Do I lose my 100 Ton NC if my recent time is only Inland?
No. The renewal process only looks for the number of sea days on navigable waters. The days all count the same wherever they occur, (i.e. Inland, Great Lakes, Near Coastal, etc.)
What if I have fewer than 360 days in the last 5 years?
If you are going to have less than 360 days in the previous five years of your renewal application date there are FOUR different options to renew your Captain's License. 46 CFR § 10.227 lays them out and we will go through each way for you. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/46/10.227
The most likely options are 1 and 2. Options 3 and 4 apply to instructors.
Option 1) Open Book Take Home Test
You can take an open book take home test for all National Endorsements you hold. This will be emailed to you after your application is approved at the National Maritime Center for all domestic licenses that you hold.
As an example, if you currently possess a Master 200 GRT Near Coastal, an Able Seaman Special and Lifeboatman, you will take an open book test for each of them. Remember, you have been sailing and got your original domestic license so the open book test should be a breeze!
The NMC will charge you one Examination fee of $45 no matter how many National Endorsements you are renewing.
Option 2) Take a Renewal Course
You can also take a USCG approved renewal course for each of your National endorsements. We believe this is a waste of your time and money but you are welcome to do them!
We hope this made your life a little easier and if you have other questions the MM-SEAS team is always here to help!
We do prefer to answer questions live with screen sharing to make both of our lives easier.
We hold free live virtual office hours Monday and Wednesday from 5:00 - 5:30 pm PT inside of mmseas.com under License Guidance and then Daily Office Hours.
Pro MM-SEAS members get access to our daily live office hours Monday thru Friday from 5:00 - 5:30 pm PT. You also get access to unlimited live 1 on 1 calls with one of our USCG Licensing Specialists. Pro MM-SEAS members can access these features inside of mmseas.com under License Guidance.