If we’ve been unable to answer your question, then please get in contact with us.
If we’ve been unable to answer your question, then please get in contact with us.
The usual “term” of a small commercial vessel certificate is five years but can be issued for shorter periods.
This will depend on the type of vessel you have and the Category of water you operate in. In general if you have a vessel which requires a stability book (“complex vessel”) or you operate in Category 1 or 0 waters or have >15 persons on board (including crew) then an annual survey will be required. There are other instances where this would be required but these are vessel specific.
These are due on the anniversary of your certificate date. Mecal will send you a reminder approx 6-8 weeks beforehand so there is no need worry about missing this, although it is ultimately the owner’s responsibility to have a current certificate.
No, this is a one off payment, unless of course your boat or operation changes which requires a re- assessment.
This will depend on the type and age of the vessel you have and the standards it meets. From December 2025 there are two main codes in force; Workboat Code Edition 3 and the Sport or Pleasure Code. We can advise which code would be applicable based on your operations.
MLC only applies if you operate in foreign/international waters or from a foreign port or if your vessel has a Category 1 or 0 Certificate. We are happy to discuss your individual MLC requirements to make it as painless a process as possible.
Our office can turn around a certificate within 24hrs if all paperwork received & fees paid
This can be done within a week if all information has been received; sometimes within 24hrs
Please contact the MECAL office as soon as possible with a completed incident report. This should be sent to admin@mecal.co.uk. This is a requirement of Certification and MGN 458.
Please follow steps at Transferring a Vessel
You will need to complete an application form. Link to application form. You should contact your current Certifying Authority and request to transfer your vessel file to the MECAL. Once we receive your file and all the required surveys have been conducted we then issue a new MECAL Certificate and annual disc with the same dates as your previous certificate.
Yes, once a vessel is sold the certificate is no longer valid and will be cancelled. The new owner will then need to arrange for a survey to be undertaken by a to ensure nothing has changed on the vessel, that all safety items are in place and that it is correctly coded to undertake the work under the new owner.