Subj: PROCESSING APPLICATIONS FOR LICENSES AND RATINGS RECEIVED BEFORE 1 FEBRUARY 2002

a. Commanding officers of units with a Regional Examination Center shall be guided by the policies set forth in this letter.

b. Commanding officers of units with marine safety responsibilities should bring this policy letter to the attention of the maritime industry with interests in marine personnel issues and to institutions that offer U. S. Coast Guard approved training. This policy letter will be distributed by electronic means only. It is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.uscg.mil/STCW/m-policy.htm.

a. Due to existing workloads, some mariners will have submitted applications for a qualification subject to the STCW before 1 February 2002 that cannot be processed before that date. Such an application may be accepted and the mariner tested and processed under the procedures and standards that applied before 1 February 2002 provided the mariner meets the tests listed in the following paragraph. It is not intended that a mariner should be required to meet the more stringent STCW requirements that become effective on 1 February 2002 through no fault of his/her own.

b. To be eligible for consideration under the provisions of paragraph 4.a, the mariner must complete before 1 February 2002 all of the required sea service to qualify for the license or seaman's rating and STCW certification for which the mariner is applying. Once approved, the mariner's application will be valid for one year or through 31 January 2003, whichever occurs first. If an application has been approved for processing under the former licensing and/or certification scheme and the approval expires, the application must be resubmitted for evaluation under the requirements of the 1995 amendments to the STCW.