Statutory requirements for nationalities
Provisions for nationalities in manning of German-flagged ships
On merchant ships flying the German Flag, the German Safe Manning Ordinance (Schiffsbesetzungsverordnung) stipulates that, as a general rule, the master must be an EU/EEA citizen. For ships of 8,000 GT or larger, one ship officer must also be an EU/EEA citizen. The abbreviation EEA stands for European Economic Area and includes Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway in addition to the EU member states.
However, shipping companies may also man their vessels with masters and ship officers who are not EU/EEA nationals (third-country nationals). If a third-country national holds a certificate of competency from an EU/EEA member state, they only need a German endorsement of recognition and must complete the course German Maritime Law.
If a third-country national does not hold a certificate of competency issued by an EU/EEA member state, an additional Exceptional Permission from the Ship Safety Division of the BG Verkehr is required, which is granted under the following three conditions:
- No EU/EEA master/ship officer is available on the domestic maritime labour market (see the monthly report from the Central Hiring Office "ZHH" in Hamburg on “Verfügbarkeit auf dem inländischen seemännischen Arbeitsmarkt").
- The shipowner assures BG Verkehr that it is currently unable to promote any ship officers to the rank of master.
- The shipowner establishes two training spots for each EU/EEA master or ship officer to be replaced. These may include:
- Ship's mechanic apprentices
- Officer assistants (NOA, TOA, ETOA)
- Junior officers (who graduated from a German maritime training facility no more than 5 years ago).
If these requirements are met, the shipowner receives the Exceptional Permission via email from BG Verkehr to employ non-EU/EEA masters/ship officers. The Exceptional Permission is granted to the shipping company and is not tied to a specific vessel. It can therefore be used flexibly within the company’s own fleet, as long as the requirements regarding the number of training spots to be created are met. The Exceptional Permission is initially valid for 6 months; if the shipowner establishes the training spots, BG Verkehr will extend the Exceptional Permission for an additional 54 months (= 5 years minus 6 months).
For each master or ship officer, 2 training spots must be created and permanently manned. For shipping companies with vessels exclusively under 500 GT, only one new position needs to be created.
By offering the option of flexibly employing qualified professionals from third countries, the German Flag is responding to the growing shortage of EU masters and ship officers in the maritime labour market while simultaneously creating incentives for more maritime training.
Download this overview.
Further information:
- Overview: Procedure: Increased flexibility regarding nationality requirements for safe manning
- Overview: Variation options for safe manning
Application for and issuance of the safe manning certificate
Please use our application form if you want to apply for a safe manning certificate. The ship safety division of the BG Verkehr verifies the shipowner’s proposal for safe manning of his ship. If the requirements of the German regulation for safe manning are complied with, the ship safety division (not the classification society) will issue the safe manning certificate in digital format and forward it directly to the shipowner.
