Guidance

Introduction

Published 11 March 2024

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/large-yacht-helideck-safety-training-syllabuses/introduction

Completion of the training in this Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) syllabus will meet the requirements of Large Yacht Helideck operations in accordance with Red Ensign Group (REG) Yacht Code, Common Annex H3 (7), and should be read in conjunction with MGN 695:

Common Annex H3 (7) - Crew Training

  1. All crew onboard shall undergo familiarisation training regarding helicopter operations onboard.
  2. Specific training shall be provided to the Helicopter Landing Officer (HLO) by an appropriate training provider. Training of crew members and the HLO shall include both practical and theoretical sessions and, wherever possible, practical training shall be carried out onboard.
  3. All other crew assigned duties within the Helideck operations team(s) shall be certificated as Helideck Assistants (HDA) by an appropriate training provider. The training shall include dealing with fires and other possible emergency scenarios.
  4. Where there are refuelling facilities onboard, at least one member of crew shall be trained in the handling of aviation fuel and associated quality control procedures.
  5. The crew shall practice dealing with the possible emergency scenarios through regular drills onboard with an annual inspection by an external auditor.
  6. The emergency scenarios shall be addressed in the yacht’s contingency plans and similar documents.

Alternatively the officer(s) in charge of each helicopter landing area operations team should be in possession of an Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organization (OPITO) approved Helideck Initial Operations Training (HOIT) certificate and a Helideck Emergency Response Team Leader (HERTL) certificate issued within the preceding two years. All other crew assigned duties within the helicopter landing area operations team(s) should be in possession of an OPITO approved Helideck Initial Operations Training (HOIT) certificate and a Helideck Emergency Response Team Member (HERTM) certificate issued within the preceding two years.

All helicopter operations certification should be in date.

This document only outlines the course requirements, details of training provider requirements and approval procedures may be obtained from the MCA UK Customer Maritime Services Branch.

This document is a 2023 revision of the training guidelines voluntarily prepared by James Frean on behalf of the MCA Helideck Working Group in October 2008 (Revised 2011)

October 2008 (Revised October 2023)

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