On 1 January 2026, preventing violence and harassment became a competence of the PSSR module, the safety foundation every seafarer holds through basic training. We wrote in June that the implementation timetable remained in the hands of each flag administration. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has now decided for UK certificates. Its notice MGN 718, published on 18 August 2026 and updated on 3 September, requires every MCA-certified seafarer to complete a free online module no later than 31 March 2027.
In yachting, where a large share of crews hold an MCA certificate whatever the vessel’s flag, Cayman, Malta or Marshall Islands, this is the widest training deadline of the coming season. It takes one hour per seafarer. It still has to be seen coming.
Who is affected
The notice reasons by certificate, not by vessel. It covers all seafarers, regardless of rank, employed on board with designated safety or pollution prevention duties, who hold:
- a UK PSSR certificate (table A-VI/1-4) dated before 1 January 2026;
- a UK Certificate of Competency;
- a UK Certificate of Proficiency;
- more broadly, any MCA-certified officer or rating.
A French chief engineer with an MCA certificate, a South African stewardess whose PSSR dates from 2022, a Master 3000 Yachts captain: all three fall within scope, whether the yacht flies the Cayman or the Maltese flag. The notice does not mention Certificates of Equivalent Competency; when in doubt, a CEC holder sailing under the UK flag will complete the module.
Two exemptions exist. MCA-approved PSSR courses completed since 1 January 2026 already include the new competence: their holders have nothing to do. And the MCA accepts a training certificate issued by any IMO White List flag State, provided it refers to resolution MSC.560(108) and is dated before 18 August 2026.
The module, and what it produces
The training is an online module by OneOcean, titled Prevention and Response to Violence & Harassment, reference 0900. About one hour, sixteen lessons, available around the clock including on a phone, with no final assessment. It is free for MCA-certified seafarers through a code given in the notice. The content follows table A-VI/1-4: prevent, recognise, report, respond, including trauma-informed principles.
On completion the seafarer downloads a OneOcean Verification of Training. That is the only evidence: the MCA issues no additional certificate, accepts digital format only, and recognises this document for the issue or revalidation of a certificate, during port State or flag State inspections, and on request from an authorised officer. The original PSSR certificate remains valid.
The notice allocates the roles. The seafarer completes the module before the date, keeps the attestation and produces it when asked. The company ensures all its MCA-certified personnel have done so, keeps records of completion and promotes awareness. For a yacht, that record is the training matrix of the safety management system, not a mailbox.
31 March 2027: what a late seafarer risks
The MCA describes no sanction, but three possible consequences. Certificate revalidation may be affected. So may the demonstration of compliance during an inspection, and the notice specifies: particularly outside the Paris MoU region, where an inspector reads table A-VI/1-4 without knowing UK practice. Eligibility to work at sea, finally.
For a yacht crew, the timetable is tight for a simple reason: the date falls in the middle of season preparation, when crew changes happen and certification files pass from hand to hand. A seafarer recruited in March with an MCA certificate and no attestation finds themselves, on 1 April, holding a certificate their own certifying flag considers incomplete.
Other flags have not chosen the same path
The MCA is the administration asking the most. Two other positions matter for a yacht.
France decided on 25 November 2025 to let basic safety training certificates issued before transposition run until the end of their five-year validity; the violence and harassment content is delivered during revalidation training. The Director of Seafarers has signed a letter that the seafarer may present to the port State during an inspection. Nothing to do before the certificate expires, then, but one more document to carry on board.
The Bahamas treat PSSR certificates issued before 1 January 2026 as valid, on one condition that rests with the company and the master: providing onboard training on preventing and responding to bullying and harassment, including sexual assault and sexual harassment, covering the elements of table A-VI/1-4. Marine Notice MN 20 sets no date; it makes onboard training an obligation of the management system.
A crew of twelve often spans three or four certifying administrations. The manager does not choose the regime: it holds all three at once, and consistency has to be readable on board.
What a yacht does now
- Take stock, seafarer by seafarer, of the certifying authority and the PSSR date. An MCA certificate with a pre-2026 PSSR triggers the module; an MCA-approved PSSR dated from 1 January 2026 requires nothing.
- Schedule the module over the winter, on board or on leave, and file each Verification of Training in digital format in the seafarer’s record.
- Enter onboard training in the safety management system for Bahamian certificates, with its record; it serves the others too, since it covers the same table.
- Ask recruitment agencies to check the point before presenting an MCA-certified candidate for the 2027 season.
- Tie the subject to the vessel’s policy: the MLC amendments of December 2027 require the shipowner to adopt a prevention policy and a protected complaint procedure. The module trains the seafarer; the policy binds the vessel.
One hour per seafarer, a record kept, three regimes known: nothing in this notice goes beyond what well-run crew management already does. The difference, from 1 April 2027, is that an MCA certificate without attestation becomes a questionable certificate. The STCW guide for superyacht crew covers the rest of certification.
Sources
- MCA — MGN 718 (M+F): 2026 IMO Amendment to PSSR, published 18 August 2026, updated 3 September 2026
- IMO — Resolution MSC.560(108), 2024 amendments to Part A of the STCW Code, adopted 23 May 2024
- Registre international français — Information on the implementation of MSC.560(108) by the French State, 25 November 2025
- Bahamas Maritime Authority — Marine Notice MN 20 v1.1, Training and Certification Requirements, November 2025
- BoatIndustry — STCW Training: What’s Changing to Prevent Harassment on Board, 14 September 2026
