ICC - International Certificate of Competence

This is a certificate, which may be issued to anyone who has successfully completed certain national boating licenses or has passed an examination to prove the necessary competence for pleasure craft operation.

Although only guaranteed to be accepted in countries that have adopted the relevant UN Resolution, the ICC is a useful document to carry and will generally be accepted where proof of competence is required.

In very general terms an ICC is required for the inland waterways of Europe and for inland and coastal waters of Mediterranean countries. For the coastal waters of Northern Europe the ICC is generally not required, however to all of these generalisations there are exceptions.

Description

The ICC is a product of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Inland Water Committee (UN ECE IWC) Resolution 40. This states that a government of one state may issue the ICC to its nationals and residents who may be on the waters of a foreign state, on condition that both accept the requirements and conditions set out in Resolution 40. Governments may appoint competent authorities to issue ICC on their behalf. Globally International Yacht Training Worldwide (IYT) and the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) are such competent authorities, on behalf of Ireland and the UK respectively.

The ICC provides documentary assurance from one government to another that the holder meets the levels of competence laid down in Resolution 40. However, the acceptance of Resolution 40 is often caveated.

History

The origins of the ICC arose from navigation on the Rhine and the Danube and the need for reassurance that vessel operators were competent to ensure safety of navigation and protection of the environment as they moved from one country to another. As a result, on 29 January 1979, the United Nations Working Party on Inland Water Transport adopted Resolution 14, which recommended the introduction of a European document for an International Certificate (International Card) to provide those assurances. The Resolution was also intended to facilitate 'waterborne tourism'. Until then operators could well have been expected to produce competency certificates for each country whose waters they were on.

In the mid-nineties, the Working Group on Inland Water Transport considered that Resolution 14 needed updating, and strengthening, so on 16 October 1998 the Working Party adopted their revisions as Resolution 40; this replaced Resolution 14. The International Certificate for Operators of Pleasure Craft created in Resolution 40 is now more commonly referred to as the International Certificate of Competence or simply ICC. The ICC is only applicable where the visited state has also adopted or recognises the ICC as a valid standard of competency.