As part of the STCW (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers) Convention held last June 2010 in Manila, a major revision took place regarding seafarers’ certificates. Regarding seafarers’ certificates, among others is the STCW II/4 COP for deck ratings.
With an implementation date of 1 January 2012 (transition period of 5 years up to 1 January 2017), all seafarers must be certified in accordance to the said STCW 2010 Convention otherwise known as the Manila Amendments. As a result, new procedures and certification process by MARINA is essential.
What is STCW Regulation II/4? And why does deck ratings needs this?
“A Rating Forming Part of a Navigational Watch (RFPNW) is a qualified rating, designed to fulfill the Support Level of STCW A-II/4 in the deck department. STCW requires all ratings forming part of a navigational watch on seagoing vessels of 500gt and over to be duly certificated to perform these duties. This includes entry-level ratings standing navigational watches, such as lookout watches. It is also required by the personnel serving in a maintenance department when those persons are mandated by the Certificate of Inspection or manning document to be qualified to augment the watch.”- Source: MPT
Obviously, based on new regulations, deck ratings has to be certified with Regulation II/4 or else, they can’t function as a watchkeeper, any watchkeeping or navigational duties or lookouts.
Now that you know the importance of this certification, its time to prepare the requirements.
What are the requirements of COP II/4?
As disclosed by MARINA in its official FB page, the requirements are the following:
Same as before, holders of COC OIC NW are exempted from practical assessment of this COP. As for the 2nd requirement, It’s either of the 3: TOR, CAV or RFPNW Certificate.
A hassle free requirement since this will be uploaded by your MTI (Maritime Training Institution). Make sure you to follow-up in case they don’t do their job properly!
RELATED: How to get STCW II/5 COP
Practical Assessment Process for STCW II/4 COP
The applicant needs to confirm first the result of the online evaluation before taking up the practical assessment. Do not go directly to any assessment centers without that result.
An applicant needs to Log In to MISMO. Don’t have one? Click here.
Update your profile, check all your information and once done, click Select Transaction.
Select Examination, and then tick Practical Assessment. Then in the document type, choose RATINGS FORMING PART OF NAVIGATIONAL WATCH II/4. 
Tick “I hereby declare that my profile & service records are updated”. Click “Proceed”. A list of requirements will pop up. Upload it. If you have previously uploaded some documents, it will be marked green.
After uploading all the requirements, please click the Submit button. Don’t forget to keep your file size less than 1MB.
You are now subject for Online Evaluation…
Once you hit the Submit button, you are now subject for online evaluation. This means that the documents you uploaded will be checked and verified by the MARINA Online Evaluator team. They said that the online evaluation can take up to 24 hours to complete during working days.
How do I know if they are done examining the documents I uploaded? MARINA will inform you via a text message in regards to your application. It looks like this:
If however your application has been rejected, go back to your MISMO profile, and select Application tab. Click View Details. You can see the status of your documents in there.
Then, after approval of your application, you will then receive the following message: 
After receiving this message, please proceed to your preferred assessment centers. Take note of this number because the assessment centers will ask for this. For your guidance, we have compiled it for you. Click here.
After successfully passing the practical assessment, your “Daily Result of Assessment” which is a requirement for COP issuance, will be uploaded by the assessment center. Expect that document to be uploaded few hours after your assessment is complete.
Now, you can proceed to COP II/4 Issuance. Just follow the process below.
How to process STCW II/4 COP in MARINA…
A new online service will replace the way we process COPs in MARINA. No need to fill up the blue forms like we used to. In addition, an appointment is necessary for you to process your COP II/4.
First, log on to MARINA’s new online appointment system. Don’t have one? Click here.
You can log in using your SCS account if you have. If you don’t, create SRN first. On the other hand, you can also click Sign Up button. In case it says “Invalid credentials”, MARINA’s IT backend is working to fix this.
After you successfully logged in to your account, make sure your account is up to date. Then click Select Transaction.
Then a pop up window will appear, Click Certification. Choose which COP to process. For this process, choose RATINGS FORMING PART OF NAVIGATIONAL WATCH II/4. 
After you click Proceed, you will be redirected to the Application page. Your application will be saved as draft until you click the submit button. But before you click that, upload the requirements first.
You may now set your II/4 COP appointment..
Log in back to your MISMO account and this time, schedule your appointment date for final evaluation. It is then when if all is well, your II/4 will be issued.
Next, after you log in, go back to the Application Tab to view your pending application. This time, a blue “For Appointment” Button will appear and click it.
You will then be redirected to the Slot Locator tab. Where, in this page, you can choose your desired time and date for your final evaluation. Select the nearest MARINA Branch.
There are now 16 MARINA branches and satellite offices that caters MISMO transaction on Certification. So choose the branch of your choice for your final evaluation.
After you have chosen the time and date of your appointment, click Proceed. Then, a confirmation will appear that says: Appointment Set Successfully!
Final Evaluation…
As of February 2020, MARINA removes the online evaluation for all ISSUANCE processes. Therefore, it is of great relief to our mates because this step is consumes time the most.
After you have successfully paid your transaction, go to the appointment date you set in MISMO. Bring all original documents for verification. Your STCW II/4 COP will be released after everything has been checked and verified.