Before a certificate expires, a candidate can apply to Maritime New Zealand within six months before the expiration date, to renew the certificate. You need to provide:

an application form
two passport photos (if necessary)
an updated eyesight test result from a Maritime New Zealand approved optometrist
a fit and proper person form
a consent to disclose form
proof of appropriate sea time, as per rule 32
your original certificate
an administration fee of NZ$231.00.

Application for a marine qualification form [PDF: 130Kb, 3 pages]
List of Maritime New Zealand approved optometrists
Fit and proper person form [PDF: 50Kb, 6 pages]
Consent to disclosure of information form [PDF: 83Kb, 1 page]
Statutory declaration - qualifying service form [PDF: 105Kb, 1 page]

How is sea time calculated?

As a rough guide:

125 hours commercial sea time is one month’s sea service
500 hours recreational time is one month’s sea service

Please note that eight hours (commercial or recreational) is equal to one day.

How do I claim sea time?

Sea time can be submitted in the form of hours or days at sea, but must include:

the name of the vessel
the vessel’s Maritime New Zealand number
the length of the vessel
the engine details of the vessel.

Statutory declaration forms can only be used to claim pleasure craft time or time for self-employed persons. This form must be signed by a Justice of the Peace, Notary Public or Officer authorised to take statutory declarations.

Commercial time can be claimed by a skipper filling out a Certificate of Sea Service. Alternatively provide a signed and dated letter from an employer on their organisation’s branded paper.

Certificate of sea service form [PDF: 108Kb, 1 page]

What happens if I fail my examinations?
There is a minimum stand-down period of at least three weeks for anyone who fails any of their examinations. A candidate may apply to Maritime New Zealand to re-sit their examinations after the stand down period has passed. The re-sit application fee is $163.00.

The candidate must then arrange to be re-examined by either a local examiner, or by one of Maritime New Zealand’s approved training providers.

Maritime New Zealand’s approved training providers

I think I may be a suspended seafarer, why is this?

You become a ‘suspended person’ under section 40A of the Shipping and Seaman Act 1952 if ALL of the following are true for you:

you are required by the Maritime Transport Act 1994 to hold a seagoing qualification
you have a conviction for a drug-related offence under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 or preceding legislation
you were convicted of that offence before 1 February 1995.

Your suspension becomes automatic from the time of your conviction.

Maritime Transport Act 1994 [New Zealand Parliamentary Counsel Office]

How does being a suspended seafarer affect me?

A suspended seafarer may not seek or be offered any seagoing employment on board:

any New Zealand ship or boat
any other ship or boat involved in coastal shipping under Section 198 of the Maritime Transport Act 1994.

Also a suspended seafarer may not go for any maritime qualification.

This type of suspension is automatic and therefore may impact on your accident insurance if you do not get your suspension lifted.

I am a suspended seafarer, how do I get my suspension lifted?
Suspended seafarers can apply to the Director of Maritime New Zealand to have their suspension lifted. The process involves:

getting a urine sample tested through the Institute of Environmental Science & Research Limited (ESR)
a follow-up medical examination by a Maritime New Zealand approved medical practitioner
providing testimonials and character references stating why the suspension is not longer relevant.

ESR website [ESR]
List of Maritime New Zealand approved medical practitioners

Please contact the Licensing team at Maritime New Zealand’s Wellington office for advice regarding the lifting of suspensions.

Contact Maritime New Zealand

What is the ‘Clean Slate Act’?

The Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act 2004 came into force on 29 November 2004. This Act is intended to allow individuals with less serious convictions, who have been conviction-free for at least seven years, to put their past behind them by enabling them to conceal their convictions.

There are some exceptions. Before an individual can conceal their convictions they must have:

no convictions within the last seven years
never been sentenced to a custodial sentence (imprisonment, corrective training, borstal)
never been ordered by a court to be detained in a hospital due to his/her mental condition instead of being sentenced
not been convicted of a ‘specific’ offence (sexual offending against children and young people or the mentally impaired)
never been indefinitely disqualified from driving under section 65 Land Transport Act 1998 or earlier equivalent
paid in full any fine, reparation or court costs.

A person who does not meet the above criteria is not eligible to get the benefits of the Act and is not entitled to conceal their convictions.

Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act 2004 [New Zealand Parliamentary Counsel Office]