By: Riviera Sea School, Your Sea School in the South of France (Contact)
You may or may not have heard of the above but the likely hood is that if you are currently working or plan to embark on a career in the Yachting Industry you will come across what is referred to as the ENG1 Medical certificate or even the ML5. Confused? You are not alone, the motivation for writing this blog has been a long string of individuals who have come to us slightly miffed as to what they are all about. All however will be made clear, so keep reading…
The most common need for an ENG-1 or ML5 from a training perspective is if you intend on commercially endorsing your RYA certification. You will be expected to commercially endorse your RYA certification if you take up to 12 paying passengers, i.e charter guests, to sea on a boat up tp 24 meters. If you intend on taking more than 12 paying passengers and/or a vessel greater that 24 meters to sea you may require other qualifications issued by the MCA, for further details, visit their website, www.mcga.gov.uk.
Now, it is important to note that although the ENG-1 and the ML5 are both medical certificates indicating the state of your current health there are key differences between the two that may affect your limitations whilst at sea:
ENG1
The ENG1 is know as the Seafarer Medical Certificate and is issued by the Government of the UK. This certificate can only be conducted and issued by MCA approved doctors following a full medical exam. For a full list of approved MCA doctors visit the MCA website, www.mcga.gov.uk.
Following the medical exam, if successful, you will be issued with your ENG 1 certificate. This certificate is valid for a maximum of two years. If however you are between the ages of 16-18 you will be expected to renew is annually until you reach the age of 18. Details of what to expect during the exam can be found in the MSN 1765(M) form on the MCA website. This certificate will allow you to commercially endorse certification that permits you to navigate further than 60 miles offshore, for example, the RYA Yachtmaster Offshore and the RYA Yachtmaster Ocean certificates of competence.
In the South of France you can expect to pay in the region of €120 to obtain your ENG1.
ML5
ML5 certificate is acceptable evidence of medical fitness for all of those who work on coded vessels up to 60 miles offshore, crew of seagoing local passenger vessels and boatmasters on non seagoing passenger vessels. This certificate can be conducted by any registered medical practitioner in the UK. There are however RYA/MCA accredited doctors overseas who can issue ML5 medical certificates. You will find that the price of this certificate will vary according to the individual doctor you decide to visit.
This license is valid up to five years, if however you are over the age of 65 you will be expected to renew it annually.
The ML5 medical is accepted as an alternative to the ENG1 certificate for skippers on small commercial vessels, up to 24 meters with a maximum of 12 paying passengers, whilst navigating in waters no further than 60 miles from a safe haven.
If you have any experiences to share regarding this issue please do not hesitate to leave a comment below.