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The Master's Upgrade

The Master’s Upgrade provides an opportunity for the holders of an OUPV (Captain's) license to raise their grade to a Master-level license. The Masters Upgrade allows the holder to operate inspected vessels as well as uninspected vessels.  Different from the OUPV, US Citizenship is required for the Master’s License. 

The Master’s upgrade is endorsed as 25, 50 or 100 ton when first obtained.  The tonnage limit is assigned by the Coast Guard based on the size of vessels on which you have experience.  It requires additional classroom training and one more test, which covers the legal and safety requirements of serving onboard an inspected vessel that is certified to carry more than 6 paying passengers.  Such vessels would include water taxis, assistance towboats, large passenger capacity fishing vessels, ferries, and tour boats, etc.  As you gain experience, tonnage limits can be increased without additional testing.

The license is not limited to the type of vessel or by number of passengers because when the vessel is inspected, the Certificate of Inspection will state how many passengers the vessel can carry. The Masters license is valid on any inspected vessel providing that vessel does not exceed the tonnage of the license. For example, the Captain of a Water Taxi that is inspected to 24 people would require the same type of license as a ferry or Casino Boat Captain carrying 400 people, as long as he or she was rated for the gross tonnage of the vessels.

For inspected vessels permitted to carry more than 6 paying passengers, the Master's is your ticket. To skipper a sailing ship, you'll also need a sailing endorsement.

Because there are no restrictions as to the type of vessel or number of passengers with a Masters license, there have to be some factors that change with your experience and training. Those are in tonnage and in route.   Master's Licenses are categorized by gross tonnage (25, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1600/3000 or unlimited tons) and by route (inland, near coastal or oceans).  Your original license is a pre-requisite for any higher tonnage licenses. By the way, gross tonnage has nothing to do with weight. It is a measure of how much cargo the vessel can carry within its interior volume, and there are formulas you can use to calculate gross tonnage. Gross tonnage is usually indicated on documentation papers for documented vessels.

A Master’s Inland requires 360 days experience on the water.  However, if you already have an OUPV with Near Coastal requirements satisfied, the Master’s 100 Ton Inland allows you to continue to take uninspected vessels to 100 miles offshore.  To get the Near Coastal Master’s License which qualifies you to take inspected vessels with more than 6 paying passengers 200 miles offshore, you need 720 days on the water, with 360 of those offshore. 

Then there are the Endorsements

A towing endorsement is required to assist vessels for a fee.

Confused enough?  Just read on, there’s more.  You can also get Auxiliary Sailing and Commercial Assistance Towing endorsements for the Master’s License. 

  • The towing endorsement is required if you are going to assist vessels for a fee.  A written examination is required to demonstrate knowledge.
  • The sailing endorsement authorizes the holder to operate inspected sail or auxiliary sail vessel, as applicable, within the scope and limitations of the license. A written examination is required to demonstrate knowledge of sailing. In addition, 360 days sea time on a sailing vessel is required as part of the total.  

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