You can’t complete STCW Basic Safety Training fully online. Personal Survival Techniques and Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting are assessed in person, in water and at a live fire, and the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency limits approved online delivery to theory-based courses with no practical requirement. Theory-only courses such as Security Awareness may be delivered online by an approved centre where the administration permits it, and the flag state on your seaman book decides whether it accepts the certificate.
Updated 13 November 2026. Seaman Books is a Dubai documentation consultancy. We don’t issue STCW certificates; approved training centres do. Within Atomiq Group, training is delivered by Atomiq College.
Which STCW courses can be done online?
The STCW Code sets the competence you have to show and how it’s assessed. Where that assessment involves water, fire or hands-on demonstration, it can’t happen through a screen. The MCA puts it plainly: approved online delivery is “only normally available for theory-based courses that have no practical requirements” (MSN 1865 (M) Amendment 1, Annex F §1.1). Where it is allowed, the centre still has to verify completion, assess you properly and meet minimum contact hours (Annex F §4.4).
| Course | STCW Code table | Can it be done online? | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal Survival Techniques (PST) | A-VI/1-1 | No | You enter the water, right and board a liferaft |
| Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting (FPFF) | A-VI/1-2 | No | Live fire, breathing apparatus, search in smoke |
| Elementary First Aid (EFA) | A-VI/1-3 | No | CPR and casualty handling are demonstrated and assessed |
| Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities (PSSR) | A-VI/1-4 | Theory may be blended at an approved centre ( Eg: Panama, Palau and Honduras ) | Classroom-based, but still part of an approved programme with assessment |
| Proficiency in Security Awareness | A-VI/6-1 | Often delivered online where the administration approves it (Nevis, Liberia, Bahamas, and Honduras—accept online-delivered STCW PSA (A-VI/6-1) certificates, Panama and identify the issuing maritime administrations whose certificates are recognized by each flag.) | Theory course, no practical element |
| Crowd Management / Crisis Management (passenger ships) | A-V/2 | Theory may be blended | Required for passenger-ship crew; check the specific course approval |
| PST + FPFF refresher | A-VI/1-1, A-VI/1-2 | No | The MCA sets PST at 4 hours and FPFF at 7 hours, and FPFF can’t be updated on board (MSN 1865 §4.5) |
So the realistic version of “STCW online” is blended: enrolment, document checks and some theory from home, then a few days at a centre for the practical modules. Full Basic Safety Training at Atomiq College runs over 5 days and covers all four Regulation VI/1 modules.
Why a 100% online STCW certificate gets rejected
Certificates issued without attendance are the reason the 2010 Manila amendments added “improved measures to prevent fraudulent practices” (IMO, STCW Convention). They usually surface in one of three places:
- The seaman book or endorsement application. The flag administration checks the training certificate against the issuing centre’s approval. A certificate it can’t verify stalls or kills the file.
- Port state control. Inspectors can ask for your certificates and test whether you can do what they say you can. A crew member who has never donned breathing apparatus is easy to spot.
- The manning agent’s onboarding check. Many agents verify certificates directly with the centre before the joining date.
When it goes wrong, the seafarer carries the cost: a lost contract, a repeated course, and sometimes a record with the administration.
Is there an “IMO-approved” online STCW course?
No. The IMO writes the Convention and publishes model courses as guidance, but it doesn’t approve training centres or individual courses. Approval comes from a national maritime administration that is party to STCW, which must keep training and assessment under its own quality standards .
Note: STCW Regulation I/6 and Regulation I/8 text linked to the IMO STCW Convention and Code and an official consolidated Convention text. Regulation I/6 addresses training and assessment oversight; Regulation I/8 addresses quality standards systems.
A website calling its course “IMO-approved” is telling you something about its accuracy, not its approval. Ask which administration approved the course and check that administration’s list.
Training certificate, seaman book, endorsement: who issues what
Most of the confusion in this area comes from treating three different documents as one.
| Document | Who issues it | What it proves | Can it be obtained online? |
|---|---|---|---|
| STCW training certificate (BST, Security Awareness, refreshers) | An approved training centre, under its national administration | You completed and passed the course | Only theory-only courses, where approved |
| Seaman book / CDC / SIRB | A flag-state administration (for example Panama, Liberia, Palau) | Your identity and sea service record for that flag | The application can usually be filed remotely through an agent; the book is issued by the flag |
| Certificate of Competency (CoC) | Your national administration | The rank you are licensed to hold | No. Issued after exams and sea time in your country |
| Flag-state endorsement (CoE / Reg I/10 recognition) | The flag of the ship you’ll serve on | That this flag accepts your national CoC on its ships | Application can be filed remotely; issued by the flag |
A training centre can’t issue a seaman book, and a flag can’t issue your Basic Safety Training. Seaman Books sits between them: we check your certificates against the flag’s rules and file the flag documents. More on the officer side in flag state endorsement explained and CoC vs CoP vs CDC.
Which flag states accept your STCW certificates?
Every flag we file with asks some version of the same four questions about a training certificate:
- Was it issued under an administration that is party to STCW and on that flag’s list of accepted administrations?
- Has the flag restricted documents from that administration, either generally or for non-nationals?
- Was the course approved by the issuing administration, with practical assessment where the Code requires it?
- Is it in date, and will it stay in date for the contract?
What each administration publishes:
| Flag | What it publishes that affects your training certificates | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Panama (AMP) | Does not recognise “by endorsement or for any other process” CoCs, CoPs, course certificates or seaman’s books issued to non-nationals by 12 administrations, including Belize, Honduras and Palau. Applies its own version of the STCW white list | MMC-344, Jan 2025 · MMC-343 |
| Panama (AMP) | Since 1 April 2026, CoCs and their Reg I/10 endorsements are electronic, with an “E” prefix and a QR code | MMC-331, Mar 2026 |
| Liberia (LISCR) | May decline certificates even from white-list countries; an endorsement can’t be re-endorsed by another flag; a Liberian SIRB is required before other Liberian documents | RLM-118, Rev. 04/2026, §2.1.10, §2.4.1 |
| Palau | CoE valid up to 5 years and never beyond the national CoC; a CRA plus valid national CoC lets you serve up to 3 months while the CoE is processed | Palau registry circular used in the 18 Sep endorsement and Palau Circular |
| Bahamas (BMA) | Public certificate verification tool | BMA verify a certificate |
| Belize (IMMARBE), Honduras, St Kitts & Nevis | Training-certificate acceptance rules Belize, Honduras, St Kitts circulars. | — |
Of all of these, the Panama rule catches people out most often, and it’s worth reading twice. A seafarer who isn’t a Belizean national, holding a course certificate issued under Belize, can’t use it for a Panama process. Our own training arm, Atomiq College, is approved by IMMARBE, the Belize administration. So if your next contract is on a Panama-flagged ship, we check your nationality and the issuing administration against MMC-344 before recommending where to train.
On Liberia: Atomiq Group is an authorised LISCR filing agent for the Liberian seaman book (SIRB). See Liberia seaman book.
The short version: ask which flag your ship flies before you book training, not after.
Can you renew STCW online?
Not the practical parts. A PST and FPFF refresher means water and fire again, assessed in person. Centres often run both over one or two days. Full detail, including the five-year rule and what to do if your certificate has already lapsed, is in our STCW renewal guide. If you’re in the UAE, see STCW courses in Dubai.
What you can do from home
A lot of the process does move online, just not the assessment itself.
| Step | Online? | Who does it |
|---|---|---|
| Eligibility check (rank, flag, nationality, certificate dates) | Yes | Seaman Books |
| Enrolment and course booking | Yes | Seaman Books, with Atomiq College or a UAE partner centre |
| Theory-only courses, where approved | Sometimes | The training centre |
| Practical modules (PST, FPFF, EFA, refreshers) | No | The training centre, in person |
| Seaman book / SIRB application | Yes, filed remotely | Seaman Books files; the flag issues |
| Flag endorsement application and CRA | Yes, filed remotely | Seaman Books files; the flag issues |
| Verifying the issued documents | Yes | You, at the administration’s own portal |
How it works with Seaman Books
- Send your documents. Passport, current STCW certificates, CoC if you’re an officer, and the flag of your next ship. WhatsApp is fastest.
- We check them against the flag. Which certificates are valid, which expire mid-contract, and whether the issuing administration is accepted by that flag.
- We book what’s missing. Basic Safety Training or a refresher at Atomiq College in Kathmandu or an approved partner centre in the UAE. The centre issues the certificate.
- We file the flag documents. Seaman book, SIRB or endorsement with Panama, Palau, Liberia, Bahamas, Belize, Honduras or St Kitts & Nevis. The administration issues them.
- You verify before you sail. Every document should check out on the issuing administration’s own portal. If one doesn’t, tell us.
We don’t guarantee a government outcome. We make sure the file the administration receives is complete and correct.
STCW by market: Dubai and GCC, UK, USA
Dubai and the GCC. You can walk into our office at #903 Regal Tower, Business Bay, or do the whole document side by WhatsApp. For training you have two routes: Atomiq College in Kathmandu, or an approved partner centre in the UAE. The right one depends on your flag (see the Panama note above), your dates and your budget. Fees are quoted in AED and USD.
United Kingdom. UK-based seafarers usually train at an MCA-approved centre, and MSN 1865 is the rulebook. That’s fine: we don’t need you to train with us. Send us your certificates and the flag of your ship, and we handle the flag-state seaman book or endorsement.
United States. If you’ll serve on a US-flagged vessel, you need a US Merchant Mariner Credential and USCG-approved training, which is a separate regime we don’t process. If you’re an American working on a foreign-flagged ship or yacht (Panama, Liberia, Bahamas and so on), the flag-state route applies and we can help. The difference is explained in US MMC vs seaman book.
STCW requirements by rank
| Rank / role | Typical STCW training | Flag documents |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary Seaman, Wiper, Messman | BST (four modules), Security Awareness | Seaman book |
| Able Seafarer Deck / Engine, Motorman | BST, Security Awareness or Designated Security Duties, plus the rating CoP | Seaman book |
| Cruise hotel, galley and catering staff | BST, Security Awareness, Crowd Management (passenger ships) | Seaman book |
| Ship’s cook | BST, Security Awareness, plus the flag’s cook certification [VERIFY: MLC cook requirement per flag] | Seaman book |
| Deck and engine officers | BST, Advanced Fire Fighting (A-VI/3), PSCRB (A-VI/2-1), Medical First Aid (A-VI/4-1), plus national CoC | Seaman book + flag endorsement |
| Master, Chief Mate, Chief Engineer | As officers, plus Medical Care (A-VI/4-2) where designated | Seaman book + flag endorsement |
For the security courses, see Security Awareness vs Designated Security Duties. For officer endorsements by flag: Panama CoC endorsement and Liberia vs Palau endorsement.
How to spot a fake online STCW offer
- It promises a full BST or refresher certificate with no attendance.
- It calls itself “IMO-approved” or “IMO-certified”.
- It can’t name the administration that approved the course, or the approval number.
- The certificate can’t be verified with the issuing centre or administration.
- It offers a flag endorsement or seaman book “without documents” or with a guaranteed date.
Any one of these is reason enough to walk away.
What it costs and how long it takes
| Item | Cost | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| STCW Basic Safety Training (all four modules) | WhatsApp for Itemized Quote | 5 days at Atomiq College | Training centre’s fee |
| PST + FPFF refresher | WhatsApp for Itemized Quote | Often one to two days at the centre | Training centre’s fee |
| Certificate issued after the course | WhatsApp for Itemized Quote | within a few hours | Set by the centre |
| Panama seaman’s book, non-national (government fee) | WhatsApp for Itemized Quote | — | Panama Ship Registry [VERIFY: re-read fee schedule cell by cell before publish; figures read 18 Sep 2026] |
| Panama officer CoC endorsement, non-national (government fee) | WhatsApp for Itemized Quote | — | Same source and check |
| Panama FAST handling, under 24 hours (government fee) | WhatsApp for Itemized Quote | — | Same source and check |
| Seaman Books service fee | WhatsApp for Itemized Quote | https://seamanbooks.com/top-10-flag-states-for-seafarers-documentation/ | Quoted per application, itemised separately from government fees |
Government fees belong to the flag. Our service fee is quoted separately so you can see which part of the invoice is which.
Check your STCW and flag documents in one go. Send your certificates and your ship’s flag. We’ll tell you what’s valid, what’s missing, and what it will cost before you pay anything. Apply Now WhatsApp: +971 55 458 3416 · Office: #903 Regal Tower, Business Bay, Dubai
Frequently asked questions
Can I complete my entire STCW Basic Safety Training online?
No. Personal Survival Techniques needs water entry and liferaft boarding, Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting needs a live fire, and Elementary First Aid needs hands-on assessment. The UK MCA limits approved online delivery to theory-based courses with no practical requirement. A full BST certificate issued without attendance will fail at a flag application or inspection.
Which STCW courses can be done online?
Theory-only courses, where the issuing administration approves online delivery. Security Awareness is the most common example, and some centres blend PSSR or Crowd Management theory. The approved centre must still verify completion and assess you. Check that the flag on your seaman book accepts the certificate before you pay.
Is there an IMO-approved online STCW course?
No. The IMO writes the STCW Convention and publishes model courses as guidance, but it doesn’t approve training centres or courses. National maritime administrations do. A course advertised as “IMO-approved” is misdescribing itself. Ask which administration approved it and check that administration’s records.
Which flag states accept online STCW certificates?
Acceptance depends on the issuing administration and the course approval, not on the word “online”. Panama, for example, refuses course certificates issued to non-nationals by Belize, Honduras, Palau and nine other administrations (MMC-344). Liberia can decline certificates even from white-list countries. Send us your certificates and ship’s flag and we’ll check.
What is the difference between an STCW certificate and a flag state endorsement?
A training centre issues your STCW certificate to show you passed a course. Your national administration issues your CoC. A flag-state endorsement is the ship’s flag recognising that CoC for service on its vessels. Officers need all three. Ratings usually need training certificates and a seaman book.
How long is an STCW certificate valid?
PST and FPFF must be updated every five years, as must Advanced Fire Fighting and Survival Craft for those who hold them. Elementary First Aid and PSSR certificates don’t expire under the Convention, though your flag can set stricter rules. Our STCW renewal guide covers the detail and lapsed certificates.
Can I renew my STCW certificates online?
Not the practical elements. The PST and FPFF refreshers involve water entry and live fire again, assessed in person. The MCA sets the refresher at 4 hours for PST and 7 hours for FPFF, and FPFF can’t be updated on board. Centres commonly run both together over one or two days.
Can Seaman Books issue my STCW certificate?
No. Approved training centres issue STCW certificates. Within Atomiq Group that is Atomiq College; in the UAE we also book an approved partner centre. Seaman Books checks your certificates against your flag’s rules, arranges training if something is missing, and files your seaman book or endorsement with the flag administration.
I’m in the UK or USA. Can you still help?
Yes, with the flag-state side. Train at your local approved centre (MCA in the UK) and send us the certificates and your ship’s flag. If you’ll serve on a US-flagged ship you need a USCG Merchant Mariner Credential, which we don’t process.
Note: The four-course list is verified. The exact wording of MSN 1865 §4.4 should still be checked against the official PDF before quoting it verba
About this page. Written by Dipak Paudel. Regulatory statements link to the IMO, the UK MCA and the Panama and Liberia registries. Seaman Books (Atomiq Management Consultancies L.L.C, Dubai, since 2011) is a documentation consultancy, not a flag administration or training provider of record. We don’t issue certificates or guarantee administration decisions.
Sources: UK MCA MSN 1865 (M) Amendment 1 · IMO STCW Convention · Panama MMC-344 · Panama MMC-343 · Panama MMC-331 · LISCR RLM-118 · Panama Ship Registry seafarer fees · BMA certificate verification
