WMA 2nd Mates Course

Course Title: 

STCW II/1 Officer of the Watch (OOW). It is also known as 2nd Mates course.

University location:

90 minutes drive from London Heathrow airport. Solent University is located in the heart of the city of Southampton.

Course Start Dates:

Batches: 3 times a year (Jan / April-May / Sep).

• 18 September 2023
• 15 January 2024
• 07 May 2024
• September 2024 

(Dates not released yet for Sep 2024 as it is considered as next academic year. Dates for Sep 2024, Jan 2025, and April 2025 will be released around April 2024).

Course Duration:

8 months including vacation period.

Depending upon which batch you are joining, your course duration will include a summer break, winter break or an Easter break.

Eligibility Requirement:

• • 18+ years of age. No upper age limit.
  • Medically fit.
  • Have a minimum of 36+ months of sea service in an acceptable deck capacity if following the experienced seafarer route. There is no requirement of any Training Record Book if following the 36-months route.
  • 6 months of documented bridge watchkeeping duty as assistant to the main watchkeeper.

The following ranks i.e., Tr. OS, OS, AB, Bosun, Deck Cadet, and Junior Officer are acceptable.

You need to have the following documents as proof of sea time and bridge watch keeping certificate:

• CDC stamps.
• Company sea time letter or Master testimonials.
• Bridge watch-keeping certificate for 6 months as assistant to the main watchkeeper whilst the vessel was at sea.

Sample format of a company sea time letter and bridge watchkeeping certificate are in the last 2 pages of the first PDF file attachment at the end of this page.

Open CDC i.e., students without any GP Rating pre-sea course are also eligible with 36 months sea time. Sea service stamps on Panama, Belize, Liberian, Honduras, etc., CDC are also acceptable.

Coastal sea time on vessels > 500 GRT is counted in the UK for OOW CoC if the MCA can verify the vessel was sailing continuously and sea time can be verified. In such cases, it is important that you get your MCA sea time assessment i.e., NoE done before booking a seat with Solent University, Southampton, UK.

Note: DNS and BSc Nautical Science pre-sea courses (DG Shipping, India approved) are NOT approved by the MCA, UK. Hence, such students also must complete 36 months sea time for OOW MCA, UK CoC. If you hold a DNS or BSc Nautical Science pre-sea course from India / Overseas, you can do your 2nd Mates from New Zealand provided you have 12+ months sea time as a Deck Cadet with an approved Training Record Book. After doing your 2nd Mates from NMIT, Nelson, New Zealand, you can come to Warsash Maritime Academy, Southampton, UK for doing your Chief Mates and Masters UK CoC. We take care of admissions for New Zealand also for Deck and Engine CoC courses.

If you are uncertain about your rank and sea time being accepted by the MCA, UK  it is best to apply for a sea time assessment with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), UK. This is also called NoE (Notice of Eligibility). The NoE procedure PDF file is there at the end of this page. You must send ORIGINAL documents by courier to the MCA, UK when applying for your NoE. If you need assistance with the NoE procedure, please do contact us.

Tuition Fees:

Tuition fees for the course is UK £8,350 inclusive of HELM (O) course.

Please refer to the OOW course fees file attachment at the end of this page.

Total Expenses:

For Indian students:

• Tuition Fees:  £8,350
• MCA NoE: £220
• SQA Exams: £440
• Flight Ticket: £600 (return)
• Visa Fees: £490
• Health Insurance: £470
• Living Expenses for 8 months: £2,800
• IELTS UKVI English test: £150
• STCW courses (AFF, MFA, PSCRB) + GMDSS – MCA, UK approved if done in India: £1650

Total Cost: £15,170

At £ = 103 INR, this works out to 15.60 Lakhs.

The university will only take the tuition fees for the course. The rest of the money remains with the student, and you pay as you buy or use those services.

The following MCA-approved courses must be completed before you can apply for your UK CoC:

• AFF
• MFA 
• PSC&RB
• GMDSS

The above MCA, UK-approved STCW advanced courses and UK GMDSS can be done from India itself before going to the UK or you can do these courses after coming back from the UK on completion of your OOW studies. These courses must be mandatorily completed before you can apply for your 2nd Mates UK CoC. 

GMDSS, UK can be done from the following institutes in India:

• TS Rahaman, Nhava, Panvel. (www.tsrahaman.org) 
• AMET, Chennai. (www.ametindia.com)
• Anglo Eastern Maritime Academy, Mumbai. (www.aema.edu.in)

 The MCA, UK STCW advanced courses can be done from the following institutes:

• BP Marine Academy, Mumbai. (www.bpmarineacademy.in)
• HIMT, Chennai. (www.himtmarine.com)

As HELM is now included in the Solent University, Southampton, UK course fees itself from the September 2022 session onwards, hence the HELM course must be done compulsorily at Solent University, Southampton, UK only. Please do not do HELM from India or any other country as you will NOT get a refund for any HELM course done from outside of Solent University, Southampton, UK.

If someone wishes to do these STCW short courses and GMDSS in the UK, the total cost will increase by £2,000 extra. So, every Indian student will be doing the above-mentioned STCW  advanced short courses (MCA, UK approved) from India itself and not from the UK.

For Non-Indian Students:

If you come to India and do these MCA-approved STCW short courses and GMDSS, add an extra £1,000 for your flight ticket, visa fees, travel, and living expenses in India for 6 weeks apart from the short course fees that you are paying directly to the Indian college. Hence, for overseas students, the total cost to get the UK OOW CoC will be around £16,100 including the cost of doing the STCW advanced courses and UK GMDSS in India. If you wish to do these STCW short courses and GMDSS in the UK itself, then your total expenses to get the UK CoC will be around £18,000. The advantage of doing the short courses in the UK for non-Indian students will be that you will not have to travel to 2 different countries for obtaining your UK OOW CoC.

Course Booking:

For seat booking, please email or WhatsApp me clear copies of the following documents as independent PDF files:  

• Filled up the University application form (first 2 pages)

• Passport first page and address page.

• CDC first page and all sea time pages.

• Highest academic qualification e.g., X, XII, Diploma / Degree, etc.

A sample filled-up form (Page 5 & 6 of the PDF form) is attached to guide you on how to fill up the blank form. Please take a B&W printout of the first 2 pages of blank form and fill it up by pen in capital letters. See the first file attachment below for the university application form.

My e-mail: kunal.anshuman@springdaleindia.com

You can download the free CAMSCANNER app on your smartphone. Make 4 PDF files of the above document set and send them to me on WhatsApp or E-mail.

A NON-REFUNDABLE deposit of £1,000 is to be paid online to the University for seat booking. This deposit can be carried forward for up to 2 years in your own name (not friend / relatives) for the same course in the same University without any transfer charges in case you are not able to join the course. We will assist you with the electronic money transfer to the University. Bank details of the University are there as a PDF file at the bottom of this page.

It will take about 3 weeks to receive the admission letter by email after payment and documents have been received by Solent University, Southampton, UK.

You do not need to have completed the 36 months’ sea time for booking a seat in the University. However, before you apply for your UK visa, you should have completed the requisite 36 months. Please book your seat a minimum of 3 months before the course commencement date to be assured of a seat at the University. You can also do the seat booking from the ship itself. Out of the 300+ students going to Solent University, Southampton, UK annually for their Deck & Engine CoC courses, half the students make their booking from the ship itself.

IELTS UKVI English Test:

It is mandatory to clear the IELTS UKVI GT test before you can apply for the UK visa. IELTS UKVI GT test is not required at the time of booking a seat in the University, but you can only be issued with the visa letter (called as CAS) after you have cleared the IELTS UKVI GT test. Please note that you need to do the IELTS UKVI GT test and not the IELTS GT test.

The IELTS GT test is NOT accepted for visa purposes. IELTS UKVI GT application procedure has been explained as a separate PDF file at the end of this page.

Indian students can book this test on www.ieltsidpindia.com.

The score required is a minimum of 4 in all sections of Reading, Writing, Spoken and Listening. If you score 3.5 in any one section, you must repeat the full IELTS UKVI GT test again by paying the £160 fees even if your overall average score was above 4.0 band. It takes about 2 weeks to get the IELTS UKVI GT test result. You can sit for the IELTS UKVI AC test also, but it is more difficult in comparison to the IELTS UKVI GT test. The computer delivered IELTS UKVI GT test results come faster in about 5 working days whereas the pen and paper test option results take about 2 weeks.

Overseas students can book the IELTS UKVI test from their nearest British Council office.

Part-Time Work In The UK:

You will be allowed to work part-time in Southampton as you are studying the course at a university and your course duration is over 6 months duration. That, you are allowed to work part-time during your studies will be stamped on your visa. 

The minimum pay in the UK is £10.42 per hour. You can work up to 10 hours per week during your term-time (study period) and work full -time during vacations (Christmas / Easter / Summer break). You can recover £4,000 – £6,000 approximately by working part-time during studies and full-time during vacation during your stay in the UK. Part time work is not allowed in other maritime institutes in the UK as they are colleges and not universities. Visa copy of an applicant is there at the end of this page showing that part-time work is allowed for students joining Warsash Maritime Academy, Solent University, Southampton, UK. Working part-time helps to bring down your total cost to £10,000 – £11,000 i.e., about 10 – 11 Lakhs INR for obtaining your OOW CoC.

Show Money for UK Student Visa & University fees payment:

The sequence of tuition fees payment to the University and the visa show money is as explained below:

• The student makes an initial non-refundable deposit payment of £1,000 for seat booking. The applicant receives the admission letter by email in about 3 weeks time. The applicant signs the course acceptance form and sends it back to the University.

• The student now prepares for his IELTS UKVI GT English test. Upon clearing this test, please send us the IELTS UKVI GT exam result so that we can send it to the University.

• Now the student pays a minimum of 50% of the course fees to the University once the IELTS UKVI GT test is cleared. As the OOW course tuition fees are £8,350 the student applicant will pay £3,200 to the University as initially a booking deposit of  £1,000 has already been paid.

• Now the student must submit his bank statement to the University showing that he has the remaining 50% tuition fees and living expenses for his stay in the UK. The show money for living expenses for 9 months in the UK will be £1,023 x 9 = £9,207 as per the UK visa rules. This £9,207 amount when added to the balance 50% course tuition fees becomes £13,357. The University will ask you to show 5% extra money to account for any adverse currency fluctuations. Hence, the show money for the visa will be £14,025 after you have paid 50% of the course tuition fees to the University. This money in your local currency must be maintained for 28 days in your bank account. After the bank statement is uploaded on the University CAS SHIELD portal showing that the balance money for the remaining 50% of tuition fees and 9 months of living expenses have been maintained for 28 days, the University will issue a visa letter called CAS (confirmation of acceptance of studies). The CAS issuance procedure will take 4 working days after all documents and payment of 50% of the tuition fees have been received by the University.

• The show money for UK student visa can be shown as cash in your bank account, fixed deposits, educational loan, or a mix of the above. You cannot show gold, property, stocks, mutual funds, insurance policies, etc., as proof of funds. They can however be liquidated and put in a bank account as cash to show as funds for the UK visa. You can show money in more than one bank account also for e.g., NRE, NRO, and savings account. You can also show money in your joint account with your parents or in your parents’ account. If showing money in your parent’s account, you must submit a birth certificate in English showing a relationship with your parents and a consent letter from your parents allowing you access to the funds in their bank accounts.

• After you have received the CAS in your email, you will apply for the UK student visa at the earliest. We will help you with the visa application procedure.

• After receiving the UK student visa and before your travel to the UK, you will pay the balance 50% of fees to the University.

• The visa application fees of £490 and health insurance fees of £480 must be paid online at the time of online visa application. The visa fees and health insurance fees are ADDITIONAL to the UK visa show money, but this additional money need not be maintained in your account for 28 days. You can also pay the visa and health insurance fees online using the debit/credit card of your parents/relatives/friends, etc.

We will assist you with the visa procedure. The normal visa processing time is 3 weeks in India. It may vary from country to country. Under extreme unnatural circumstances like COVID-19, war, etc., the visa processing time may take longer as well.

The initial visa duration will be for 3 months to enter the UK and this duration will be put on the visa sticker on your passport. Kindly see the attached visa copy of a student for reference at the end of this page. On arrival at the University in the UK, you will get the BRP card with the full visa duration on it which will be in the range of 10.5 – 11 months.

Carrying Spouse and Children to the UK:

Your wife and children can accompany you to the UK on a VISITOR VISA (not dependent visa) for a maximum of 6 months. After the 6-month period is over, they will have to return to their country as visas cannot be extended in the UK. There is no IELTS English test requirement for spouse and child. Spouse and children are not allowed to work in the UK on a visitor visa. Visitor visa application fees are £100 per applicant. You will have to show an extra £4,080 per family member who wishes to accompany you to the UK. For e.g., if a wife and one child are accompanying you to the UK, then you must show £8,160 extra funds for their visas. You can show this money in your own bank account or spouse bank account for their visas. There is no additional document required from the University for your spouse and child visitor visa application. Your spouse will require her passport and marriage certificate at the time of visa application. The child will need to submit his passport and birth certificate at the time of visa application. We will assist you with the spouse and child visitor visa application procedure. 

Passing Exams in the UK:

During your stay of 11 months in the UK, you will get 2 attempts at the SQA exams (Navigation and Stability). In 2 attempts around 90% of the students would have cleared their exams. The 10% students who do not clear their exams in 2 attempts will have to return to their country as the visa would expire before the 3rd exam attempt. You will then have to re-apply for a UK visa to travel to the UK for about 3 – 4 days to take your re-sit exams and come back. When you re-apply for your UK visa, it will be a visitor visa (and not a student visa). The show money for your 2nd trip to the UK will be around £2,000 as you are going for a very short duration. The actual expenses incurred for your 2nd trip including your flight ticket, visa fees, exam fees and 3 – 4 days of stay in the UK will cost an additional £1,000 approximately. Eventually, every student will clear their OOW CoC. Some students will clear in their 1st trip to the UK (i.e., in 2 attempts) whilst some students may take a 3rd attempt (2nd trip) to the UK to clear their exams and obtain their OOW CoC. We have sent over 2,000+ students to the UK for the 2nd Mates course and know of only 2 students out of these 2,000 students who did not clear their UK CoC due to personal issues.

Optional Private Tuitions:

If you wish to take optional online tuitions in India for Navigation and Stability SQA exams before going to the UK, please let us know. Private tuition is OPTIONAL and not a compulsory requirement for doing your 2nd Mates course in the UK. If you feel that you are weak in studies or out of touch with academics for long time and hence would like to prepare before going to the UK, then you can opt for such tuitions in India, else it is not required. These optional online private tuitions are offered by teachers in India in their personal capacity and not endorsed by Solent University, Southampton, UK.

Batch size will be about 40 – 50 students for the OOW course. You will have students from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Burma, Nigeria, Kenya, etc., in the batch. You will be introduced to other students before your travel to the UK.

Out of the 300+ students going to Warsash Maritime Academy, Solent University, Southampton, UK, around 250+ students will be from India and about 50+ from other countries on an average.

As seats get filled up fast, it is advisable to book in advance of 3 – 6 months before the course commencement date.

Accommodation:

Off-campus accommodation is available about 5 – 10 minutes walking distance from the University. We will share the contact details of the landlords with you before your travel to the UK and you can then contact them directly on WhatsApp. Expect to spend about £350 per month on food and accommodation when living in a shared  house with other students on a conservative budget. It will take 3 – 4 days to finalise your accommodation after your arrival in the UK.

Traveling to Southampton:

You will fly to London Heathrow (LHR) airport and then take a coach/bus to Southampton. We will get a travel agent to book your flight tickets if you want us to do so or else you can do it yourself online on various travel portals. Just check the transit visa rules which apply to different countries if booking the ticket online yourself. The bus journey time will be around 90 minutes. The coach/bus starts from LHR London Airport to Southampton, and you can book the ticket on:

 www.nationalexpress.com 

From Southampton coach station to the University will just be a 3-minute drive by cab.

Educational Loan / Personal Loan:

For Indian seafarers, many banks in India do provide Educational Loans and Personal Loans. Although loans are never guaranteed, around 70% of our students are able to get an educational / personal loan. We assist students in processing documents for educational / personal loans. We have attached educational loan copies of various students as a PDF file to this email which may be of help to you when you approach a bank for an educational loan. For educational loan, the bank will ask for your university admission letter. For personal loan, you can get it based on your own salary without the income tax documents of your guarantor.

We will summarise below the important financial points for you:

• Visa show money: £19,000 (approx. 19 Lakhs INR)
• Extra £1,000 (approx. 1 Lakh INR) to pay for visa fees and health insurance. So, the total funds to arrange will be 20 Lakhs INR if UK £ = 105 INR.
• The actual expense in the UK will be around 15 – 16 Lakhs INR.
• By working part-time in the UK, you can bring the cost down to around 10 – 11 Lakhs INR.
• Visa duration is 10.5 – 11 months whilst course duration is 8 months including vacation time.

If the value of the UK £ goes up or down w.r.t., the INR, accordingly the show money and actual expenses in the UK will also go up and down.

If you have any queries, please revert by phone, email, or WhatsApp.

Contact Details:

Kunal Anshuman

Springdale India

529, Mastermind 4,

Royal Palms, Aarey Colony,

Goregaon E, Mumbai – 400 065

Maharashtra, INDIA.

Email: kunal.anshuman@springdaleindia.com

www.ukcoc.in 

File Attachments:

1) OOW University Application Form and Sample Filled-Up Form

2) OOW Course Fees

3) University Bank Details

4) OOW Visa Sticker

5) IELTS UKVI GT Booking Procedure

6) MCA OOW NoE Procedure

7) Educational Loan Sanction Letters

8) List of books for study