Republic of the Philippines
Department of Transportation and Communications
MARITIME INDUSTRY AUTHORITY
STCW OFFICESTCW Circular No. 2015-10
TO :ALL MARITIME INDUSTRYSTAKEHOLDERS, MARITIME TRAINING
INSTITUTIONS, TRAINING INSTRUCTORS, ASSESSORS AND
OTHER ENTITIES AND INDIVIDUALS CONCERNEDSUBJECT : POLICIES, RULES AND REGULATIONS ON THE ACCREDITATION
OF ASSESSMENT CENTERS (ACs) FOR THE CONDUCT OFTHEORETICAL EXAMINATION AND PRACTICAL ASSESSMENTPursuant to Republic Act No. 10635 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations(IRR), and the 1978 International Convention on Standards of Training, Certificationand Watchkeeping (STCW) for Seafarers, as amended, the following policies, rules
and regulations are hereby adopted:

1.

2.

OBJECTIVES.1

To prescribe policies, rules and regulations on the accreditation ofAssessment Centers (ACs) for the conduct of Theoretical examination
and Practical assessment in compliance to provisions for the issuanceof STCW Certificates;.2

To implement the applicable provisions of Regulation I/6 “Training andAssessment” and Regulation I/8 “Quality Standards” of the 1978 STCW
Convention, as Amended, on the assessment of competence ofseafarers;

COVERAGE:
This Circular shall apply to all Maritime Institutions applying for accreditation
as Assessment Centers in the conduct of Theoretical examination andPractical assessment for the issuance of STCW Certificates.

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DEFINITION OF TERMS
For purposes of this Circular, in addition to terms defined under STCW
Circular 2013-01, and other relevant STCW circulars, including theirsubsequent amendments, the following terms shall be defined as follows:“Assessment Center (AC)” refers to a maritime institution recognized andapproved by MARINA to conduct the Theoretical examination and Practicalassessment for issuance of STCW Certificates.
“No human intervention” refers to a theoretical examination system whereinquestions are randomly selected from a data bank of questionnaires.

4.

5.

GENERAL PROVISIONS.1Theoretical examination and Practical assessment for the issuance ofSTCW certificates shall only be conducted by MARINA accredited ACs.

.2

Institutions intending to seek accreditation as an ACs must present adocumentary evidence that the conduct as ACs is covered in theArticles of Incorporation approved by the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) or nature of business in case of DTI Registeredentities.

.3The ACs shall ensure that a qualified and full-time MARINA-accredited
assessor/s is employed and present during the conduct of assessment.

.4

The ACs shall conduct familiarization on the use of the simulator to be
used for the practical assessment prior to the start of an assessment
exercise.

.5

The ACs shall adhere to the procedures and policies of Examinationand Assessment Division of STCW Office.

.6

All simulators to be used for assessment shall comply with thesimulator performance standards as prescribed in Section I/12 of theSTCW Code.

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS.1

ACs shall employ full-time MARINA-accredited assessor to be present
during the conduct of examination and assessment;

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ACs must have a quality standard system in the conduct of Theoreticalexamination and Practical assessment including qualification andexperience of assessors;.3

The conduct of Theoretical examination system must be of no humanintervention;.4

The system shall be able to independently assess specificcompetences mentioned in the corresponding STCW circulars;.5

The system must be able to randomly choose questions and is able torearrange the options without interference to the proper answer;.6

The system shall allow the candidate to freely choose competences asapplied;.7

The system shall be equipped with adequate security measures toprevent unauthorized access to database of questions.8

The system must be automated to implement the 3-1 and 3-3 rule fortheoretical examination;.9

The system must be isolated from internet access.

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Access to the system for the purpose of uploading, validation anddeactivation of assessment questions shall be given to the following:.10.1 Chairman of the corresponding Board of Examiner;.10.2 Member of the corresponding Board of Examiner, in charge ofthe specific competency; and.10.3 Authorized
Supervisor

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6.

Maritime

Education

andTrainingStandards

The system must be capable of test item analysis, and the proceduresfor validation shall be stated in the quality manual of the AC concerned.

REQUIREMENTS FOR FILING OF APPLICATION FOR ACCREDITATION.1

A formal application duly accomplished application form supported by
the following valid documents:
1.1

Letter of application signed by the President/Owner orauthorized representative of the AC;

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1.2

Certified True Copy of the Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC) Registration Certificate and Articles of Incorporation forcorporation/partnership or Department of Trade and Industry(DTI) Registration Certificate for sole proprietorship;

1.3

Company Profile (A short narrative regarding the company, thecompany’s officials and their updated resumes with coloredhead photographs including the organization structure);

1.4

Business Permit;

1.5Fire Safety Inspection Certificate;

1.6

Quality Standard System Certification;

1.7

Certificate of Ownership of the lot and building or notarized
contract of lease.2

Proof of ownership of the equipment;.3

Floor Plan of the AC;.4

Set of Guidelines and Procedures in the administration of Theoreticalexamination and Practical assessment as per applicable STCWcirculars;.5

Affidavit of Undertaking signed by the President or Owner of the MAC
stating in substance that the AC shall perform all duties andresponsibilities of an accredited AC as enumerated in Item10 hereof
and that all documents submitted are authentic;.6

Specimen signatures of the MAC’s authorized signatories;.7

List of Assessors and copies of certificate of accreditation.

BASIC REQUIREMENT FOR ACCREDITATION.1Structural Facilities.1.1

Administrative Office.1.2

Assessors’ Office.1.3

Registration Area

.1.4

Reception Area

.1.5

Records Section.1.6

Briefing and debriefing Area

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.1.7

Holding Area - Serves as waiting area prior to the conduct of theTheoretical examination and Practical examination. Preferably,
located adjacent to the assessment room.

.1.8

Comfort Rooms.1.9

Real-time Audio and Video Monitoring System and Facilities –Theoretical examination and Practical examination area must be
provided with appropriate installation of real-time audio andvideo monitoring technology that can be recorded and accessed
remotely by the Administration at any given time.

.2

Assessors’ must be certificated as per IMO Model course 3.12

.3Theoretical Examination and Practical Assessment area must be
conducive to examination and assessment procedures;

4

Theoretical examination system must be of no human intervention.

CERTIFICATE OF ACCREDITATION.1A Provisional Authority valid for a period of six (6) months shall be
issued to an applicant AC found compliant with all the requirements forthe purpose of determining its capability to conduct assessment.

.2

A Certificate of Accreditation, valid for three (3) years, shall be issued
only to ACs which has demonstrated the capability to conductassessment

CONDUCT OF INSPECTION AND CHECKLIST OF REQUIREMENTS
An inspection shall be conducted prior to the issuance of Certificate ofAccreditation.
.1

The STCW Office Inspection Team shall be composed of the following:.1.1

Team Leader – Maritime Education Training and Standards
Supervisor (METSS).1.2

Members.1.2.1 One Board of Examiner, as applicable.1.2.2 One staff from the Accreditation Division; and.1.2.3 One staff from the Examination & Assessment Division;

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.2

Any non-conformity found at the time of inspection shall be noted andmade known to the authorized officials of the applicant during theClosing Meeting.

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Noted deficiencies during the inspection must be rectified within thirty(30) working days, to be reckoned from the date of receipt of official
inspection report. Once rectified, applicant must submit proof ofcompliance to the STCWO and request for a re-inspection. Failure torectify noted deficiencies within the prescribed period, said application
will be nullified.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF AN ASSESSMENT CENTER (AC)The accredited AC shall be responsible for the overall conduct of theoreticaland practical assessment. As such, it is the duty of the AC to:.1

Ensure that all candidates, prior to the conduct of examination, meetthe requirements for theoretical examination and practical assessment
as per corresponding STCW Circular;.2

Transmit electronically the list of candidates to the EAD andSurveillance Division one working day prior to the conduct oftheoretical examination and practical assessment;.3

Transmit electronically all the results of assessment to the EAD,
immediately and not exceeding 24 hours from the completion ofassessment;.4

Transmit electronically a Summary Report of Assessment on the firstworking day of every month;.5

Report to the Surveillance Division any irregularity in the conduct of thetheoretical examination and practical assessment with a statement offacts detailing the whole incident and supported by documentary
evidence;.6

Ensure the integrity and honesty of the personnel and officials involvedin the conduct of theoretical examination and practical assessment andadhere to the fair practice in conducting assessment with the ultimate
aim of producing highly competitive seafarers;.7

Ensure that the Management, Staff, including the designated
Assessors of an AC must not be related by affinity or consanguinity up
to the 4th degree to any of the candidates;

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Ensure that all equipment used in the conduct of the theoreticalexamination and practical assessment are well-maintained and are ingood working condition.

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Ensure that examination and assessment instruments are approved by
the administration.

.9

Provide full cooperation with the Administration on monitoring or similar
activities by providing all the necessary documents and making
available all personnel involved in the assessment for possible inquiry.

.10

Allow and cooperate for any unscheduled or unannounced inspections
to be conducted by the Administration.

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Ensure that the required number of assessors are present during theconduct of theoretical examination and practical assessment, andstrictly adhere and comply with the guidelines stated in this Circularand all other applicable provisions in the Implementing Rules andRegulations for the RA 10635.

PENALTIES CLAUSE
Any violation of the provisions of this Circular and other related MARINA
issuances shall be governed and sanctioned by the provisions of the IRR ofRA 10635 and MARINA Circular No. 2013-05 including any amendment oraddendum thereof, as may be promulgated by the Administration.

12.

SCHEDULE OF FEES
The schedule of fees, penalties and fines shall be provided in a separate
circular.

13.

REPEALING CLAUSE:STCW Circular 2015-02 and any provision of existing MARINA and STCWO
Circulars, rules and regulations, or of any other Philippine government agency
related to assessment, are hereby superseded, repealed or amended
accordingly.