Minimum Safe Manning Document (MSMD) and manning proposal for seagoing vessels
Every commercial seagoing vessel operating in the Netherlands must have a valid bemanningscertificaat (Minimum Safe Manning Document, MSMD). You can apply for this document with the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT). As a ship manager, you must first prepare a bemanningsplan (manning proposal).
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Seafarers Act
The Wet Zeevarenden (Seafarers Act) outlines the crew requirements for seagoing vessels. These include:
- Education
- Training
- Watchkeeping
- Monsterboekjes (seaman’s books) and Certificates of Competency, which you can apply for through Kiwa, an organisation that issues licences in the transportation sector on behalf of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management of the Netherlands
- Crew composition
- Accommodation
The Seafarers Act incorporates the STCW Convention and large parts of the MLC Convention. The act is further detailed in the Besluit zeevarenden (Decree Seafarers, in Dutch) and the Regeling zeevarenden (Seafarers Regulations, in Dutch).