(a) The purpose of this part is to provide—

(1) A means of determining the qualifications an applicant must possess to be eligible for an officer endorsement as a staff officer, deck officer, engineer officer, pilot, or radio officer on merchant vessels, or for an endorsement to operate uninspected passenger vessels; and

(2) A means of determining that an applicant is competent to serve as a master, chief mate, officer in charge of a navigational watch, chief engineer officer, second engineer officer (first assistant engineer), officer in charge of an engineering watch, designated duty engineer, or Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) radio operator, in accordance with the provisions of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as amended (the STCW Convention or STCW), and other laws, and to receive the appropriate endorsement as required by STCW.

(b) With few exceptions, these regulations do not specify or restrict officer endorsements to particular types of service such as tankships, freight vessels, or passenger vessels. However, each officer credentialed under this part must become familiar with the relevant characteristics of a vessel prior to assuming his or her duties as required in the provisions of § 15.405 of this subchapter.

(c) The regulations previously found in subpart C of this part that prescribe the requirements applicable to approved training courses, training for a particular officer endorsement, and training and assessment associated with meeting the standards of competence established by the STCW Convention have been moved to 46 CFR part 10, subpart C.

(a) Certain material is incorporated by reference into this part with the approval of the Director of the Federal Register under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. All approved material is available for inspection at the Coast Guard, Office of Merchant Mariner Credentialing (CG-MMC), U.S. Coast Guard, Stop 7509, 2703 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20593-7509, 202-372-1492, and is available from the sources listed below. It is also available for inspection at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of this material at NARA, call 202-741-6030 or go to http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ibr_locations.html.

(b) International Maritime Organization (IMO), 4 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7SR, England:

(1) The International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as amended, 2011 (the STCW Convention or the STCW), incorporation by reference approved for §§ 11.201, 11.426, 11.427, 11.428, 11.429, 11.493, 11.495, 11.497, 11.553, 11.555, 11.1001, 11.1003, 11.1009, and 11.1105.

(2) The Seafarers' Training, Certification and Watchkeeping Code, as amended, 2011 (the STCW Code), incorporation by reference approved for §§ 11.201, 11.301, 11.302, 11.303, 11.305, 11.307, 11.309, 11.311, 11.313, 11.315, 11.317, 11.319, 11.321, 11.325, 11.327, 11.329, 11.331, 11.333, 11.335, 11.604, 11.901, and 11.1105.

(3) The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974 (SOLAS), incorporation by reference approved for § 11.601.

[USCG-2004-17914, 78 FR 77909, Dec. 24, 2013, as amended by USCG-2016-0315, 81 FR 43955, July 6, 2016]

(a) This section lists the control numbers assigned by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (Pub. L. 96-511) for the reporting and recordkeeping requirements in this part.

(b) The following control numbers have been assigned to the sections indicated:

(1) OMB 1625-0040-46 CFR 11.201, 11.202, 11.205, 11.470, 11.472, 11.474, 11.542, and 11.544.

(2) OMB 1625-028-46 CFR 11.480.