What's Actually on Your Workboat Certificate — And What It Means

Why Read Your Own Certificate

Appendix 10 of Workboat Code Edition 3 sets out the actual templates for five distinct certificate types. Most crew never read the certificate their vessel operates under beyond checking the expiry date — but the conditions and limitations printed on it govern real, everyday decisions: whether you can carry passengers over 60 miles from a safe haven, what happens automatically if the vessel is sold, and what paperwork has to be aboard alongside the certificate itself.

Pilot Boat Certificate

Issued specifically for vessels dedicated to pilot transfer work. It records the permitted Area of Operation (Category) and GMDSS Area, the intermediate examination due date, and — importantly — states it is equivalent to a UK Load Line Exemption Certificate, so a separate Load Line certificate isn't required alongside it. Two conditions apply to every Pilot Boat Certificate: it must comply with Documentation of Compliance SWB2, and it is automatically cancelled the moment the vessel is sold and must be returned to the Certifying Authority.

Workboat Certificate (With and Without Pilot Boat Endorsement)

The standard Workboat Certificate carries the same core fields — Gross Tonnage, Hull Identification Number, maximum persons on board, permitted Area of Operation, midterm examination due date — plus a mandatory maximum loading condition, expressed either as a straight weight limit or a reference to the vessel's Stability Information Booklet. Where a vessel also holds a Pilot Boat Endorsement, the certificate additionally names the specific harbour it's approved to operate in as a pilot boat, and caps the maximum number of persons (including crew) permitted for that specific use.

MLC Compliance — The Rule Most Crew Miss

Every certificate type carries the same MLC compliance statement, and it's a genuine trap for the unwary: the certificate is only valid for commercial operation on international voyages, or voyages more than 60 miles from a UK safe haven, with seafarers on board, if the vessel is certificated for Category 0, 1 or 2 and the certificate is accompanied by a valid MLC inspection report. A vessel certified for a lower category, or without that accompanying MLC report, is not covered for that kind of voyage — regardless of what the main certificate itself says.