Date of Official Gazette:01.07.2004 Number :25509
REGULATION ON AMATEUR SEAMEN
PART ONE
Purpose, Scope, Basis and Definitions
Purpose
Article 1 –This Regulation is issued tolay down the rules and procedures applicable to the examinations and certification of amateur seamen.
Scope
Article 2 – This Regulation applies to the rules with regard to examinations, certification, health status, registration processes and sailing of amateur seamen wishing to obtain an Amateur Seamen Certificate.
Basis
Article 3 – This Regulation is issued on the basis of point (D) of amended Article 2 of the Law no. 4922 on Protection of Life and Property At Sea and relevant provisions of the Decree No. 491 on the Organization and Tasks of the Undersecretariat of Maritime Affairs.
Definitions
Article 4 – For the purposes of this Regulation,
a) ‘the Administration’ means the Undersecretariat for Maritime Affairs
b) ‘Seafarers Regulation’ means the Regulation published in the Official Gazette No. 24832 dated 31/07/2002and its amendments,
c) ‘Amateur Seaman’ means the person who operates and steerspecial-purpose sea craft with or without an engine, recreational and water sports boats,except for commercial yachts and speedboats, at sea or inland waters,
d) ‘Amateur Seaman’s Certificate (ASC)’ means the yacht operating certificate called ‘International Certificate of Competence For Operator of Pleasure Craft (ICC)’ issued by the Administration to those who meet the requirements laid down in this Regulation and pass the examination.
e) ‘Private Yacht’ means the vessel built in yacht type, which has cabins, a lavatory, a bathroom and a kitchen, carries no more than twelve passengers, is used for recreational and sports purposes and defined as a stated to be a private yacht in the tonnage certificate,
f) ‘Amateur Fishing Boat’ means the sea craft with a full length of nine meters or less, which is propelled by engine power andused for fishing purposes, and whose owner is not a member of any fishermen’s cooperative,
g) ‘Other Sea Craft’ means all non-commercial pleasure craft other than private yachts and amateur fishing vessels,
h) ‘Amateur Seamen’s Federation (ASF)’ means the organization representing the member associations involved in all sports and non-sports activities above and under the water.
PART TWO
Application to Amateur Seaman’s Certificate Examinations Applications
Requirements for Qualification as an Amateur Seaman
Article 5 – Applicants to be qualified as an amateur seaman should:
a) be at the age of at least14 at least (parental consentagreementis required for those applicants who are under 18),
b) have graduated from at least a primary or basic education school. as a minimum requirement,
c) have not have been convicted of human trafficking and/ or smuggling in his/herthe criminal record,
d) prove with documents that s/he satisfy the health requirements laid down in Article 24 of this Regulation
e) be entitled to receive an ASC, provided that s/he has passed the amateur seaman’s examination as stipulated by the Administration.
Upon individual applications, naval officers having graduated from the TurkishNavalAcademy and graduates of Non-Commissioned Officers Deck Branch schools, graduates of those departments of faculties and undergraduate schools that regard seamanship and graduates of the deck and mechanical engineering departments of and graduates deck of seamanship vocational schools shall be given the ASC without seeking the requirement of examination.
Nationals of foreign countries holding a residence permit in Turkeymay be given the ASC provided that they meet the conditions provided for in this Regulation.
Places and Dates of Examinations
Article 6 –Amateur seaman’s examinations shall take placebe made once a month(on monthly basis)on the first Wednesday of every month in harbour masters offices port head offices, and be made in January, April, July and November in the Directorate General for Maritime Transportation of the Undersecretariat for Maritime Affairs, provided that the number of applications exceedesexceedsis more than twenty.
Examinations shall be heldmade by an examination commission of at leastthree members, one being the chairman.
Amateur seaman’s examinations shall be held made by ASF within the framework of a protocol to be concluded between the Directorate General for Maritime Transportation and ASF. The Administration may send an observer/ supervisor to the examinations.
The pPlace, of examination,application address and the date-time of the examination shall be announced by the Administration and ASF fifteen days prior to the examination at the latest.
Application requirementsRequirements of Application for Applicants
Article 7 – No condition for prior service at sea is required for applicants for amateur seaman’s examination. The person who wishes to take the examination shall file an application with the authority organizing the examination at least two working days before the date of the examination, submitting a petition, for which a sample is provided in Annex-1, and the following attachments.
Documents to be required duringin application:
a) A copy of the identity Card (as certified by the authority of application, quarter chief administrator (muhtar) or a public notary public),
b) Academic credentials (as certified by the authority of application or a notary public),
c) Health report (may be provided during the issuance of ASC after the examination),
d) 3 face photographs
e) Criminal record (judicial registry) or a document certifying employment as a Public servant,
f) Letter of Consent testified by the custodian of the applicant younger than 18 years of age.
Following the assessment of applications, names of applicants found eligible for the examination shall be entered in a listedby the examination commission, with the total number of applicants being also indicated.
If the health reports to be obtained after the examination is passedaccomplishedturns out to be negative, no claims may be made.
PART THREE
Subjects, Organization, Assessment and Announcement of Results of Amateur Seaman’s Examinations
Subjects of Amateur Seaman’s Examinations and the Passing Score
Article 8 –Passing Score in amateur seaman’s examination is 45 out of 100 points, and the subjects of examinations are as shown below.
a) Navigation and rules for prevention of collision at sea
1) Magnetic compass knowledge: Detection and application of natural and artificial deviations,
2) Map knowledge: Symbols and abbreviations, the use of navigation maps, drawing routes on maps and distance measurement,
3) Off-shore navigation knowledge: Positioning* through various methods, beacons, floating systems*, and other navigational supplementary equipment,
4) Supplementary navigational devices: Sounding, radar reflector,
5) Content and implementation of the Regulation for Prevention of Collisions at Sea (COLREG 1972),
b) Shipping and boating, meteorology
1) Factors with an effect on maneuverability,
2) Anchoring,
3) Docking and departure,
4) Falling of people into sea
5) Deck fittings,
6) Ability to interpret standard meteorological reports.
c) Safety at sea and maritime communications
1) Measures to be taken if the boat strands or is stranded,
2) Measures to be taken after the collision,
3) Fire and Fire-extinguishing techniques,
4) Evacuation of the boat,
5) Substituting and being substituted,
6) First aid.
d) Marine law and international conventions
1) MARPOL 73/78, national legislation on prevention of marine pollution,
2) Port operations,
3) Law on Protection of Life and Property At Sea (life saving, collision, tasks of a master, submission of an accident report to the port authority),
4) Coast Health legislation,
5) Legislation on Customs and Smuggling,
6) Legislation on Insurance and Maritime Insurance.
e) Engine information
1) Information on the gasoline and diesel engines used in pleasure craft,
2) Information on electricity.
Questions of Examinations
Article 9 –Questions of the amateur seaman’s examination shall be prepared by a commission set up by port authorities, Directorate General and/or ASF as a multiple-choice examination with four choices in accordance with the examination curricula mentioned above. Questions of the examinations shall be contained in a single question sheet and the examination shall be made in a single session.
Questions to be asked shall be selected by examination commissions so as to include all subjects.
No questions shall be asked in subjects other than those in Article 8 and those included in the Amateur Seaman’s Manual as mentioned and Article 23 of this Regulation.
Examination Duration
Article 10 – Duration of the examination shall be determined by the examination commission.
Evaluation of Examination Scores
Article 11 – Evaluation of scores shall be made by the examination commission on examination answer sheets.
Pre-examination Process
Article 12 – Applicants shall be taken in the examination rooms by reading their names. Those applicants whose names are not indicated in the examination lists shall not be taken in the examination. Identity cards of applicants shall be checked after they sit in their places, and they shall sign the attendance list.
Against the names of those who are absent from the examination shall be written the phrase ‘not attended’. Once the examination papers are distributed, examination rules are read aloud; and after the questions of applicants, if any, are answered, the supervisor says ‘The Examination Begins’ aloud. The duration of the examination is indicated on the examination paper.
Rules to be Observed During the Examination
Article 13 – The number of attendants are compared with that of the attendance list. It is checked whether applicants’ names, family names and signatures are written on examination papers.
Examination rules
Article 14 – Rules to be applied during the examination:
a) Supervisors may not speak to attendantsin a low voice. It shall be ensured that questions are asked and answered aloud.
b) Applicants must follow all instructions of supervisors throughout the examination.
c) Those who cheat or let others cheat or who act contrary to rulesand upset the examination order shall be deemed not to have taken the examination. In such case, examination papers of the applicant shall be taken and s/he shall be taken out; and an “individual examination cancellation sheet’ (Annex 2) shall be drawn up and signed by the chairperson and members of the examination commission. On the examination paper of an applicant who cheats or lets others cheat or whose examination is cancelled for any other reason shall be written “invalid examination”.
d) Where an applicant who does not satisfy the eligibility criteria for the examination is inadvertently let in the examination, the concerned applicant shall be taken out of the examination room and an “individual examination cancellation sheet” shall be drawn up, if such situation is detected during the examination.
e) Black pencil shall be used in examinations and answers are marked on the answer sheet.
f) Exchange of pencils, erasers etc, and speaking during the examination is prohibited.
g) Applicants may not smoke oruse cell phones and similar communication devices during the examination.
h) Supervisors may not speak so loudly as to upset progress of the examination. Supervisors shall walk regularly in the examination room to ensure that the examination proceeds in accordance with the rules.
i) The applicant late for the examination in the first 15 minutes of the start of the examination shall be let in the examination upon the permission of the chairperson of the examination commission. The applicant who is late for the examination for more than 15 minutes shall in no way be admitted in the examination.
j) Applicant shall be allowed to answer questions until the end of the examination. Applicants may not be forced to return their answer sheets before the examination ends. If only one person is left in the examination room, the applicant completing his/her examination before the said person shall be waited in the examination room.
The Opening and Closing of Examination Documents
Article 15 – The examination bag shall be opened by the chairperson of the examination commission, showing it to the applicants in the examination room. At the end of the examination, examination documents, question sheets, examination room attendance lists and examination entrance list, and reports shall be counted and be put in the examination documents bag after verifying that all documents are complete. The examination documents to be kept by the chairperson of the examination commission by the date and time of their assessment shall be opened before the chairperson and members of the commission, and assessment procedures shall thus be initiated.
Announcement of Examination Results
Article 16 – In the examinations made in port authorities, the examination commission shall assess the examination papers within 5 days at the latest, and the examination scores list shall be published after the approval of the port authority. In the examinations made in Ankara, the examination scores list shall be published upon the approval of the Director General for Maritime Transportation.
Against the names of those applicants who have not taken the examination shall be written “not attended”. For the applicants attending the examination, examination scores shall be written.
Objection to Examination Results
Article 17 – Applicants may take their objections to the authority making the examination within 15 days following the date of publication of examination results, explaining the grounds thereof. Such objections shall be concluded by the Examination Committee within 10 working days at the latest and the result shall be notified in writing to the concerned person.
Erroneous Question and Answer
Article 18 – Where an erroneous question is found during or after the examination, the erroneous question shall be assumed to be correctly answered by all applicants.
PART FOUR
Issuance of Amateur Seaman’s Certificate, Scope and Conditions of Activity, Registration Process
Issuance of Amateur Seaman’s Certificate
Article 19 – An amateur seaman’s certificate shall be issued by the port authority organizing the examination, or by the Directorate General for Maritime Transportation if the examination is made in Ankara, to the applicants who pass the examination and satisfy the requirements laid down in this Regulation. The certificate shall be delivered either to the right holder or his/her duly designated attorney. Right holders must obtain their certificates within maximum six months from the date of the examination they pass.
Renewal of Certificates
Article 20 – For the renewal of the ASC requested to be replaced for any reason, an application shall be filed with the authority issuing the certificate as accompanied by a petition and three photographs.
Registration Process for Amateur Seamen
Article 21 – Registry and log records of amateur seamen shall be made in accordance with those provisions of the Seafarer’s Regulation that govern Registry and Log Process for Seafarers. For computer records, a computer log record form shall be obtained and filed instead of a separate log book.
Validity of the Amateur Seaman’s Certificate
Article 22 – (Amendment: The Official Gazette No. 25818 of 17.05.2005) The amateur seaman’s certificate may neither serve for the use of any commercial vessels or the employment of personnel. However, those who had served in commercial vessels for one year with the amateur seaman’s certificate by 31.12.2004 shall obtain the navigator’s qualification upon request without an examination, provided that they invalidate their amateur seaman’s certificate.
Amateur seamen may use boats with their Amateur Seaman’s Certificate without any navigation region limitation.
Equipment of private amateur boats shall be laid down in a directive to be issued by the Undersecretariat for Maritime Affairs having regard to the relevant international conventions, national legislation and practices.
Amateur Seaman’s Manual
Article 23 – The Administration shall prepare or cause to be prepared an Amateur Seaman’s Manual to include basic maritime knowledge and subjects of amateur seaman’s examination. This manual shall be kept in private boats and yachts.
PART FIVE
Miscellaneous Provisions
Health Checks of Amateur Seamen
Article 24 – Candidates for an ASC should obtain an Amateur Seaman Approval report from official or private health institutions having ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialists, or a Class B Driver Approval health report from health institutions authorized to issue driver’s health reports. Eye and ENT examinations of amateur seamen shall be made in line with the same requirements as those applicable to the land vehicle drivers. Persons indicated to be monocular in the health report may obtain ASC.
The Administration may at any time require amateur seamen, who are doubted to be in a bad health condition or are reported to be sick, to renew their health checks with a view to determining whether their health conditions pose an obstacle to operation of a boat.
Withdrawal of Certificates
Article 25 – Amateur Seaman’s Certificates of those who are found to be in breach of any of the conditions set out in the relevant articles of this Regulation, after they are registered in the Amateur Seaman’s Registry, shall be taken back and this fact shall be entered in the registry.
Recognition of Amateur Seaman’s Certificates obtained from Foreign Countries
Article 26 – The Administration shall have the authority to rule on the equivalency of the Amateur Seaman’s Certificate obtained from a different country by both Turkish citizens and persons of foreign origin who reside in Turkey.
Repealed Provisions
Article 27 – Those provisions of the Seafarers Regulation that govern the obtainment of Amateur Seaman’s Certificate shall be repealed.
Entry into Force
Article 28 – This Regulation shall enter into force on the date of its publication.
Enforcement
Article 29 – Provisions of this Regulation shall be enforced by the Ministry to whom the Undersecretariat for Maritime Affairs is related.
(ANNEX-1)
TO:
I hereby request to take the “Amateur Seaman’s Examination” in order to obtain an Amateur Seaman’s Certificate. Please find enclosed the following documents.
For your consideration.
.../.../.....
(Signature)
Name-Family Name
ADDRESS:......
......
......
PHONE:
DOCUMENTS:
1- A copy of the identity Card (as certified by the authority of application, quarter chief administrator (muhtar) or a notary public notary),
2- Academic credentials (as certified by the authority of application or a notary public),
3- Health report (may be provided during the issuance of ASC after the examination),
4- 3 face photographs
5- Criminal record (judicial registry) or a document certifying employment as a Public servant,
6- Letter of Consent testified by the custodian of the applicant younger than 18 years of age.
(ANNEX-2)
AMATEUR SEAMAN’S EXAMINATION