RYA Professional Practices & Responsibilities

Each year approximately 4,500 people apply to the RYA for a commercial endorsement in order to use their RYA qualifications professionally as skipper or crew. You could be doing anything from delivering a new 35’ yacht or driving a workboat with lifting and towing gear, to running a superyacht in the Med. Whatever your job is on board, in the commercial world you are a professional seafarer. As such, you are no different from the captain of a cruise liner – you have a duty of care to crew, passengers, and other water users, and you will be held to account if things go wrong.

The course is broken down into four modules:

Commercial environment – how you fit into the professional maritime world.

People – the importance of correct manning, keeping your skills up to date and the safe management of commercial vessels.

Vessel – the compulsory carriage and maintenance of safety equipment and how to create and implement risk control and operating procedures. ·

Purpose – making sure your vessel is suitable and legal for the work you are carrying out, your obligations in protecting the environment, appropriate planning and situational awareness.

Following the modules there is a mock assessment so you can check you are ready before moving on to the final graded online assessment.

We estimate users will take around 6 to 8 hours to work through the four course modules. The graded end of course assessment is split into two sections, totaling 2 ½ hours.

All new applicants for a commercially endorsed RYA Certificate of Competence must first pass the PPR course. Anyone renewing a commercially endorsed RYA Certificate of Competence must pass the PPR course prior to their next renewal date, if they haven't already done so.

Exemptions from this course

If you hold an MCA Deck Officer's Certificate of Competence as Officer of the Watch, Master 200*, Master 500 or above you do not need to take the PPR course. Please send a copy of your MCA certificate with your application or renewal form for your commercial endorsement.

* Please note the 'Master 200' referred to here is the MCA Master 200gt STCW qualification. This is not the RYA/MCA Yachtmaster™ qualification.