Do you want something different? No longer the grind of a 9 to 5 job or have you just completed your secondary education? Perhaps taking up sailing is something for you, here you can read how the basic maritime training courses work.
Maritime training courses
In maritime shipping there is always a demand for Dutch officers, i.e. captains, mates and engineers. There are many different courses that specialize in dredging, tanker shipping or fishing, but with the basic maritime courses described later, you can also go on all these ships, although you will have to obtain some additional certificates for tanker shipping. With these courses in combination with an internship, a certificate of competency can be applied for.
The courses below can be taken in regular education or in contract education. Regular is the multi-year MBO course in which young people progress from secondary school. Here the internship is part of the training and the student can immediately apply for his sailing license after passing. Contract education is a shortened course of a few months, usually used for retraining or further training. You must be at least 21 years old for these courses, they are quite expensive and the internship must be done outside the course. To apply for a boating license after training, certain courses are also required. Some schools include these in the training courses and some require you to obtain/arrange them yourself. So look at this carefully.
Medical examination for seafaring
To work in maritime shipping, you must undergo a medical examination every 2 years, and this is also an admission requirement for the courses. Inspections can be made for a limited sailing area or for a worldwide sailing area. Worldwide, a lung photo must also be taken for a tuberculosis examination.
Seafaring sample booklet
It is mandatory for all seafarers to have a seaman’s book. Courses completed are stamped here and sailing days completed are recorded. You can request a sample booklet from Kiwa.
Sailor
No training is required to become a sailor. To qualify as a sailor (deck rating), you must have completed the Basic Safety training course and have 180 sailing days. This position is not recommended for a Dutch person because cheap workers from low-wage countries are much cheaper. For a secure future, it is advisable to follow one of the courses below.
SMBW (Skipper Machinist Limited Work Area), MBO 2 level
This training provides the navigation license for ships <500 GT and within 30 miles of the coast. This allows you to work on small work vessels such as tugboats, shoalbusters and multicats.
In this course, the technical part and the nautical part cannot be done separately. The regular training lasts 2 years and contract education lasts 17 weeks, after which a 180-day internship must be completed.
KOKS (Merchant Navy Officer Small Ships), MBO level 3
This training provides the qualification for helmsman up to 3000 GT or engineer up to 3000 KW.
These can also be done together, which is called a maritime officer. This allows you to work on coasters , small hoppers, small cutters, ocean tugs and more. Of course you can also board the ships that you can board with SMBW and the advantage now is that you have unlimited sailing area, so you can also cross the ocean. An exception to this navigation license for helmsman is also made for contractor equipment, supply boats and tugboats within 200 miles from the coast. These may be larger than 3000 GT, so unlimited.
The regular training lasts 3 years. In the contract education, the nautical part lasts 15 weeks and the technical part 13 weeks, after which another 180 days must be completed, but SMBW must already have been achieved by then.
KOAS (Merchant Navy Officer All Ships), MBO level 4
This training gives the license to sail on all ships, so unlimited for both the technical and the nautical side. Here too, it can be done together to become a Maritime officer.
The regular training lasts 4 years. In contract education, the nautical part lasts 13 weeks and the technical part 18 weeks, after which another 180 days must be completed. The preliminary training here must be KOKS.
Maritime courses
There are different courses, some are mandatory for a certain sailing qualification and others are for certain functions on board.
Basic Safety training
In this course you will learn the basics of first aid, firefighting and using a life raft. You will learn how these rafts work, how to turn the raft in the water and other survival techniques. This course takes about a week and you will always need it if you want to go sailing.
Advanced firefighting
In this course you will learn to fight a fire on a ship, with an emphasis on leadership. This course lasts approximately one week, during which you will receive both theory and practice. In the practical lessons you will do exercises where you perform in a different position each time. These positions are fire leader, on scene commander, attack team and support team. This course is often already offered at SMBW.
Radar navigator operational level
In this course of approximately one week you will learn the basics of using radar. This course is mandatory at SMBW.
Radar navigator management level
This is a course that goes further into the radar, this course is necessary to become a captain on ships under 3000 GT and to become a first mate or captain on ships over 3000 GT.
Marcom B
With this course you will be qualified to operate the basic communications equipment in maritime shipping. This course is also mandatory at SMBW.
Marcom A
This gives you the authority to operate all maritime communications equipment, which is mandatory for the KOKS training.
Ship Healthcare Limited
If an accident occurs at sea or an illness strikes, no medical care is available. With this course you will learn to help the patient yourself by communicating with a doctor from the Radio Medical Service. You will learn to give the doctor a good picture of the situation and to carry out simple treatments yourself, such as measuring blood pressure and giving an injection.
Ship health care Unlimited
This is the continuation of limited ship health care, but for an unlimited sailing area.
Ship management
Here you will learn everything you need to manage the ship, this course is necessary to become a captain on ships under 3000 GT or first mate or captain on ships over 3000 GT.
Proficiency in survival crafts and rescue boats
In this course you will learn to launch and maneuver the lifeboat. You will also receive a few components here, similar to Basic Safety Training, but focused on the lifeboat.
Financial help
Because these courses (together with the internship) last longer than one year, you are entitled to student financing (if you meet certain requirements). You can register with DUO for this.
You can also contact the O&D fund, this is a fund for training and development and here you can have part of the training costs reimbursed by them if you meet certain requirements (for example, you do not yet have a completed training at that level). The benefits agency can also provide financial support if this applies to you.
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