How do I Increase in Scope from OUPV to Master 100 GRT Near Coastal?
Updated: Mar 29, 2022
The most common way is to become a Master 100 GRT Near Coastal under 46 CFR § 11.428, which you will need to provide the USCG 720 sea days in the deck department, with 360 of them on Near Coastal or Ocean Waters. You hold your OUPV Inland or Near Coastal under 46 CFR § 11.467 which means you're already halfway there.
Because you hold a OUPV Inland or Near Coastal under 46 CFR § 11.467 you can take an "Upgrade" course from for OUPV to Master 100 ton Near Coastal. These are short classes and they are taking care of the USCG tests for you. (Q170 - Deck General/Safety, Q171 - Navigation General: Near Coastal and Q165 - Navigation and Deck General/Safety)
If you hold a OUPV Inland or Near Coastal under 46 CFR § 11.467 and you would like to become a Master 100 GRT Near Coastal we really recommend taking an "Upgrade" USCG Approved Course from OUPV to Master 100 ton when you have 720 sea days in the deck department, with 360 of them on Near Coastal or Ocean Waters.
What about my tonnage?
To qualify for a 100 ton
If you have 180 days on vessels 51 GRT or larger OR 360 days on vessels 34 GRT or larger you qualify for a 100 ton.
To qualify for a 50 ton
If you have 180 days on vessels 26 GRT or larger OR 360 days on vessels 17 GRT or larger you qualify for a 50 ton.
I don't qualify for 50 or 100 ton with my current sea time. What do I do?
No worries! Tonnage limitations will apply if you are on smaller boats. This also makes sense as you will probably be working on smaller boats anyway. We recommend not worrying about them and just focus on getting the right type of license for what you currently want to do.
Tonnage limitations are really simple and easy to remove with just 90 sea days once you hold your new MMC! For a mate and a master under 200 GRT all you need is sea time while holding your license to remove them. Here's a blog post that goes into detail.
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 master classes 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 master classes and 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.