The MCA has confirmed to UKSA (5/5/2020) that Oral Exams will commence online for Engineering the week of the 11^th May, and Deck in early June.

The MCA will initially be contacting candidates who had their oral exams cancelled – they will not accept any new oral exam bookings until they have cleared the backlog: “we would ask candidates to wait patiently while we deal with those who were initially denied an oral exam due to the COVID-19 outbreak”

A MIN will be published in due course to provide further guidance on the online process. It will also cover the future booking of exams for those who hold a NOE, those who have applied for a NOE, and those who wish to apply for a NOE.

New NOE applications are now being accepted by EMAIL, however, they will not be issued until those who had exams cancelled have had the opportunity to rebook.

New exam bookings will target merchant sponsored cadets, after this they will be looking at arranging Merchant Management level and Yacht Exams.

HOWEVER, if you have a job opportunity and you have completed ALL other requirements for the COC, then they may be able to speed up this process. You will need to get your employer to email the MCA ([email protected] or [email protected]) confirming the job offer and the date you are required onboard.

The initial update released on the 23^rd March stated:

Due to the uncertainty of the situation the MCA has extended the oral exam pass validity period by a further 6 months.

1. MCA has also extended the written exam pass validity period by a further 6 months, provided there is proof that COVID-19 affected the time taken to achieve the pass result.
2. Anyone who is not able to attend an exam due to the potential spread of Coronavirus will not be treated as a fail and will be allowed to move their exam to the next date.
3. Please also be aware that during this time, releasing results may be delayed.

For the full details of the revisions please click here

Find out more

• Latest MCA updates from UKSA
• UKSA and COVID-19