Certificates of competency in sea fishing

The entire crew on board a Belgian fishing vessel must hold a Belgian certificate of competency or a foreign certificate of competency recognised by the Belgian administration. The certificate of competency issued by Belgium follows the principles of the STCW-F Code. The following key principles apply:

• medical fitness of the person concerned, determined by a recognised medical practitioner,
• meet training requirements (safety) and experience (seagoing service) in the industry,
• limited validity period of the certificate of competency (maximum of five years),
• revalidation of the certificate of competency under conditions (periodic training and seagoing service).

How to apply?

Steps to follow:

1. Complete the application form: 'application certificate of competency in sea fishing'.
2. Add the required documents:
   • certificate of medical fitness,
   • proof of mandatory training on safety on board fishing vessels,
   • any certificates of other required training.
3. Deliver the documents to the Sea Fisheries Office in Ostend.

You can use the same form to apply for the revalidation of an existing certificate of competency or for the recognition of a foreign certificate of competency.

Revalidation

Each certificate of competency is valid for a maximum of five years. To revalidate your certificate of competency, you must follow the basic safety training every five years. You must also undergo periodic training. The content of this periodic training has been adapted and depends on the position mentioned on the certificate of competency. More information can be found in Circ. Fishing 2020/002 Certificates of competency in sea fishing.

If a skipper, officer, engineer officer and/or able seaman wants to revalidate the certificate of competency and has served less than 360 days on board a Belgian fishing vessel in the last five years, additional conditions are imposed.

We recommend that you check with the Sea Fisheries Office in due time – a year before your certificate of competency expires – what you need to do. Some certificates are only issued after undergoing training. You often need to register for this in time for the training to be completed before the certificate expires.

Several months before the certificate expires, you will receive a reminder letter from our services / the Ship Management Department. This letter indicates what you need to do, including regarding the certificate of medical fitness, the radio certificate (as appropriate) and any other courses to be taken.

Foreign certificate of competency

We recognise foreign certificates of competency under certain conditions for Belgian sea fishing. You can also apply for recognition using the application form for a certificate of competency in sea fishing.

Upon the recognition of the foreign certificate of competency, you will receive an official declaration of recognition. The validity period of this declaration shall be the same as that of the relevant certificate of competency, with a maximum of 5 years. So, after the expiration of this certificate of competency, you will have to resubmit a valid foreign certificate of competency to obtain a new recognition.