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Small Vessel Operator

A Small Vessel Operator certification covers: 

Owners and Operators of commercial vessels, specifically:

  • Workboats up to 5 GT (~8.5 meters in length)
  • Passenger vessels up to 5 GT (~8.5 meters in length), carrying up to 12 passengers, and
  • Fishing vessels of up to 15 GT (~12 meters in length)

Operating within Canada on a Near Coastal class 2 or a sheltered waters voyage (within 25 Nautical Miles of shore).

Course Categories

Small Vessel Operator

SDV-BS - Small Domestic Vessel Basic Safety

1 Day

$250.00 excl. GST

SDVBS (formerly MED A3). This is an Marine Emergency Duties boating safety course. It is the minimum safety training requirement for Owners, Operators and Crew on: - Commercial Vessels of 24 metres or less, engaged on a sheltered water voyage only; - Commercial Vessels of 18 metres or less engaged on a voyage in domestic waters; and, - Commercial Fishing vessels of 24 metres or less engaged on a voyage in domestic waters.

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SVOP Online - Small Vessel Operator Proficiency

4 Days

$795.00 excl. GST

This is a TC approved ONLINE course for small vessel captains and crew. It covers minimum training for owners and operators of commercial vessels: Workboats and passenger vessels up to 5 GT (up to 8.5 meters in length), and fishing vessels of up to 15 GT (up to 12 meters in length), engaged on a Sheltered Waters or Near Coastal class 2 voyages (up to 25 Nautical Miles from shore).

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SVOP - Small Vessel Operator Proficiency

4 Days

$650.00 excl. GST

This is a TC approved course for small vessel captains and crew. It covers minimum training for owners and operators of commercial vessels: Workboats and passenger vessels up to 5 GT (up to 8.5 meters in length), and fishing vessels of up to 15 GT (up to 12 meters in length), engaged on a Sheltered Waters or Near Coastal class 2 voyages (up to 25 Nautical Miles from shore).

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SDVBS Online- Small Domestic Vessel Basic Safety

1 Day

$295.00 excl. GST

SDV-BS (formerly MED A3) This is an ONLINE Marine Emergency Duties boating safety course. It is the minimum safety training requirement for Owners, Operators and Crew on: - Commercial Vessels of 24 meters or less, engaged on a sheltered water voyage only; - Commercial Vessels of 18 meters or less engaged on a voyage in domestic waters; and, - Commercial Fishing vessels of 24 meters or less engaged on a voyage in domestic waters. https://youtu.be/eP7hzV7pSrw

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ROC-M - Restricted Operator Certificate - Maritime

1 Day

$250.00 excl. GST

ROC-M is a one-day course for Operators and Crew on pleasure and/or commercial vessels operating in Canadian waters, within 25 miles of shore. This is required for SVOP, Master Limited 60 GT, and most Crew / Deckhand positions.

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A Small Vessel Operator certification covers: 

Owners and Operators of commercial vessels, specifically:

  • Workboats up to 5 GT (~8.5 meters in length)
  • Passenger vessels up to 5 GT (~8.5 meters in length), carrying up to 12 passengers, and
  • Fishing vessels of up to 15 GT (~12 meters in length)

Operating within Canada on Near Coastal class 2 or sheltered waters voyages (within 25 Nautical Miles of shore).

This ticket is commonly used by operators of Whale Watching RHIBs, Water Taxis, small Research Vessels, small Trollers, small Gillnetters, small Crab Boats, Crew Boats, etc..

You will need to take and pass the following exams and courses:

  1. Small Vessel Operator Proficiency
  2. Marine Emergency Duties: SDV-BS Basic Safety Training
  3. VHF Radio operator ROC-M
  4. Marine Basic First Aid – St. John’s Ambulance or Red Cross

To book a course or if you have any questions, feel free to Contact Us.

**Note: There are proposed changes to the Marine Personnel Regulations which would allow some certified Small Vessel Operators to work on larger vessels. These changes would vary depending on your type of operation. The changes would be primarily for new applicants looking to become Small Vessel Operators. For existing applicants, there will be options for receiving these upgrades to your ticket based on sea-time and experience or by taking an additional day of training with us, this would give you an extension from 5 GT to 15 GT (8.5 - 12 meters).


Current SVOP:
Work and Passenger vessels (max. 12 passengers) of up to 5 Gross Tonnage (8.5 meters),
and for Commercial Fishing vessels only, up to 15 Gross Tonnage (or 12 meters in length),
Limited to operating in Sheltered Waters or Near Coastal Class 2 Waters (within 25 nautical miles of shore). 
There is no existing SVOP  certification for tugboats or towing operations.

Proposed changes to the SVO program:
The proposed SVO Certificate will be valid for:
-Passenger vessels of up 12 meters, with a maximum of 12 passengers
-Fishing vessels of 15 Gross Tonnage or 12 meters, with an extension of up to 50 miles from shore.
-New addition of Tugboats or Towing Vessels of up to 12 meters (your towing SVO certificate will be limited to specific vessels and areas that you have experience in)

The new proposed SVO training program will consist of 4 different course modules:
Basic SVO Module: 4-day (32 hours) training course
Passenger Vessel Module: 6-hour training course
Fishing Vessel Module: 6-hour training course
Towing Vessel Module: 6-hour training curse, plus 2 months of sea service (as deckhand).

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