Every document you need
before your next sign-on

Identity & travel

• Passport — minimum 6 months validity at sign-on for most flags.
• Seaman’s book (discharge book) — with clean, complete sign-on/sign-off entries.
• Visas — matched to the vessel’s trading area (US C1/D, Schengen, Australia MCV…).
• Yellow fever vaccination — required for West Africa and South America routes.

Competency & medical

• CoC (Certificate of Competency) + flag state endorsement for the vessel’s flag.
• STCW basic + advanced certificates matching your rank (fire fighting, survival craft, medical care…).
• Tanker/specialty endorsements if applicable (DCE, oil/chemical/gas).
• Medical certificate — valid beyond your planned contract end, not just at sign-on.
• GMDSS / radio licence for deck officers.

What Port State Control actually checks

PSC officers do not just check that a document exists — they check the expiry date against your contract. A certificate that is valid today but expires mid-voyage is a deficiency. The usual order on board: CoC + endorsement first, then medical (they read the date twice), then STCW certs against your rank, then the seaman’s book.

Common mistakes (ask any cadet after their first contract)

• Renewing the medical 2 weeks before flying — clinics book out, results take time.
• Forgetting the flag endorsement is a separate document from the CoC.
• A passport valid for 5 months — fine for the airline, refused by the flag state.
• Photos of documents scattered across phone galleries, e-mails and “Documents FINAL final NEW” folders.

NAUTIQ keeps all of this in one encrypted vault: photograph each document, the AI scanner extracts names, numbers and dates automatically, and the app warns you months before anything expires — checked against your voyage dates. Free 14-day trial on Google Play.

Related: when to start each renewal (the 90-day rule)