What documents are required for a yacht charter? It is sometimes difficult for beginners to understand the variety of documents and requirements necessary for a yacht charter. What documents exactly do charter companies accept, and how to draw them up correctly?
Yacht Rights (Kapitana License)
The main document required for a yacht charter is if you are determined to be the captain of the yacht and not to hire a professional skipper. For a yacht charter, a certificate for the management of a small -breeding vessel for recreational purposes is usually used. This is the most popular and common type of certificates. As a document for the charter of the yacht, the corresponding professional certificate (with permission to engage in commercial activities) can also be used. The license of the captain of a charter yacht must correspond to the characteristics of the leased vessel. These characteristics include both the parameters of the vessel (length, usually up to 24 meters) and the type of propulsion (for sailing Saling, for motor power).
National documents for yacht charter
Unfortunately, Russia is not among the countries that have signed the 40th UN resolution. For this reason, the GIMS certificate issued by the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation is not suitable for yacht charter. In addition, the GIMS certificate has a direct restriction of validity within the boundaries of the "Territorial Sea of the Russian Federation", that is, it is not valid abroad. Among other things, the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation does not have a material base for training in the management of a modern yacht. And to learn and open a sailing category is almost impossible at all. In Russia, there is a public organization called the All-Russian Sailing Federation. In addition to organizing and holding competitions, this public organization issues certificates for the management of small sports and cruise ships. You can find on the Internet many ads from yacht schools that issue such certificates. These certificates are also not legitimate not only abroad but also within the country. In other words, having a certificate of WFTU (for example, the captain of a day voyage) you can not drive a yacht even in Russia. Since there is no such legitimate registration of the vessel as the registration of the vessel of the WFTU. In Russia, any small vessel can have either GIMS registration or registration by the Ministry of Transport. And to manage a vessel under one or another registration, an appropriate certificate is required. That is, to manage a vessel under the registration of GIMS, gims rights are needed, the rights of the Ministry of Transport will no longer be suitable. If, for example, you decide to put your yacht under the maritime register after receiving the registration of the Ministry of Transport, be kind and also get the appropriate certificate. Ministry of Transport Professional certificate for vessel management, allowing to engage in commercial activities. Accepted in all charter companies of the world. Training is conducted in educational institutions of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, and usually takes about a month. According to our customers, during this month you are taking the STCW course and classical yachting theory. Practice, as a rule, is either completely absent, or is carried out on a vessel that bears little resemblance to a modern yacht. At least we are not aware of any sailing or motor yacht, on the counter would have been conducted such training in Russia.
International documents for yacht charter.
Currently, there are several popular irradiation systems for yacht control. As a rule, these are public organizations that have received or have not received recognition and accreditation in the English MCA (Maritime and Coastguard Agency). Also now there are a huge number of commercial yacht schools working on one of these systems. Training in such schools costs about 1000-1500 euros per course and lasts a maximum of two weeks. Some schools provide fairly high-quality knowledge, and most importantly good practice. Some, on the contrary, are engaged in pure commerce, and after taking a course in such a school, it is still necessary to get practice. Finding a decent school is sometimes not easy, so we could advise you to look not for a school, but for a specific instructor. RYA Royal Yachting Association (RYA) – The Royal Yachting Association, founded in 1875, is the national body of the United Kingdom. RYA certificates carry a certain weight in the yachting community. Certificates issued by RYA are unconditionally accepted in all charter companies of the world. RYA is an organization with a deep history and for this reason carefully monitors the quality of training in affected yacht schools. Training is conducted in English, for this reason among Russians it does not have much popularity. Nevertheless, of all the international irradiation systems, in our opinion, it is the RYA that is the most authoritative. ICC (International Certificate for Operators of Pleasure Craft)
The national certificate for the management of a small vessel for recreational purposes – ICC (International Certificate for Operators of Pleasure Craft) of the countries that signed the 40th UN resolution. It is international and fully legitimate. Having such documents, you can safely take a yacht on a charter in any region of the world. It is important that this certificate has no restriction on night navigation.
IYT International Yacht Training (IYT) is an independent organization that specializes in training in the management of sailing and motor yachts, both for recreational and professional purposes. IYT was founded by Mark Fry in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA in 1998. A year later, IYT courses and programs were approved by the English agency MCA. Currently, IYT leads among yachting training systems worldwide. Throughout the history of the IYT, more than 350,000 candidates have been prepared. There are more than 300 partner yacht schools in 64 countries. Instruction under this system may be conducted in the local language. IYT documents are fully suitable for yacht charter and are accepted by all charter companies in the world. Among other things, for residents of Russia this is a great opportunity to obtain international ICC documents. Only a few schools are accredited to issue these certificates, so consider this when choosing a yacht school. Training on the IYT system consists of a practical and theoretical part. Theory can be taught both in a classical way in classrooms and in the mode of online webinars. The practice lasts from 10 to 14 days depending on the school and the mode of study. During the practice, candidates need to walk at least 200 nautical miles. Such a system of yachting training has proven its effectiveness. In addition, recently the main office of IYT has become more serious about the quality control of training. When choosing a yachting school, pay attention to when the yacht school was passed the last audit. ISSA International Sailing Schools Association (ISSA) is an international organization that unites 3500 sailing schools from around the world. ISSA was founded in London and Paris in 1969 as a result of a joint initiative of the sailing communities of France, Poland, Italy, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Currently, ISSA yacht schools have a bad reputation due to the lack of quality control of training. Not accepted by charter companies in European countries, for example, in Croatia and Greece. There are also reports of refusal from charter companies in Turkey. However, some charter companies still accept these certificates, but this is always required to be clarified separately and in advance. If you decide to become a yacht captain and take yachts on a yacht charter yourself. You can contact our charter agency and we will find you a proven yachting school in the right region.
Other documents required for yacht charter
In addition to the captain's certificate, you will definitely need a VHF Marine Radio Operator document. As a rule, this document is issued together in yacht schools along with the captain's certificate. If you decide to take a yacht charter abroad it is obvious that you need a passport and the availability of appropriate visas. To travel to Turkey, Montenegro and the Seychelles, a visa is not needed. In Croatia, in addition to a Schengen visa, you can get a national Croatian visa. Sailing and sea travel are certainly always associated with some risk, for this reason we recommend all our customers to get health insurance such as Water sport before traveling.
We hope this information was useful to you.