STCW Training News
In STCW Training News update nr. 10: Confusion about the term ‘rating’
December 2023
Confusion about the term ‘rating’
Rating. Rating deck. Rating forming part of a navigational watch. These terms are similar but they are not the same, which regularly causes confusion. What is the difference?
First of all: Every seafarer who is not an officer, is a rating. There are ratings with, and ratings without a certificate of competency. Any rating should at least possess a seaman’s book and a medical certificate.
In the STCW convention, the term rating is used for a rating who does not (yet) have a certificate of competency. Generally, a rating is a crew member who is gaining experience on board as part of their education. They may be an apprentice either on deck, in the engine room or on the bridge. A rating is only allowed to carry out tasks under the supervision of a crew member who does have a certificate of competency.
A rating forming part of a navigational watch is a rating in possession of a certificate of competency – issued in accordance with STCW standards – that allows them to independently carry out tasks on deck. In order to gain this certificate of competency, they will have already collected seatime as a rating and have completed basic safety training. A rating forming part of a navigational watch is also called a rating deck. The Dutch term for this function is ‘wachtlopend gezel dek’
The counterpart of the ‘rating forming part of a navigational watch’ is the rating forming part of an engineering watch. This is a rating with a certificate of competence issued under STCW to independently carry out tasks in the engine room.
Different names are used on different documents. We have made an overview of this below:
Notation in STCW-convention | Notation application portal Kiwa | Notation Seafarer’s act | Notation Seaman’s book | Notation op manning-certificate | Bevoegdheidsbewijs volgens STCW-richtlijn |
Rating | n.v.t. | Aankomend gezel | Stagiaire (NL) /Apprentice, Cadet (EN) | Rating (indien genoemd) | n.v.t. |
Rating forming part of a navigational watch | Wachtlo-pend gezel dek
| Wachtlopend gezel dek
| Wachtlopend gezel dek (NL) / Rating deck (EN) | Rating deck | II/4 |
Rating forming part of an engineering watch | Wachtlo-pend gezel machinekamer | Wachtlopend gezel machinekamer | Wachtlopend gezel machinekamer (NL)/Rating engineer (EN) | Rating engine room | III/4 |