46 CFR 15.1105: Familiarization and Basic Training on seagoing vessels

Last reviewed: October 14, 2026

This section sets training conditions for shipboard duties onboard a seagoing vessel to which this subpart applies. A person must have received personal survival training or sufficient familiarization training. Crew complement and muster-list personnel must also produce evidence of Basic Training and of maintaining the standard of competence every 5 years.

Applies toSeagoing vessels to which this subpart applies, and persons who assign or perform shipboard duties on them.

What it says

  1. No person may assign shipboard duties to anyone, and no one may perform them, unless the person performing them has received personal survival training or sufficient familiarization training.

    46 CFR 15.1105(a)“no person may assign any person to perform shipboard duties, and no person may perform those duties, unless the person performing them has received—”
  2. Familiarization training must leave the person able to communicate with others onboard about elementary safety matters and understand informational symbols, signs, and alarm signals concerning safety.

    46 CFR 15.1105(a)(2)(i)“Can communicate with other persons onboard about elementary safety matters and understand informational symbols, signs, and alarm signals concerning safety;”
  3. Familiarization training must leave the person able to locate and don life jackets.

    46 CFR 15.1105(a)(2)(iv)“Can locate and don life jackets;”
  4. No person may assign a duty to someone serving in a position that must be filled as part of the required crew complement, and that person may not perform it, unless the person is familiar with it and with the vessel's arrangements, installations, equipment, procedures, and characteristics relevant to routine and emergency duties, in accordance with Regulation I/14 of the STCW Convention.

    46 CFR 15.1105(b)“unless they are familiar with it and with all of the vessel's arrangements, installations, equipment, procedures, and characteristics relevant to their routine and emergency duties or responsibilities”
  5. A person in a required crew complement position, or assigned a responsibility on the muster list, must be able to produce evidence of having received appropriate approved Basic Training or instruction under Regulation VI/1 of the STCW Convention.

    46 CFR 15.1105(c)(1)“Received appropriate approved Basic Training or instruction as set out in the standards of competence under Regulation VI/1 of the STCW Convention”
  6. Those same persons must also be able to produce evidence of having maintained the standard of competence every 5 years.

    46 CFR 15.1105(c)(2)“Maintained the standard of competence under Regulation VI/1 of the STCW Convention, with respect to personal survival techniques, fire prevention and fire-fighting, elementary first aid, and personal safety and social responsibilities, every 5 years.”
  7. Fish-processing vessels that comply with part 28 of this chapter on instructions, drills, and safety orientation are deemed to comply with this section's familiarization and Basic Training requirements.

    46 CFR 15.1105(d)“Fish-processing vessels in compliance with the provisions of part 28 of this chapter on instructions, drills, and safety orientation are deemed to be in compliance”

Common questions

How often must Basic Training competence be maintained?

A person in a required crew complement position or assigned a muster-list responsibility must be able to produce evidence of having maintained the standard of competence every 5 years.

“Maintained the standard of competence under Regulation VI/1 of the STCW Convention, with respect to personal survival techniques, fire prevention and fire-fighting, elementary first aid, and personal safety and social responsibilities, every 5 years.”

What must familiarization training cover about fire and overboard emergencies?

The person must know what to do if a person falls overboard, if fire or smoke is detected, or if the fire alarm or abandon-ship alarm sounds.

“Know what to do if a person falls overboard; if fire or smoke is detected; or if the fire alarm or abandon-ship alarm sounds;”

Do fish-processing vessels have to meet this training section?

Fish-processing vessels that comply with part 28 of this chapter on instructions, drills, and safety orientation are deemed to comply with this section's familiarization and Basic Training requirements.

“Fish-processing vessels in compliance with the provisions of part 28 of this chapter on instructions, drills, and safety orientation are deemed to be in compliance”

The text of 46 CFR 15.1105

Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), current as of April 16, 2026 · Read it on eCFR

Familiarization and Basic Training (BT)

(a) Onboard a seagoing vessel to which this subpart applies, no person may assign any person to perform shipboard duties, and no person may perform those duties, unless the person performing them has received—

(1) Training in personal survival techniques as set out in the standard of competence under Regulation VI/1 of the STCW Convention (incorporated by reference, see § 15.103); or

(2) Sufficient familiarization training or instruction that they—

(i) Can communicate with other persons onboard about elementary safety matters and understand informational symbols, signs, and alarm signals concerning safety;

(ii) Know what to do if a person falls overboard; if fire or smoke is detected; or if the fire alarm or abandon-ship alarm sounds;

(iii) Can identify stations for muster and embarkation, and emergency-escape routes;

(iv) Can locate and don life jackets;

(v) Can raise the alarm and knows the use of portable fire extinguishers;

(vi) Can take immediate action upon encountering an accident or other medical emergency before seeking further medical assistance onboard; and

(vii) Can close and open the fire doors, weather-tight doors, and watertight doors fitted in the vessel other than those for hull openings.

(b) Onboard a seagoing vessel to which this subpart applies, no person may assign a shipboard duty or responsibility to any person who is serving in a position that must be filled as part of the required crew complement, and no person may perform any such duty or responsibility, unless they are familiar with it and with all of the vessel's arrangements, installations, equipment, procedures, and characteristics relevant to their routine and emergency duties or responsibilities, in accordance with Regulation I/14 of the STCW Convention.

(c) Onboard a seagoing vessel to which this subpart applies, no person may assign a shipboard duty or responsibility to any person who is serving in a position that must be filled as part of the required crew complement or who is assigned a responsibility on the muster list, and no person may perform any such duty or responsibility, unless the person performing it can produce evidence of having—

(1) Received appropriate approved Basic Training or instruction as set out in the standards of competence under Regulation VI/1 of the STCW Convention, with respect to personal survival techniques, fire prevention and fire-fighting, elementary first aid, and personal safety and social responsibilities; and

(2) Maintained the standard of competence under Regulation VI/1 of the STCW Convention, with respect to personal survival techniques, fire prevention and fire-fighting, elementary first aid, and personal safety and social responsibilities, every 5 years.

(d) Fish-processing vessels in compliance with the provisions of part 28 of this chapter on instructions, drills, and safety orientation are deemed to be in compliance with the requirements of this section on familiarization and Basic Training.

Sections it refers to

The plain-English explanation on this page was written with AI from the regulation text above and checked automatically before publishing: every quote appears in the text, every number comes from it, and a second model confirmed each statement adds nothing the text doesn't say. Regulation text current as of April 16, 2026. The regulation text governs. RegKnot is not affiliated with the U.S. Coast Guard.