Commercial endorsement with restricted medical

tehguy · 23 April 2022, 19:31

Hi all

I have a current ENG1 medical certificate with restrictions as I have red/green colour deficiency and failed the Ishihara test (spectacularly). The restrictions on the ENG3 are:

Not fit for lookout duties at night
Not eligible for MCA Deck CoC or Rating Certification

Despite this I can confidently identify red/green/white/yellow lights at night and I have also recently passed the RYA Advanced Powerboat CoC exam, having no issue with night-time navigation.

I currently have a commercially endorsed RYA Powerboat level 2 certificate which is useful for my job, and obviously I would now like to get the Advanced certificate commercially endorsed.

My question is will the MCA endorse this with my medical restriction? Will it be endorsed with restrictions e.g. no night-time operations?

Tim M · 24 April 2022, 19:36

From the RYA website:

“ If your medical fitness certificate has a restriction you may not be able to hold a commercial endorsement.”

“Please contact the RYA Certification Department for further details on 0238060 4146.“

If they say no then it may well also apply to your level 2 commercial endorsement as well. I would suggest it’s imperative you clarify as you could find yourself in extremely hot water in the event of an accident or insurance claim if using your level 2 in a commercial capacity.

tehguy · 24 April 2022, 19:52

Thanks for the reply, when I had my PB2 certificate endorsed I had to send my ENG1 with the application form so why would they have endorsed it if they thought I was not fit?

I will give RYA a call tomorrow.

Tim M · 24 April 2022, 20:00

Could have been an oversight by the person that did the application? The regulations also state that the onus is on you to declare any medical issues (bit like the DVLA). Final thought is there’s a big difference between what you can use a level 2 for and a commercially endorsed advanced which allows you in theory to drive a 24m vessel - it might be they were happy for a level 2 CE but not advanced. But that’s mere speculation - they’ll give you a proper answer!

tehguy · 24 April 2022, 20:08

I agree with you on the big upgrade on what the advanced allows you to drive. This is why I wondered about whether I would be able to get the endorsement, because the advanced allows night operations, but my medical has a restriction that does not allow me to perform lookout duties at night.

Quote:

Could have been an oversight by the person that did the application? The regulations also state that the onus is on you to declare any medical issues (bit like the DVLA).

Am not sure what you mean by this, I sent the original copy of the ENG1 which clearly states it has a restriction and there is also a second page stapled to it with more details about the restriction. What else was I supposed to do?

Tim M · 24 April 2022, 20:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by tehguy

I agree with you on the big upgrade on what the advanced allows you to drive. This is why I wondered about whether I would be able to get the endorsement, because the advanced allows night operations, but my medical has a restriction that does not allow me to perform lookout duties at night.

Am not sure what you mean by this, I sent the original copy of the ENG1 which clearly states it has a restriction and there is also a second page stapled to it with more details about the restriction. What else was I supposed to do?

Sounds like you did everything right. But if it were me I’d still seek written clarification