MSN 1858 Amendment 2
Amendment 2 replaced Amendment 1 on 18 May 2026, and GOV.UK publishes no summary of the differences. We compared the two notices line by line; these are the changes that affect candidates. Everything not listed here — the sea service definitions, the OOW, Master <500 and Master <3000 sea time — reads the same.
Yes: Chief Mate (Yachts Unlimited) and Master (Yachts Unlimited), in a new section 4. The route runs through management-level modules at Annex G nautical colleges, MCA assessments in Chief Mate Navigation and Stability (Yacht Unlimited), and MCA orals: the Chief Mate (Yachts Unlimited) oral and the Master Unlimited GT Yacht oral. Chief Mate (Yachts <3000 GT) is not new — it was already in Amendment 1.
Amendment 2 adds two accepted entry certificates for OOW (Yachts <3000 GT): an RYA Yachtmaster Coastal CoC with an RYA Coastal Skipper practical course completion certificate, or an IYT Master of Yachts Coastal/Mate less than 200 GT. Amendment 1 accepted only the Yachtmaster Offshore (with shore-based course) or IYT Master of Yachts Limited, which remain valid.
It is now issued under STCW Regulation II/3. Amendment 1 listed it under II/2. The unlimited-area version stays under II/2.
They moved. Amendment 1 set the intervals itself — 2 weeks, then 2 weeks, then 3 months — and let the examiner shorten them or impose a sea service penalty. Amendment 2 points to MIN 690 instead, which currently sets at least 2 weeks before a second attempt, 6 weeks before a third (with all other documentary evidence submitted), 3 months before later attempts, and 3 months' further sea service before an NOE for a fifth or later attempt.
Slightly. Both amendments require at least 6 months of qualifying seagoing service within the 5 years before the MCA receives your application, and within the 5 years before your CoC is issued. Amendment 1 also repeated the requirement for the 5 years before your NOE is issued; Amendment 2 drops that clause.
The MCA now requires 100% classroom attendance on approved training, unless agreed otherwise with the MCA. Amendment 1 required at least 90%.
Amendment 2 adds pointers to MIN 690 for the NOE format and online booking, drops the line about the examiner recording your result on the NOE (NOEs are now issued by email), and renumbers sections from 4 onwards to fit the new Yachts Unlimited section. The ancillary course table gains columns for the Yachts Unlimited certificates, including NAEST (Management).
The notices change. Always check the current version on GOV.UK before you apply or book.
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