode ITB with an aggregate tonnage of over 1600 gross tons is creditable on a two-for-one basis (two days experience equals one day of creditable service) for up to 50 percent of the total service on vessels over 1600 gross tons required for an unlimited officer endorsement. The remaining required service on vessels of over 1600 gross tons must be obtained on conventional vessels or Push Mode ITBs.
(e) Other experience in a marine related area, other than at sea, or sea service performed on unique vessels, will be evaluated by the OCMI and forwarded to the Commandant for a determination of equivalence to traditional service.
[CGD 81-059, 52 FR 38623, Oct. 16, 1987, as amended at 54 FR 135, Jan. 4, 1989; USCG-2006-24371, 74 FR 11238, Mar. 16, 2009]