A massive influx of applications and technical issues with credential producing equipment at the National Maritime Center continue to delay when merchant mariner credentials are being issued, the NMC said April 25.
“The Coast Guard is working as quickly as possible to resolve these issues and we do not want these delays to burden the mariner’s ability to use their MMC (merchant mariner credentials),” the center said, adding that these issues don’t impact mariner medical certificates or endorsements processing.
To help troubleshoot delays, the NMC announced an interim verification process.
For mariners only serving on domestic voyages, the MMC application verification process may be used to decide if mariners have met the criteria to be given an MMC with a specific endorsement, according to NMC.
To verify if a mariner’s MMC application has been approved and validated:
- Go to the National Maritime Center homepage and select “Check Your Application Status” on the left side navigation buttons or the top red banner.
- Choose “Single Mariner Search” in the bottom dropdown and type in the mariner’s reference number and last name.
- In the “Credential Status” section for the MMC, make sure that the “Credential State” is “Approved to Print, Printed, or Issued.” Any other status means the MMC application is still in process and not yet approved.
To verify that a mariner has a current MMC and any related endorsement needed for shipboard employment:
- Head to the National Maritime Center homepage and go to “Credential Verification” in the center navigation buttons.
- Choose “Single Mariner Search” in the bottom dropdown and type in the mariner’s reference number and last name.
- When the page appears, the MMC and Medical Certificate issue and expiration dates can be validated. Make sure that the credential issue and credential expiration dates show the newly issued credential. The new MMC information won’t show until it has moved to a “Printed or Issued” status.
Mariners needing MMC verification for international voyages need to reach out to NMC for priority printing. More on the verification process is available at https://tinyurl.com/3muh7naw.
