5 years, or 1825 days is apparently how long it takes for Chinese bamboo to grow. 5 years is also an epic David Bowie track from the album Ziggy Stardust. (Bjork later released a track called 5 years, was she a Bowie fan?) In 5 years your hair will grow about 90cm and your nails, if left untrimmed, would grow about 20cm in the same period. In 5 years your dog will have aged 35 years, if you believe it’s 7 dog years to every human year but what else happens every 5 years that is important to you?

STCW Certificates require updating every 5 years *

A lot can happen in 5 years… including the expiration of your STCW certificates! Are you winging it, or have you got your refresher training booked?

Following the 2010 STCW Manila amendments to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watch Keeping for Seafarers, 1978 you are now required to update some of your STCW certificates every 5 years.

If you hold the following certificates and they are over 5 years old they will no longer be valid.

• STCW Personal Survival Techniques
• STCW Fire Prevention & Fire Fighting
• Advanced Fire Fighting
• Proficiency in Survival Craft and Rescue Boats
• Fast Rescue Boats

*If you have more advanced certificates there may be more that you need to update on a regular basis. Best to keep track of them all to ensure you can get on board!

What happens if your certificates have expired? It may be the case that you are working illegally, or you’ll soon find that you’re unable to get any more work till you have valid certificates under your belt again.

If there’s ever a time to double check your expiry dates, it’s now!