STCW SASH training is the mandatory instruction on preventing and responding to violence and harassment at sea, including sexual assault and sexual harassment (SASH) and bullying. IMO Resolution MSC.560(108) added it to the Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities (PSSR) course in STCW Code Table A-VI/1-4, and it has applied to basic training since 1 January 2026. It isn’t a separate certificate: it’s part of PSSR.
Seaman Books is a maritime documentation consultancy in Business Bay, Dubai. We don’t deliver training, issue certificates or act as a flag state. This page explains the 2026 change so you can tell whether your PSSR certificate still meets the rules of the administration you work under.
SASH training at a glance
| What it is | A new competence in STCW basic training: “Contribute to the prevention of and response to violence and harassment, including sexual harassment, bullying and sexual assault” |
| Legal basis | IMO Resolution MSC.560(108), adopted 23 May 2024. Replaces STCW Code Table A-VI/1-4 (PSSR) |
| In force | 1 January 2026 |
| Where it sits | Inside PSSR, one of the four basic training courses under STCW Regulation VI/1 |
| Who needs it | Every seafarer who needs PSSR: anyone on the ship’s complement with designated safety or pollution-prevention duties |
| How it’s assessed | Evidence from approved instruction or an approved course. No practical drill |
| PSSR courses from 1 Jan 2026 | Must include it |
| PSSR certificates from before 2026 | Depends on the administration. The UK requires a top-up by 31 March 2027. Bahamas says older certificates stay valid, with onboard training. Check your own flag |
| Separate certificate? | No. It’s part of PSSR, though some administrations accept a standalone top-up record for older holders |
By Dipak Paudel, Digital Content Creater at Atomiq Group Since 2021· Last reviewed 16 October 2026
What changed on 1 January 2026
The IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee adopted Resolution MSC.560(108) at its 108th session on 23 May 2024. It replaced Table A-VI/1-4 of the STCW Code, the minimum standard of competence in personal safety and social responsibilities, and entered into force on 1 January 2026 (MSC.560(108), IMO).
The IMO’s summary: the amendments outline “new mandatory minimum requirements for basic training and instruction for seafarers” on violence and harassment (IMO, January 2026).
The revised PSSR table now has seven competences:
| # | PSSR competence (Table A-VI/1-4, as amended) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Comply with emergency procedures |
| 2 | Take precautions to prevent pollution of the marine environment |
| 3 | Observe safe working practices |
| 4 | Contribute to effective communications on board ship |
| 5 | Contribute to effective human relationships on board ship |
| 6 | Contribute to the prevention of and response to violence and harassment, including sexual harassment, bullying and sexual assault (new from 2026) |
| 7 | Understand and take necessary actions to control fatigue |
Row 6 is the one people call “SASH training”. The acronym stands for sexual assault and sexual harassment. The competence is wider than that, though: it also covers bullying and other forms of violence and harassment.
What the SASH competence covers
The resolution splits the competence into prevention and response. In summary, a seafarer must show:
| Area | What you must know or be able to do |
|---|---|
| Prevention | Understand violence and harassment in all the forms covered, including how harm escalates along a “continuum of harm” |
| Understand the consequences for victims, perpetrators, bystanders and others, including effects on safety, health and wellbeing | |
| Recognize contributing factors such as abuse of power, discrimination, stress, isolation, fatigue, and drugs or alcohol | |
| Response | Recognize violence and harassment when it happens |
| Know how to intervene and how to report | |
| Understand trauma-informed response principles, and how to support victims, bystanders and yourself |
How it’s assessed: by evidence from approved instruction or an approved course. Unlike survival or firefighting, there’s no practical drill.
What the assessor checks: prevention practices are observed at all times, violence and harassment (including the continuum of harm) is identified correctly, and intervention and reporting procedures are followed.
Summarized from the annex to MSC.560(108). The full wording of each column is in the resolution.
Who needs STCW SASH training
Everyone who needs PSSR. The scope of basic training hasn’t changed: seafarers “employed or engaged in any capacity on board ship on the business of that ship as part of the ship’s complement with designated safety or pollution-prevention duties” must complete it before they’re assigned shipboard duties. The UK MCA repeats that scope word for word in MGN 718 §4.1.
In practice, that means:
- New seafarers (cadets, ratings, trainees): an approved PSSR course taken on or after 1 January 2026 should already include it. Check the certificate (see “How to check your certificate” below).
- Officers, engineers and ratings with older PSSR: whether you have to do anything depends on your administration. That’s the next section.
- Hotel, catering and entertainment crew with muster duties: same rule as deck and engine crew.
For the full basic training picture, see STCW basic safety training explained.
My PSSR is from before 2026. Do I need to redo it?
There’s no single answer any more. The resolution itself contains no transitional clause. PSSR has never had a five-year refresher under the Convention, and the five-yearly updating requirement covers only Personal Survival Techniques and Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting. So at first most administrations said older certificates remained valid.
That changed after the IMO’s HTW Sub-Committee met in February 2026. The UK MCA states it revised its position “following the outcome of the IMO working group and the findings of the HTW Sub-Committee session (February 2026)” (MGN 718 §3). Other administrations may follow. Some already have; others haven’t said.
Here’s what we’ve been able to confirm from the administrations’ own documents:
| Administration | Position on PSSR issued before 1 January 2026 | Deadline | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (MCA) | Top-up required. All holders of UK PSSR dated before 1 Jan 2026, and all UK CoC and CoP holders, must complete a supplementary module. The MCA provides one free: OneOcean’s “Prevention and Response to Violence & Harassment” (ref. 0900), about 1 hour online, no final assessment. MCA-approved PSSR dated on or after 1 Jan 2026 already counts | 31 March 2027 | MGN 718 (M+F), updated 3 Sep 2026 (replaces MIN 729) |
| Bahamas (BMA) | Remain valid. But the company and master must give onboard training on bullying and harassment covering the elements of Table A-VI/1-4 | None stated | Marine Notice 20 v1.1, 21 Nov 2025, §1.4, §4.8, §7.3.4 |
| Gibraltar | No refresher currently required. Recommends companies adopt bullying and harassment policies and familiarization | None stated | Gibraltar Maritime Administration notice |
| Panama (AMP) | AMP Merchant Marine Circular on MSC.560(108). Secondary sources conflict: one (Data Portuaria, May 2026) says Panama rejects PSSR certificates without MSC.560(108) wording; another (jobmarineman.com, Dec 2025) says no circular invalidating existing PSSR was issued. Publish only what the AMP circular says, or “no published position confirmed” | Official AMP source: | Official AMP source: |
| Liberia (LISCR) | Liberia Marine Notice. One secondary source says the requirement is tied to the training or renewal date only. Confirm on the LISCR site | LISCR Websites | liberia REGISTRY |
| Palau, Belize (IMMARBE), Honduras, St Kitts & Nevis | As of 16 October 2026, the wording should distinguish an administration’s confirmed published policy from an issue its official notice does not resolve. For the two administrations reviewed so far, the evidence supports the following. |
Positions as published by each administration, checked 16 October 2026. Administrations can and do revise these. The UK replaced its first notice within nine months.
Which administration’s rule applies to you? Usually two. The administration that issued your PSSR and certificates of competency decides whether your training meets its standard. The flag of the ship you join decides what it accepts for an endorsement or a seaman’s book. If they differ, you need to satisfy both.
What we’d do if your PSSR is from before 2026:
- Find out which administrations issued your certificates and which flag your next ship flies.
- If either requires a top-up, do it before your next joining or revalidation, not at the gangway.
- If neither requires one yet, a short approved top-up is still the cheapest way to avoid a query during a crew change, a Port State Control inspection or a seaman’s book application. Keep the record with your certificates.
Not sure which rule applies to you? Send us your certificate dates, the issuing administration and your next flag and we’ll check it for you. Contact details are at the end of this page.
Does this affect my seaman’s book application?
It can. A flag-state seaman’s book application usually includes your basic training certificates. If the administration wants PSSR that reflects MSC.560(108), and yours is dated before 2026 with no top-up record, expect a query or a request for further evidence. A query adds time to an application.
That’s why we check certificate dates against the target administration before filing, not after. For what a first application needs, see seaman book requirements for new applicants.
How to check your PSSR certificate covers SASH
Look for three things on the certificate or the course record:
| Check | What you want to see |
|---|---|
| Date | Course completed on or after 1 January 2026 |
| Reference | Wording such as “STCW Code Table A-VI/1-4, as amended by IMO Resolution MSC.560(108)”. The STCW Convention doesn’t require this wording, but some administrations and employers look for it, and the UK only accepts other White List certificates that carry it (MGN 718 §4.1) |
| Approval | The training centre names the administration that approved the course, and you can check that approval on the administration’s register |
If a center can’t tell you which administration approved its PSSR course, don’t book it. A certificate from an unapproved course doesn’t help you at inspection.
Can SASH training be done online?
Often, yes. It’s the one part of basic training with no practical drill: the resolution assesses it on “evidence from approved instruction or an approved course”. The UK’s own top-up is an online module (MGN 718 §4.2).
But “online” has to mean “approved by your administration”. A generic e-learning certificate from a provider with no approval for your flag may not be accepted. The four-course BST block still needs in-person attendance for the practical modules (survival, firefighting and first aid). See STCW basic safety training explained.
What employers and ship managers need to know
STCW covers the seafarer’s competence. The employer’s duties come from the Maritime Labor Convention. The 2025 amendments to MLC, 2006, adopted by the International Labor Conference on 6 June 2025, require measures to prevent and address violence and harassment on board, including sexual harassment, bullying and sexual assault. Those measures include policies, reporting procedures and safeguards in shipboard complaint procedures. The amendments touch Regulations 1.4, 3.1, 4.3 and 5.1 and are expected to enter into force on 23 December 2027 (Hong Kong Marine Department MSIN 14/2026, 28 September 2026).
For a ship manager or manning agency in Dubai or the wider GCC, the practical sequence is:
- Now: check that every crew member’s PSSR meets the rule of their certificate-issuing administration and of each flag in the fleet. The UK deadline for UK-certified crew is 31 March 2027.
- Before December 2027: have a written shipboard policy on violence and harassment, plus reporting and complaint procedures that protect complainants.
- Keep records. The UK MCA expects companies to “maintain records of training completion” (MGN 718 §7.1).
We track certificate status across crews. See our crew certification tracking matrix, or talk to us about crewing documentation support.
If you need support now
This page is about training requirements. If you’re dealing with harassment, bullying or assault at sea right now, you don’t have to wait for a course. SeafarerHelp, run by the charity ISWAN, is a free, confidential, 24-hour helpline for seafarers and their families. Your company’s designated person ashore (DPA) and your shipboard complaint procedure under the MLC are also routes to raise it.
Where Atomiq Group fits
Within Atomiq Group, training and documentation are kept separate.
Atomiq College is the Group’s maritime training institute in Kathmandu, Nepal, and is approved by IMMARBE, the Belize flag administration. It delivers STCW Basic Safety Training, including PSSR.
Seaman Books is the documentation side. We check which version of PSSR your administration and your next flag require, arrange enrolment where training is needed, and prepare your seaman’s book and flag-state filings around it. We work with the administrations of Panama, Palau, Liberia, Bahamas, Belize, Honduras and St Kitts & Nevis.
Check your PSSR before your next contract
Send us three things: the date on your PSSR certificate, the administration that issued it, and the flag of your next ship. We’ll tell you whether you need a top-up, and arrange it if you do.
- WhatsApp the Dubai desk: +971 55 458 3416
- Online enquiry: send your certificate details
Office: #903 Regal Tower, Business Bay, Dubai, UAE. Open 9:30 to 18:00
Frequently asked questions
What is STCW SASH training?
STCW SASH training is the instruction on preventing and responding to violence and harassment at sea, including sexual assault, sexual harassment and bullying. IMO Resolution MSC.560(108) added it to the Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities (PSSR) course in STCW Code Table A-VI/1-4. It has been mandatory in basic training since 1 January 2026.
Is SASH training a separate STCW certificate?
No. SASH is a competence inside PSSR, one of the four STCW basic training courses under Regulation VI/1. A PSSR course completed on or after 1 January 2026 should include it. Some administrations, such as the UK, accept a separate top-up record from seafarers whose PSSR predates 2026.
Do I need to redo PSSR if my certificate is from before 2026?
It depends on your administration. The UK requires all UK-certified seafarers with pre-2026 PSSR to complete a free online top-up by 31 March 2027. Bahamas says pre-2026 PSSR certificates remain valid, with onboard training from the company. Check the rule of the administration that issued your certificates and of the ship’s flag.
When did the STCW harassment training become mandatory?
The amendment, IMO Resolution MSC.560(108), was adopted on 23 May 2024 and entered into force on 1 January 2026. From that date, approved PSSR courses must cover the prevention of and response to violence and harassment, including sexual harassment, bullying and sexual assault.
Can I do STCW SASH training online?
Usually, yes, because this competence has no practical drill and is assessed on evidence from approved instruction or an approved course. The UK’s top-up is an online module of about one hour. The course must be approved or accepted by your administration, so a generic e-learning certificate may not count.
What does SASH stand for in maritime training?
SASH stands for sexual assault and sexual harassment. In STCW training it’s shorthand for the 2026 PSSR competence, which is wider: it also covers bullying and other forms of violence and harassment, including recognizing them, intervening, reporting and supporting victims using trauma-informed principles.
Does the MLC also cover harassment at sea?
Yes. The 2025 amendments to the Maritime Labor Convention, 2006, adopted on 6 June 2025, require employers and flag states to take measures against violence and harassment on board, including policies, reporting procedures and complaint safeguards. They’re expected to enter into force on 23 December 2027.
