The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency has published new guidance titled "Form: How to apply for a UK Certificate of Proficiency for Able Seafarer Deck", dated 1 November 2026, instructing applicants to complete form MSF 4310 to apply for the certificate under STCW regulation II/5.
The agency’s item sets out a single, clear administrative instruction: applicants seeking the Able Seafarer Deck certificate should complete form MSF 4310. The publication appears on the agency’s official guidance pages and carries the date 1 November 2026.
The published note is brief and procedural. It names the specific form required and links that requirement to the international standard cited as STCW regulation II/5.
The document title signals the purpose of the guidance. It is presented as a form-based how-to for the award of the UK Certificate of Proficiency for Able Seafarer Deck and is framed solely around the completion of MSF 4310.
The use of the formal regulation reference indicates that the certificate sits within the framework of STCW regulation II/5. The agency’s notice confines itself to the administrative step of submitting the named form rather than outlining eligibility or assessment detail.
The publication date is provided on the agency item as 1 November 2026. That date accompanies the instruction to use MSF 4310 and is the only temporal marker included in the guidance.
What the guidance says
The notice is succinct: it identifies the form MSF 4310 as the document to be completed to apply for the UK Certificate of Proficiency for Able Seafarer Deck. It explicitly refers to the relevant STCW regulation by its designation, II/5.
No further procedural detail is contained in the supplied summary beyond the requirement to complete the form. The guidance is presented as a single-step administrative direction.
Practical takeaway
For those preparing an application, the agency’s item makes clear which form is required. The title and the dated entry together function as a formal pointer to the application process through MSF 4310.
The MCA’s publication, as summarised, concentrates on directing applicants to the correct paperwork rather than elaborating on assessment, eligibility criteria, or supporting documentation. Readers are therefore signposted to the named form as the essential action named in the agency’s guidance.
Key facts at a glance:
- Document: Form: How to apply for a UK Certificate of Proficiency for Able Seafarer Deck.
- Date: 1 November 2026.
- Action required: complete form MSF 4310 to apply for the certificate under STCW regulation II/5.
The agency’s wording in the published note confines the guidance to that administrative instruction. The entry’s clarity lies in the identification of the single form that applicants must complete when seeking the Able Seafarer Deck certificate as referenced under STCW II/5.